aka don't use the language if you're not 100% sure that's how it works. (or at least do some basic research beforehand)

Tired of seeing characters w/ Chinese names but are completely inaccurate, e.g. coming up with random syllables that sound vaguely Chinese and going "let's goooo we got a name!". Such as: Cho Chang. You may recognize this. It's notoriously bad.

Or for example, pairing together words that look like complete nonsense in Pinyin (aka alphabet Chinese). Saw a story where MC's name was Hu Zi, and the author explains that 'Zi/紫' was for Purple. Now, Zi is used very commonly in female names, so I understand that-- except, Hu Zi seems more like the Pinyin form for the word 胡子/Hu Zi, which means beard. That's right-- a beard. And I swear that any person who's fluent will not think of it as 胡紫/purple (or whatever the MC's name is) but as facial hair every single time the word pops up. This won't be a problem if the story was written in Chinese, but it's not, so when you put it in Pinyin form, you're leaving the reader to read it how they read it every single time it pops up.
And now, I don't care how amazing your story may be-- if your character's name makes me think of a mustache, and the story is in third person, I cannot do it. I just can't.

How to avoid this issue if you don't understand Chinese but still wish to use Chinese names? It's rather simple. You can check yourself by taking Google Translate-- yes, Google Translate-- and putting your main character's name into it through the Pinyin input option. Then, the choices will pop up with what Translate believes you're trying to say. So, for example, if you put in Hu Zi, Google Translate either tells you beard (that's the first option) or tiger (that's the second option). You know you probably want to avoid the name if the connotations give off weird answers like beard.
However, this method is not foolproof, so feel free to drop your character names down in the comments below and I'll tell you if they're okay or not.

Also, another thing that gets me frustrated in all English literature attempting to use Chinese characters is when characters literally have the name of, say, Han, when their full name is Lu Han. (borrowing a famous Chinese celebrity's name here bc there was a recent controversy where people in the west were trying to invent a last name for him when they didn't understand his last name was literally Lu.)
So, the author writes as such: Han goes to sleep. He wakes up the next morning when his neighbors call "Han, you forgot to turn off your stove!"
This frustrates me.
Primarily because that is not how it works in Chinese-- even though his "last name/surname" is "Lu" and his first name is "Han", people don't go around calling him Han. They simply say Lu Han. This seems to be a weird concept to grasp by those who don't speak Chinese, but that's just how it works.

All in all, this may seem like a small matter, but how would you feel if you were reading a book and the main character's name was Be Ard or someone who's name was John was called Hn throughout the story (unless it's the rare occasion where the character's full name is used and they're finally called Jo Hn!)? It just feels wrong to read something like this, even if those who understand Chinese and read novels on this site are a small majority. (I personally enjoy Webnovel because English is my first language and I write/read quicker in it & quicker = saving time)
Also, if you're trying to put your characters under a certain culture, shouldn't you take your time to do some research and understand the culture a little more thoroughly?

So, if you want to know if your character's name is proper, feel free to drop it below and I'll check it over for you. Note that googling "Chinese names" doesn't always give you accurate results. (should I make a list of Chinese male & female names so that you all have a reference?)

Otherwise, I realize that there's little that can be fixed about this problem & so I just wanted to rant about it to get it off my chest.

Directory of Names

yaoyueyi General Female Names

yaoyueyi Manly Male Names

yaoyueyi Surnames

Tell me what names you all are looking for down below and I'll make more lists!

There are actually sites that give male and female names in both the character and the pinyin form. They give the meanings and it can be pretty useful for making names. Suggest this site to any who visit here as well

https://www.behindthename.com/names/gender/masculine/usage/chinese

UnjustlyUnderpaid the problem is, you can't just mix and match them, because a lot of times, they'll end up with nonsensical names like... idk, 太伟 which means "very great" according to the site, a seemingly good name for someone but actually is the name of a hotel in China. I guess you could make it work if you tried hard enough, but only relying on that site is not a good idea. it's similar to the fact that you can't put together any letter in the alphabet together to form a name in English (or any other language for that matter)
there are also characters on that site that are barely used in names.
I also feel like the site enforces the fact you only need to include one character for a character's name (e.g. the Lu Han example above), so overall, I wouldn't say that's the best reference but considerably decent?

Ithilien honestly yes, I see it as turtle. and in general, that's a bad name too because it makes me think of the phrase "无家可归" which literally means hobo. idk if your character is a homeless man and that's intentional but I would advise against using that name.

as for alternatives... how about 望归/Wanggui? Wang = looking to and Gui = return to, so together, the name would mean wishing for a place to return to but not having one, which is similar as Wugui but also slightly different.

though ngl I don't like the word 'gui' in a name (I just don't like the sound of it in names), so how about these names:
孤冥/Guming = alone in the darkness
离影/Liying = separate & in the shadows
临渊/Linyuan = facing the abyss (of one's own mind, perhaps?)

all of these are pretty depressing, but then again, Wugui also sounds depressing, so yep.
In general, no one really wishes to give their child a name that means that they'll have nowhere to return to so that's why there's barely any proper names that work like that.