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!
