If I invent a Chinese name, should I use it in official documents?
China - 15 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
keep your original name they will think you are cooler.
2 :
It'd seem a little odd I think, like when a Chinese man renames himself Fred, there's just a comical element to it.
3 :
use your normal name in official documents and your chinese name in your life LOL
4 :
You will have problems if you start using a different name on official documents than is in your passport and visa. Unless you are fluent in chinese stick to your real name. You might choose something really bizarre.
5 :
it is common to have some one Chinese chose a Chinese name for you
6 :
I am not a lawyer, but here's an educated guess. Any invented name would not be your legal (notice the word "legal") name. Your "normal" name is your legal (there's that word again) name, therefore, you must use it on all official documents.
7 :
if you invent a chinese name, you will have problems. you should use your real name unless you speak chinese. chinese names are hard for people to understand if not said correctly but it's your choice.
8 :
You should to be able to use your regular name in most situations with no problems or confusion. I just recently left China after having lived there five years and did find it necessary to use a Chinese name when registering at hospitals because they could not process my given name. Other than situations like that, your given name would normally be used.
9 :
You can give yourself a Chinese nickname, but that is only for your friends to use. Your legal name is the name appearing in your passport. Any attempt to use a different name in financial transactions or when completing government documents is a crime punishable by imprisonment and mandatory deportation.
10 :
If you have tried applying for a working visa in China, there is an information sheet wherein the company / employer would fill it out for you. One of the questions asks: "Know Chinese or Not?" if you can understand Chinese, and for the purposes solely of work visa application, you can include a Chinese name specially if you have previous work visa applications with no bad record. However, if you are tending and / or pertaining to Business permits and the likes, then you might want to stick to your English name as is.
11 :
I lived and worked in China and all the Chinese people i worked with took English names so I took a Chinese name and learned how to write it in Chinese. I feel this is a good way to fit in to there culture.
12 :
Yeah . Use Mao Tes-tung . I don't think it is used much in China .
13 :
hahah yeah listen to jerry
14 :
i am a chinese, i think it does matter if u use ur normal name or a chinese, it will be all ok.
15 :
Well your passport will use your normal name, and you might be able to use your chinese name in some circumstances, it is not actually your official name, and you have no really official ID to prove it, such as as passport of drivers licence, so you don't want to use it for a bank account. On the other hand, some English names are hard to say. I have an English name and a Chinese name. In Schools people usually use a family name followed by the word for teacher (Laoshi), so it works better when I use my Chinese name. I hate using my personal name in education contexts because it is not normal and I think it is odd (though many people do it, I get angry with them, because they are not treating me with the proper chinese respect). Anyway, my personal views aside, it is useful to have a Chinese name. You may only use it to tell people that you have a Chinese name. You can ask people when you are in China to help you come up with a good name. Be careful, some people will create a stupid name for you.
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