As you all must know by now, Mǎ Sī Wén (马思文) is my Chinese name. It was given to me by my Chinese language teachers in China, and seems like some of you have struggled with it. I have been called Ma, Ma Si, Si Wen, Ma Si Wen, and few other combinations of these three words. So what is my family name and what is my given name? Here is the breakdown:
马(Mǎ) : Family Name
思文(Sī Wén): Given Name
As you can see, family names are written first in China. And Chinese people usually have two given names, which are written after the family name. So next time you see a Chinese name, the first one is the family name and the next two (or one in some cases) are the given names.
Below are the five most common Chinese surnames according to a study published in 2006.
李 (Lǐ)
王(Wáng)
张(Zhāng)
刘(Liú)
陈(Chén)
It is more common to call people by their full names in China, rather than just use the given name or the family name by itself. When using family names, make sure that you use the right form of address:
| Forms of address | Example |
| 先生(xiānshēng): Mr | 王先生 (Wáng xiānshēng) |
| 女士(nǚshì): Ms | 李女士 (Li nǚshì) |
| 老(lǎo): Old | 老张 (lǎo Zhāng) |
| 小(xiǎo): Young/Small | 小陈 (xiǎo Chén) |
| 老师(Lǎoshī): Teacher | 刘老师 (Liú lǎoshī) |
Do you want a Chinese name too? Get yourself a Chinese name here. Please leave a comment and post your Chinese name.
