Reading Rec List For Chinese Learners. This Is Not Exhaustive, If You Find Stuff That Works For You Then

Linguistics Terms in Chinese

*Common terms found in textbooks, on tests, etc. that no one has ever taught me explicitly; will update periodically through reblogs－please share if you know other ones!! We can use these words to talk about our study, ask for help, or better understand test questions and practice sets.

语法 －grammar

生词 － vocabulary

口语 －speaking 

写字 －writing 

阅读 －reading 

跨文化交际 － cross-cultural communication 

汉字 － characters 

拼音 － pinyin 

偏胖 － character radicals (e.g. 口袋的口）

名词 －noun

动词 －verb

副词 － adverb 

状语 －adverb phrase

量词 －measure word

连词 －conjunction 

句子 －sentence 

主语 － subject of a sentence 

分句 － sentence clause 

注释 －explanatory notes 

不同点 －differences 

对话 － dialogue 

专有名词 －Proper nouns

词义 －meaning of a word, definition

形合 －a linguistics term that literally means “shape focused;” it refers to the way that languages like English focus more heavily on structures like grammar to be intelligible; in contrast to the below term, 意合

意合 －a linguistics term that literally means “meaning focused;” it refers to languages like Chinese that focus more heavily on meaning, so they can rely on repetition of certain words or phrases within a sentence or utterance without sounding redundant; in contrast to the above term, 形合

练习 － practice

复习－review 

预习 － preview 

考试 －test

做作业 － do homework

例如 － example 

判断对错。 － judge true or false. 

题 － question (usually 第 + # + 题）

请选出真确回答。 － choose the correct answer.

选词填空。－fill in the blanks.

排列顺序。－ arrange / put in order of sequence.

部分 －part (usually 第 + # + 部分）

完成句子 － finish the sentences. 

Period in 中文 🩸

月经 (yuè jīng) period

老朋友 (lǎo péng you) period (slang)

大姨妈 (dà yí mā) period (slang) 

例假 (lì jià) menstrual leave (euphemism) , menstrual period 

月经没来 (yuè jīng méi lái) to miss one’s period

来月经 (lái yuè jīng) to have a period

换… (huàn) to change, to exchange  (sanitary towel/tampons/menstrual cup) 

卫生巾  (wèi shēng jīn) sanitary towel /pad 

姨妈巾 (yí mā jīn)  sanitary towel (coll.)  

卫生棉条 (wèi shēng mián tiáo) tampons  

月经杯 (yuè jīng bēi) menstrual cup

月亮杯 (yuè liang bēi) menstrual cup 

绞痛 (jiǎo tòng) cramps  

痉挛 (jìng luán) cramps (med. term)   

偏头痛 (piān tóu tòng) migraine 

昏厥 (hūn jué) to faint 

妇科 (fù kē) gynaecology

阴道 (yīn dào) vagina (med. term) 

卵巢 (luǎn cháo) ovary (med. term) 

荷尔蒙 (hé ěr méng) hormone 

乳房 (rǔ fáng) breast (med. term)  

乳房胀痛 (rǔ fáng zhàng tòng) tender breast 

血 (xuè) blood 

子宫 (zǐ gōng) uterus  

心情变化 (xīn qíng biàn huà) change of moods  

经前综合症 (jīng qián zōng hé zhèng) PMS (premenstrual syndrome) 

更年期 (gēng nián qī) menopause

止痛药 (zhǐ tòng yào) Painkiller  

热水袋 (rè shuǐ dài) hot-water bottle

~ My Chinese studygram ~

Typing Pinyin Tones (macbook & iphone)

((I have apple products so I can't speak for windows computers or other brands. PLEASE add to this if you know how to do this for other products!))

Have you, like me, been typing everything into google translate to copy and paste the pinyin of words?

Have you, like me, been using the english keyboard holding button trick to get accents to pop up for à á ā and been using â for a 3rd/low tone because that was your only option??

NEVER AGAIN FRIENDS!

Typing Tones on an iPhone

First, you must have a pinyin-based Chinese keyboard on your phone. I'm assuming if you're learning Chinese you probably already have this?? So I'm skipping that part.

Go to the place where you want to type the pinyin and switch to your pinyin chinese keyboard

Hold the vowel you want and above it, the 4 tones will pop up

Slide your finger over to the on you want and let go (see image below)

That's it?? You now have pinyin and the suggestions for characters will go away!!

Typing Pinyin on a Macbook Computer

This is a bit trickier, bear with me.

Go to Settings/System Preferences

Go to Keyboard > Input Sources

Hit the little plus sign

4. Hit ABC - Extended and then hit "add"

Okay, you now have access to all four tone marks you need! You just need the codes for how to type it! These are the codes, you type these before any vowel to get the tone you want.

Option⌥ + a = 1st/high tone (ā)

Option⌥ + e = 2nd/rising tone (á)

Option⌥ + v = 3rd/low tone (ǎ)

Option⌥ + ` (just below escape key) = 4th/falling tone (à)

Note: for ü with an accent, you can use the above codes + v  (e.g. ⌥ + a + v = ǖ)

If you ever forget, you can go up to your language input at the top header by the bluetooth/battery buttons and click "Show Keyboard Viewer." This will show you all the keys and when you press and hold Option⌥, it will show you all the possible key combinations (plus all the other features on this extended keyboard, it has quite a bit compared to the regular one!!)

Hope this was helpful!!! I'm so excited that I never have to go back and forth from google translate ever again :D

lemon cake with homemade blueberry compote + blueberry lemon buttercream decorated with white strawberries and edible glitter ! 🍓🫐🍋

my favorite poetry books (free PDF or epub)

the complete maya angelou

don't call us dead by danez smith

all the flowers kneeling by paul tran

time is a mother by ocean vuong

madness by sam sax

mayakovsky's revolver by matthew dickman

soft science by franny choi

thief in the interior by phillip b williams

ariel by sylvia plath

calling a wolf a wolf by kaveh akbar

together and by ourselves by alex dimitrov

not here by hieu minh nguyen

brute by emily skaja

post colonial love poem by natalie diaz

unaccompanied by javier zamora

prelude to bruise by saeed jones

howl & other poems by allen ginsberg

the big book of exit strategies by jamaal may

look by solmaz sharif

the crown ain't worth much by hanif abdurraqib

eyes bottle dark with a mouthful of flowers by jake skeets

finna by nate marshall

autopsy by donte collins

a place called no homeland by kai cheng thom

lunch poems by frank o'hara

lessons on expulsion by erika l sanchez

the new testament by jericho brown

said the manic to the muse by jeanann verlee

space struck by paige lewis

safe houses i have known by steve healey

the wound is a world by billy-ray belcourt

nature poem by tommy pico

owed by josua bennett

felon by reginald dwayne betts

come on all you ghosts by matthew zapruder

bluets by maggie nelson

life of the poetry by olivia gatwood

perennial by kelly forsythe

contradictions in the design by matthew olzmann

the big smoke by adrian matejka

peluda by melissa lozada-oliva

american sonnets for my past & future assassins by terrance hayes

king me by roger reeves

in a dream you saw a way to survive by clementine von radics

So... how do you say "rice" in Chinese?

Seems like an easy question, right? In some languages it certainly would be, but since rice has been a staple crop of parts of what is now China for at least 10,000 years, Mandarin Chinese has developed a lot of ways to talk about rice. In this post, I'm going to walk you through not two but three characters that mean rice and how they are used.

#1: 飯 (S: 饭) fàn

This is probably the first rice word that most learners learn. It means cooked rice, and because of how central rice is to many people's diets it also means meal and can be used metaphorically to refer to one's livelihood.

飯 is used in the names of dishes like 炒飯 (炒饭) chǎofàn "fried rice" and 滷肉飯 (卤肉饭) lǔròufàn "Taiwanese braised pork rice". In the sense of "meal", it is used in the words 吃飯 (吃饭) chīfàn "to eat a meal", 做飯 (做饭) zuòfàn "to cook" and 飯館 (饭馆) fànguǎn "restaurant".

#2: 米 mǐ

This is usually the second rice character that learners encounter. It means uncooked rice.

米 is used in words that refer to rice as an ingredient, such as 米粒 mǐlì "grain of rice" and 糯米 nuòmǐ "sticky rice". It is also used in the names of ingredients and dishes in which rice is processed in some way instead of being served boiled/steamed, such as 米粉 mǐfěn "rice flour, rice noodles" or 米豆腐 mǐdòufu "rice tofu". Finally, the character 米 also appears in the names of certain non-rice grains, such as 玉米 yùmǐ "corn" and 小米 xiǎomǐ "millet".

#3: 稻 dào

This is the character that most learners can go a long time without encountering. It means rice plant or paddy. It's mainly seen in words somehow relating to the cultivation of rice.

There are multiple words that can mean "rice paddy", such as 稻穀 (稻谷) dàogǔ or 稻田 dàotián. 稻 also appears in words that refer to parts of the rice plant, like 稻草 dàocǎo "rice straw" or 稻穗 dàosuì "rice ear". Finally, 稻 is used in words referring to various crops of rice, such as 早稻 zǎodào "early-season rice" or 晚稻 wǎndào "late-season rice".

Putting It All Together

Just because these words have distinct meanings doesn't mean they can't overlap! In fact, they can be combined to make new ways to say rice. 米飯 (米饭) mǐfàn means "cooked rice", and 稻米 dàomǐ means "rice (crop)". But can you combine 飯 and 稻? You can't-- they are just too far apart in meaning.

So there you have it-- three characters for rice. This is just a small snapshot of all rice-related vocab in Chinese, but I guarantee almost all of it contains one of these three characters. Do you have a favorite rice-related word? Or do you speak a language with many different ways to talk about a staple food?

Hi! I'm really fond of researching about hanfu and its history, and I found a lot of interesting information on this blog. But I can't help it and keep wondering about the reason for qipao/cheongsang not be considered a hanfu? When I researched about it the most common argument is the Manchu influence on it. However, there are a plenty of hanfu styles that were influenced by other cultures. Is there a more especific reason for not consider the qipao?

Hi, thanks for the question, and glad you like my blog! (x)

I want to start off with an important disclaimer:

The term “hanfu” as we use it today (defined as “traditional Han Chinese clothing”) does not have the exact same meaning as when it was used historically. As @audreydoeskaren explains in this post, “while it is true that the term “hanfu” was used in some historical texts, they were often used in opposition to clothing worn by foreign peoples...and not as a standalone term”. Today, there is no central organizing body or law that states exactly what is & what is not considered hanfu. Rather, such categorization is done by the members of the hanfu community - and the hanfu community is not a monolith. Ever since its inception in 2003, the hanfu revival movement has been a grassroots, bottom-up movement with members of various backgrounds, ideologies, and opinions. It is a movement that is built upon, and driven forward by, constant dialogue and debate among its members. Thus the question of what garments are considered hanfu is under continuous discussion, and is subject to the hanfu community’s views and ideas on culture, clothing, and history.

With that being said, it’s true that there is almost unanimous agreement within the hanfu community that qipao/cheongsam (I will refer to it here mainly as qipao because that is what I’m used to) is not considered hanfu. In my (non-expert & non-academic) opinion, there are two main reasons for this: 1) Unclear origins and 2) Western influence. Let’s examine each (Note: I will be referring a lot to posts by resident qipao expert @audreydoeskaren, who is much more knowledgeable about the subject than I am. Please check out her series on early 20th century Chinese womenswear if you haven’t already):

1. Unclear Origins

It is widely acknowledged that the qipao as we know it today was first popularized during the 1920s, but what led up to that - the origins of qipao - are actually unclear. It is most commonly touted as being derived from Manchu one-piece robes, but “origins of cheongsam are truly unclear and it’s very likely that the many theories attributing it to Manchu fashion were invented after its popularization” (x). The Wikipedia article on cheongsam states that the garment is “of Manchu origin”, but does not give any details on exactly when, why, and how it was adopted by Han women (as during the Qing dynasty Han women wore two-piece garments and did not wear Manchu one-piece robes). The article’s “Controversies on origin” section states that “the cheongsam is generally considered to be adapted from the one-piece dress of Manchu women during the Qing dynasty. However, there has been considerable debate on the origin of the cheongsam in academic circles”, and proceeds to give three alternative theories on the origin of the qipao. 

Below, from left to right - 1. Manchu women’s one-piece robe during the Qing dynasty, 2. qipao from 1932, 3. 1930s-style qipao (x)

While there are various theories, the Manchu one-piece robe origin theory is still the most widely accepted, and thus is a major reason for why the qipao is not considered to be hanfu. @audreydoeskaren explains in detail the arguments for the Manchu origin theory here. 

2. Western Influence

The qipao’s silhouette and style changed rapidly during its heydays in the 1920s-1950s. During these years there was significant Western influence on Chinese fashion, and that influence was reflected in the evolution of the qipao. Below is an (very simplified) illustration of the evolution of qipao style from the 1920s-1940s (x). Note how the silhouettes correspond to what was trendy in Western fashion at the time:

1920s - loose, flat, and boxy

1930s - long, slender, and streamlined

1940s - shorter, squared shoulders, and cinched waist

Arguably the greatest lasting impact of Western fashion on qipao was that of Christian Dior’s extreme hourglass New Look silhouette on 1950s & 1960s qipao. To achieve this new fashionable silhouette, qipao makers in the 1950s starting using Western tailoring techniques such as darts, shoulder seams, and zippers. Below - Dior’s New Look (left) & 1950s qipao (right):

The use of darts, shoulder seams, and zippers continues today to create the curvy, form-fitting silhouette of contemporary qipao. The westernization of the silhouette, along with the usage of these relatively modern tailoring techniques, are further reasons for qipao to be categorized separately from hanfu by the hanfu community. Even hanfu that use nontraditional techniques such as shoulder seams and zippers are not recognized as “authentic” hanfu by many in the hanfu community. Rather, they are categorized as modified hanfu/改良汉服 and/or hanyuansu/汉元素 (clothing with elements of hanfu).

Now as you mentioned, it is true that several hanfu styles were influenced by other cultures (one notable example is the Yuan dynasty’s Mongolian influence on Ming dynasty hanfu: 1, 2). Furthermore, while the qipao might possibly be derived from Manchu robes, it was ultimately mainly created, worn, and innovated by Han people. So why not consider qipao a type of hanfu? My view is that it is the combination of the abovementioned factors (unclear origins, westernization, tailoring techniques) that places qipao outside the classification of hanfu, from the perspective of the hanfu community. For more details on the differences between hanfu and qipao, please check out this article.

I want to be clear, however, that this separate classification is not a value judgment. Qipao may not be classified as hanfu under the current definition of hanfu, but that does not in any way take away from the qipao’s importance, significance, and value to Chinese fashion history & culture in general. The most iconic Chinese garment of the 20th century, the qipao reflects the tastes and values of its time, and to this day is an ubiquitous part of a Chinese woman’s wardrobe. There are many people (such as myself) who like and wear both hanfu and qipao.

In fact, it makes me happy to see that there appears to be a growing interest in reviving & taking inspiration from vintage qipao styles. I see this as a part of the general trend of interest in historical Chinese clothing that the hanfu revival movement belongs to. Below are a few vintage-inspired qipao that I find appealing (1/2/3/4/5/6):

For more information, please see my “qipao” tag.

Hope this helps!

(Note: if anyone wants to add information, share thoughts, or correct a mistake, please do! I welcome it ^^)

Some language learning exercises and tips

These are some of the activities I do. Maybe you'll find them helpful:

Write a mock dating profile for yourself. Describe yourself, list your hobbies and interests, hopes for the future, likes and dislikes, and the qualities you're looking for in a partner. Enjoyed it? Write one for your favourite character/OC.

Try to find a Youtuber who plays your favourite game and does commentary in your target language. I watch this guy a lot.

Describe locations in your favourite books, games, movies, TV shows etc. I like to wander the Hitman maps and write about the different areas, NPCs, and situations I observe.

Write a mock interview with your character/influential figure of choice.

Choose a fairy tale and write your interpretation of it in your target language.

When you're cooking, say what you're doing out loud as if you were talking to a studio audience.

Imagine your mutuals are coming to your city for a visit. Write up a lil guidebook for them describing places of interest. Write an itinerary to practice using the future tense and "first", "then", "after that", etc statements.

A chalk marker might be useful to you. I write important words and phrases that I'm having trouble remembering on my bathroom mirror. I just wipe them away with a damp cloth later.

Review books, albums, movies etc in your target language. Either write down your review or record yourself talking about it.

Reading rec list for chinese learners. This is not exhaustive, if you find stuff that works for you then go for it! This is also not perfect, you may find stuff a bit easier or harder is more ideal for you. (By "know" below I mean you recognize the word as familiar, have studied or looked it up at some point, and so if you need to look it up again in reading you will learn it longer term fairly easily because of the repeated exposure to it in reading).

Know ~500 words?

Mandarin Companion Graded Readers. I recommend the Sherlock one, and the Journey to the Center of the Earth one. All Mandarin Companion books are excellent for beginners though.

Pleco Graded Readers - I recommend The Butterfly Lovers. There are a lot of Pleco Graded readers though, so you can pick based on amount of unique words (some Graded readers on Pleco go up to 2000 unique words).

Know ~1000-1500 words?

Sinolingua Chinese Graded Readers. There are several, and I started with the 500 word one. They somewhat match up with HSK and I found them more challenging than the Mandarin Companion graded readers. They have a vocabulary list in the back of the book and footnotes to help you study. They are a good bridge to get you from graded readers to other materials. I found the 1000 and 2000 word book equally difficult.

Pleco Graded readers, which include readers from 1000-2000 unique words.

Start delving into manhua! If you're ready and feel like it! Easier manhua will be slice of life setting ones, and ones based on something you're already familiar with. So if you've watched the Untamed or read 魔道祖师, then the manhua will be easier for you. If you've watched The Lost Tomb Reboot, then try out the slice of life comedy manhua spin off 盗墓笔记重启日常向 https://m.ac.qq.com/comic/index/id/649452. My Story 他们的故事 is a gl manhua which is slice of life and easy to read, as is 19天. There's also more genre specific manhua which I waited a bit to read, but if you're familiar with the story they may be doable like 2ha's manhua and 破云 manhua.

Know ~1500-2000 words?

Start getting into easier novels. Suggestions include 活着 (anything by this author is often recommended to learners, I have not actually read anything by him yet), 小王子 (this was my first not-graded-reader novel I finished reading in chinese, it was a bit challenging, I used a english/Chinese copy so I could look up words occasionally), 笑猫日记: 会唱歌的猫 (I highly recommend this series of books, they're for kids and fairly straightforward, set in a city so decently useful words are used, with a lot of chengyu that's commonly used so they're worth learning, I read 2 of these novels), 他们的故事 by 一根黄瓜丝儿 (a bl novel that's first person, generally uses a lot of common daily life words, and is fairly straightforward, I've read half and it was the first real novel I tried to read in chinese). These novels can be tried earlier on if you're more willing to use a click dictionary, which is what I did (except for 小王子 since I had a print copy). 论如何错误地套路一个魔教教主 The Wrong Way to a Demon Sect Leader (a fairly easy wuxia bl read).

Also in general anything you've read before in a language you understand, is going to be easier to read in chinese than something brand new.

Feeling brave? Up for a challenge?

撒野 and anything by that author uses a lot of more everyday language and is an easier read than some other webnovels. 盗墓笔记 does not use particularly hard language outside of the tomb genre words which if you're reading then you need to look up and learn anyway eventually (the slang in it is a bit hard but also worth learning so the cursing etc trips you up less later in other stuff you read), if you've seen the show before its doable to read. Scum Villain Self Saving System is on the easier end of mxtx novels to read, especially if youre already familiar with the plot.

Know ~2000 words?

The same novels as before apply. But now you may need a dictionary a bit less. Stuff like 撒野 will now be a bit less difficult, still challenging. Now other novels will start to be doable as desired, if you're using a dictionary. So go have fun looking into whatever webnovels you're interested in.

(I made a list of difficulty ratings of various webnovels in my rec list tag, you may want to check out that list. A quick gadget though is like... 撒野 author is easier than 盗墓笔记 author, then mxtx, then priest (and tian ya ke and zhenhun are easier than silent reading and sha po lang), and poyun was higher on the difficulty scale, 2ha was fairly hard. Basically the more vocabulary or thicker the paragraphs, the harder it's gonna be. Or the less familiar you are with a given genre).

At ~2000 words or more I'd say reading with a click dictionary feels quite doable, although a slog if you pick a harder novel so gauge what feels an okay level for you personally to read. And if you feel like reading without a dictionary, you'll have to explore a bit to see what's comprehensible to you without one.

do you happen to know how to translate english names to chinese without it just being the phonetic spelling? a native mandarin speaker brought it up to me and now i'm wondering if it would seem more natural or if i should stick with phonetic

I'm assuming by phonetic spelling you mean translating English names to the closest Chinese equivalent with pronunciation? Like my name: Julia > 朱莉娅 (zhuliya)

I've talked about names A Lot™ with my Chinese friends because I often felt that way too, that this name was.. obviously not a native Chinese name lol So sorry ahead of time, this will be a long answer!!! I LOVE NAMES

Why I've stuck with a phonetic name: All my Chinese friends said the same thing: that my name isn't super unnatural, and that I shouldn't change it because they like it and immediately think of me whenever they see it because it's distinct.

((Of course some names are probably way more unnatural than mine, too, and I'm lucky that my English name converts well to many languages lol))

I tried letting new friends on Tandem/HelloTalk pick a name for me to see what they came up with (keeping 朱, because I'm attached to it) and tbh they were pretty, and probably more normal sounding, but none of them resonated with me. I've just associated myself with "red grass girl" 🤣🤣

I feel like there's nothing wrong with converting names to the closest phonetic equivalent!! My closest friends in China and Taiwan agree.

Side tangent #1

Once someone recommended switching to 丽 (li), but then another friend told me that one was too overused. Someone recommended 立 (I think?? If not, it was another character with this radical) once too, and a guy told me it gave off vibes of independence, but 2 girls told me it was way too masculine for a girl's name. Essentially, just because one Chinese person maybe said your name was too unnatural does not mean all Chinese people feel this way. In my experience you can ask 5 Chinese people about a name and you will get 5 different answers for whether it's masc/fem, what it's associated with, whether it's common, or whether it sounds foreign. One of my friends has even met a native Chinese 朱莉娅 before, with the same characters I use!

Side tangent #2

What about the reverse, what do we think of foreigners who have English names vs. foreign names? Obviously Xiran Jay Zhao is Chinese by her name and did not pick an English name, and I think this works!! Though I do see most foreign Chinese people pick names like John, Edward, Caroline... And what do we think when we see "Edward Pan"? (潘雲安, the singer for 告五人 btw) Some of us might think "lol why did they pick that name, that's obviously not their real name." And what do we think when they pick old-fashioned names like Eunice? (Yes, I've met one) If we pick an overtly standard Chinese name, will they think similarly? But then, if we have something that's completely non-standard, what will they think of that?? They might say "oh a foreigner" but... is that such a bad thing? It's tricky!

IN CONCLUSION (and to actually answer your question... 😅)

If your name doesn't convert well phonetically, or you think the phonetic translation is too odd, (or maybe you hate your English name lmao) here's what I'd recommend for finding alternatives:

Try picking a surname character (click for a list) that sounds similar to your English name, then pick a "normal" given name! Or vice versa, use a common Chinese surname and pick a given name that has the same initial consonant/syllable as your English name but is still "normal" sounding.

Here's some resources for picking characters:

Behindthename - pretty accurate from my experience!

Everyday Chinese - good video with a PDF below of 100 common characters used in boy/girl names

My Name is Andong - I like his suggestions a lot!

Shuoshuo - She's adorable and has good advice

Shuoshuo again - Here she critiques her students' names!

(You're also more than welcome to join my discord channel, where we have a whole section dedicated to discussing names!)

HelloTalk & Tandem are great places to bounce ideas off natives. They've been super friendly and open to picking names based on the meaning of my name, pronunciation of my name, or based on characters used in classic poetry or more hip characters.

If you pick a name on your own, run it by multiple native speakers. You never know if you might've picked a homonym for an insult or a rare idiom with a negative meaning!!!

Also something else to consider: what your friends actually call you. Do my closest friends calls me 朱莉娅？ LOL NO I'm 朱朱 and 朱老师(lolz) And this is super cute, and a super normal nickname to be called in China. Literally there are a million 朱朱's lol

So maybe instead of worrying about "does it sound foreign" altogether, find one character (I'd suggest a surname or the first character of a given name) that you feel you can associate with yourself phonetically/visually/meaning-wise and then go by that in the double-repeat format of Chinese nicknames. I've been much happier since I started using 朱朱 on most platforms~~

Because I can't stop rambling, see some real life examples below:

杰里德 (Jared) youtuber who uses a phonetic name and he's very popular both here and on the Chinese version of youtube, even his Chinese girlfriend calls him 杰里德 and no one seems to care. And because it's distinct and "foreign" you can mention 杰里德 to Chinese person and they're like "the Canadian guy???" lol

Blondie in China (艾米饭) her real name is Amy, seems to have a fun but nonstandard Chinese name but she never uses it in her youtube videos so idk how people react to it!

毛毛虫 (Anastasia Koss) youtuber who complains sometimes that she gets weird comments about her name... which, she did name herself a bug, so that's not normal by Chinese name standards, but I wonder if she had picked something closer to her english name, would she get comments like that?

丹娜 (Danai) youtuber who seems to have gone with a direct phonetic translation, and tbh I think this is really cute!!

小马 (Arieh) youtuber who also has a weird name imo, since it's literally "pony" lol But tbh I don't watch him bc he bothers me so idk how people react to his name

There are also lots of phonetically-translated names for famous people and Chinese people don't seem to care??? Examples: Anne Hathaway (安妮 海瑟薇, ani haisewei), Obama (奥巴马, aobama), Romeo & Juliet (罗密欧/朱丽叶, luomiou/zhuliye)

Also for fun, here are some of my Chinese friends and their English names that I think are pretty good translations because they're partially phonetic~

佳琪 (jiaqi) > Jackie

培妤 (peiyu) > Penny

刘潇璇 (liuxiaoxuan) > Lexi