I have discussed the “translation” of acronym domain names into meaningful Chinese names in previous blog posts such as Your Guide to Chinese Domain Names: From A to Z. In this post, I share the toolbox that I use to find Chinese meanings for acronym domain names, so that you can create meaningful names in the same way that I have.
Here’s the list of the tools that I use.
My Hand-Built Database
I have developed a database of domain names together with their Chinese meanings, and it is the first tool that I use to formulate meaningful acronym domain names. My blog post The Secret Weapon of a Chinese Domain Expert explains how I create and use this database by gathering information on domain names from news sources such as Baidu News. As I continually build my database, it becomes more and more useful.
Because the translations are collected from daily domain news, they are usually common or even popular terms. Thus, the names and translations from the database may work better as brands that will have a higher chance of being accepted by consumers.
I've started publishing part of my database as a list of acronyms with their Chinese translations on my website, and I plan to continue expanding it. You can check that list for the meanings of acronyms that you may be interested in, or ask me for help if you can't translate your acronym using the list.
Pinyin to Chinese Translator on Mac and PC
If I can’t find a translation for the acronym that I am looking for in my database, then I use my computer's ability to translate from Pinyin to Chinese. This is a very powerful tool, but it requires some knowledge of Chinese.
If you understand Chinese, you can type in Pinyin acronyms on your computer, and your computer can translate what you write into Chinese characters. To learn how to do this on a Mac, watch this tutorial. Pay attention to the explanation on shortcuts starting at 6:45. For Windows, watch this tutorial.
Since I work on a Windows 10 PC, I'll use that for my explanation of how I use this to translate acronyms. For example, if I need to find the Chinese translation for XYZ.com, here are the steps I take:
The advantage of this method is that it provides many Chinese translations to choose from. However, some of the translations don't make sense, so you must examine each translation for commercial use.
Usually, my database and my computer’s translation abilities give me the meaningful translations that I am looking for. However, I sometimes use the following methods to translate acronym domain names as well.
Google Translate
Google Translate is a great tool that can give you a Chinese meaning for an acronym, as well as provide the Pinyin translation. However, it provides only one Chinese translation per acronym.
Continuing with XYZ.com as an example, here’s how you can use Google Translate to help find a Chinese meaning for it:
My blog post How to Find Chinese Buyers for Your Domain Names has more details on using Google Translate to vet domain names for the Chinese market.
Baidu Search
Baidu, the dominant search engine in China, is a good place to search for end users for an acronym domain name. You can input acronyms without the domain extension (TLD) into Baidu to see what meanings are currently associated with those letters. Each unique result on Baidu is a potential prospect for your acronym domain name.
For example, if you enter “zbj” in Baidu search, you will see several results. One is a company with the name “猪八戒” located at zbj.com. 猪八戒 also translates to “Zhu Bajie,” which is the name of the character Pigsy from the popular Chinese novel Journey to the West. Because each of these results can indicate potential end users for your acronym domain name, inputting your acronym into Baidu is a good way to discover prospects.
Check Acronyms at .cn and .com.cn
Check if your acronym domain name is already developed on the .cn and/or .com.cn extension. If you find a matching active site, search the site to determine how and why the acronym is associated with the website. If you can find out the meaning of the acronym in the context of the website, and why the company is using the acronym, you may find that they are a potential buyer for your domain name. If the site proves to be very popular, the owner may come knocking at your door for your matching .com domain name.
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As always, I have tried to share what I know about Chinese domain names. This all comes from my personal experience, and I hope that it may help guide you on your domaining journey.
Happy domaining!
Follow me to learn more about Chinese domain names.
Special thanks go to the NamePros editing team for their great support.
Here’s the list of the tools that I use.
My Hand-Built Database
I have developed a database of domain names together with their Chinese meanings, and it is the first tool that I use to formulate meaningful acronym domain names. My blog post The Secret Weapon of a Chinese Domain Expert explains how I create and use this database by gathering information on domain names from news sources such as Baidu News. As I continually build my database, it becomes more and more useful.
Because the translations are collected from daily domain news, they are usually common or even popular terms. Thus, the names and translations from the database may work better as brands that will have a higher chance of being accepted by consumers.
I've started publishing part of my database as a list of acronyms with their Chinese translations on my website, and I plan to continue expanding it. You can check that list for the meanings of acronyms that you may be interested in, or ask me for help if you can't translate your acronym using the list.
Pinyin to Chinese Translator on Mac and PC
If I can’t find a translation for the acronym that I am looking for in my database, then I use my computer's ability to translate from Pinyin to Chinese. This is a very powerful tool, but it requires some knowledge of Chinese.
If you understand Chinese, you can type in Pinyin acronyms on your computer, and your computer can translate what you write into Chinese characters. To learn how to do this on a Mac, watch this tutorial. Pay attention to the explanation on shortcuts starting at 6:45. For Windows, watch this tutorial.
Since I work on a Windows 10 PC, I'll use that for my explanation of how I use this to translate acronyms. For example, if I need to find the Chinese translation for XYZ.com, here are the steps I take:
- Setup the language input on your computer as shown in the tutorial videos.
- Type “xyz” into your word processor, browser, or elsewhere.
- A number of Chinese translations appear, such as “下一站” (next stop) and “小宇宙” (small universe). If you move the mouse to the right edge of the box, ">" will appear. Click it, and you'll see more translations. For "xyz" I counted 46 translations.
- To select a translation from the list, type the number in front of it.
The advantage of this method is that it provides many Chinese translations to choose from. However, some of the translations don't make sense, so you must examine each translation for commercial use.
Usually, my database and my computer’s translation abilities give me the meaningful translations that I am looking for. However, I sometimes use the following methods to translate acronym domain names as well.
Google Translate
Google Translate is a great tool that can give you a Chinese meaning for an acronym, as well as provide the Pinyin translation. However, it provides only one Chinese translation per acronym.
Continuing with XYZ.com as an example, here’s how you can use Google Translate to help find a Chinese meaning for it:
- Visit Google Translate.
- Select “Chinese” as the language for the source box on the left. Select “English” as the language for the target box on the right.
- Type “xyz” in the source input box.
- The Chinese translation (“下一站” for “xyz”) will appear automatically below the source box.
- The English meaning (“Next stop” for “xyz”) will appear in the target box.
- To find the Pinyin translation, change the language for the target box from “English” to “Chinese (Simplified).” The Pinyin translation (“Xià yí zhàn” for “xyz”) will appear below the target box.
My blog post How to Find Chinese Buyers for Your Domain Names has more details on using Google Translate to vet domain names for the Chinese market.
Baidu Search
Baidu, the dominant search engine in China, is a good place to search for end users for an acronym domain name. You can input acronyms without the domain extension (TLD) into Baidu to see what meanings are currently associated with those letters. Each unique result on Baidu is a potential prospect for your acronym domain name.
For example, if you enter “zbj” in Baidu search, you will see several results. One is a company with the name “猪八戒” located at zbj.com. 猪八戒 also translates to “Zhu Bajie,” which is the name of the character Pigsy from the popular Chinese novel Journey to the West. Because each of these results can indicate potential end users for your acronym domain name, inputting your acronym into Baidu is a good way to discover prospects.
Check Acronyms at .cn and .com.cn
Check if your acronym domain name is already developed on the .cn and/or .com.cn extension. If you find a matching active site, search the site to determine how and why the acronym is associated with the website. If you can find out the meaning of the acronym in the context of the website, and why the company is using the acronym, you may find that they are a potential buyer for your domain name. If the site proves to be very popular, the owner may come knocking at your door for your matching .com domain name.
--
As always, I have tried to share what I know about Chinese domain names. This all comes from my personal experience, and I hope that it may help guide you on your domaining journey.
Happy domaining!
Follow me to learn more about Chinese domain names.
Special thanks go to the NamePros editing team for their great support.
