域名|Chinese Perspective

[Kassey Lee]

I believe only short and easy-to-remember domain names are sustainable, regardless of where in the world you live and which cultural background you come from.

Now that the Chinese domain market has become a hot topic, I myself want to understand this trend too. Is there any real meaning behind each domain name sold in China? Here, I'd like to share with you what I've found as I read the Chinese news everyday.

GZX.com
GZX can stand for 更自信 (even more self-confident) which can be used in many fields such as education, self-help, and even consumer products to raise your self image.

XLY.com
XLY can stand for 夏令营 (summer camp) or 新领域 (new field) which can be used in recreation and high-tech products.

New: Follow my blog posts on NamePros for updates.

 

[Kassey Lee]

Guys, I don't fully get it with Chinese IDNs.

For example, a Chinese IDN like 移动 (mobile), how do people in China type this into their browser address bar. Do they have a special IDN keyboard for this or what? Someone pls enlighten me. Thanks

This 2-minute tutorial on Pinyin input may help.

 

[Dave Teller]

I don't know if this has anything to do with the Chinese Domain name Bonanza but...the internet has run out of 3L .US names. In April i remember seeing at least 100 on the expired domain name list. 3L .CO's are gone, and I saw only three 3L .ME. Interesting...

 

[Kassey Lee]

Hi Dave, welcome to the forum. It's a crazy market.

 

[Kassey Lee]

8979.com was sold at BIN 398k RMB on eName. 8979 follows the ABCB number pattern, containing 8 but no 4. The name can be split into two units (89 and 79) to make it easier to remember. It can be used for video, game streaming, or betting sites. Since the beginning of this year, 4N domain names have rocketed in prices. In particular, those containing 8 (which rhymes with the much favored character发) can sell more easily and command higher prices.

Chinese source

 

[Goncalo]

This thread is very interesting.
Should be renamed to "the roseta stone of domain investors in china"

I've been looking at the PinYin table and would like to know what do you call the characters in the first column, and why are they separated in those groups:

First group: b, p, m, f
Second group: d, t, n, l
Third group: g, k, h
Fourth group: z, c, s
Fifth group: zh, ch, sh, r
Sixth group: j, q, x

By looking at the combinations available all syllable start with these letters.

And all domains you mentioned are formed by the aggregation of these initial letters, right?

 

[sOliver]

Ok, seriously I am considering learning Chinese now. The domain market in China will grow a lot faster than in the US I'm pretty sure of that. US, Japan, EU will go into ultra recession mode - China will come out on top. When that happens I want to have some money invested there. What kind of products are popular in China that could also be a good investment (domain-wise?)

 

[Calvenor]

GOU is a much sought after name because it is associated with the Chinese character 购 (buy). Early this year a baby ecommerce operator bought GOU.com for 10m RMB and on Nov 14 GOU.net was sold for close to 1m RMB. Buyer plans to use it for an ecommerce site.

Chinese source

That is interesting. Does that make Wgou translate to "online shopping" then?

 

[Ngozika Nwiro]

@ChinaMobi what do you think of these domains: yinyw.com and 14-15.com, any hope in Chinese domain market? Please explain the meanings if any. Thanks ahead

 

[Kassey Lee]

Investor Duan XU recently paid 7m RMB to purchase a package of 15 LLL.com, averaging 470k per domain name. Some of the names are:

BJW.COM (北京网, Beijing network)
ZQC.COM (足球场, soccer field)
QPM.COM (全屏幕, full screen)
QCH.COM (汽车汇, car exchange)

Chinese source

It looks like portfolio buying and selling is becoming mainstream in China. Will it spread to the west?

 

[DonDraper]

Investor Duan XU recently paid 7m RMB to purchase a package of 15 LLL.com, averaging 470k per domain name. Some of the names are:

BJW.COM (北京网, Beijing network)
ZQC.COM (足球场, soccer field)
QPM.COM (全屏幕, full screen)
QCH.COM (汽车汇, car exchange)

Maybe He wants also my BJWTV.com :P

 

[Domaingel]

This 2-minute tutorial on Pinyin input may help.

So what's the value of Chinese IDNs? Is there a market for these? Or will English letters always be priority for most to use?

 

[Kassey Lee]

@Goncalo

Let's look at how a Chinese buyer ends up liking BJW.COM.

Example: 北京网(Beijing web) is obviously a good name.

When translated to Pinyin:
北->Bei 京->Jing 网->Wang
So, you can buy BeiJingWang.com.

Or, better (as it is easier to remember)
BJW.COM (just take the initial of each of the 3 Pinyin words)

That explains why 3L are more popular than their fully spelled-out words.

 

[Kassey Lee]

Ok, seriously I am considering learning Chinese now. The domain market in China will grow a lot faster than in the US I'm pretty sure of that. US, Japan, EU will go into ultra recession mode - China will come out on top. When that happens I want to have some money invested there. What kind of products are popular in China that could also be a good investment (domain-wise?)

India is not far behind.

 

[Kassey Lee]

That is interesting. Does that make Wgou translate to "online shopping" then?

I don't know.

 

[Kassey Lee]

@ChinaMobi what do you think of these domains: yinyw.com and 14-15.com, any hope in Chinese domain market? Please explain the meanings if any. Thanks ahead

The market is crazy, and so anything is possible. I have no idea what will be next.

 

[Kassey Lee]

Maybe He wants also my BJWTV.com :P

Maybe you want to contact him.

 

[Goncalo]

@ChinaMobi

Thanks for your help.

What I'm triyng to say is that if these names are all acronyms, they can only be using these initial characters - including ZH, SH and CH.

I've noticed all 5L.com starting with SH and ZH are taken, but there are a lot available starting with CH.

Is it possible that CH***.com domains can count as somekind of four letter acronyms?

Surely someone had this in mind since there are no SH***.com and ZH***.com available.

My question now is: are sound started with CH less valued than those started with ZH and SH?

Thanks

Here you can find the initials list ordered by the times they start a PinYin sylable:
f 9
j 14
q 14
x 14
r 15
b 16
c 16
s 16
p 17
z 17
m 19
t 19
g 19
k 19
h 19
ch 19
sh 19
zh 20
d 22
n 24
l 25

The rationale is that you are more likely to use the letter L than the letter F in an acronym.
Notice this is the famed list that excludes the "bad" letters: A E I O U and V

sounds starting with ZH:
zha/zhe/zhi/zhai/zhei/zhao/zhou/zhan/zhen/zhang/zheng/zhong/zhu/zhua/zhuo/zhuai/zhui/zhuan/zhun/zhuang

sounds starting with CH:
cha/che/chi/chai/chao/chou/chan/chen/chang/cheng/chong/chu/chua/chuo/chuai/chui/chuan/chun/chuang

sounds starting with SH:
sha/she/shi/shai/shei/shao/shou/shan/shen/shang/sheng/shu/shua/shuo/shuai/shui/shuan/shun/shuang

 

[Kassey Lee]

So what's the value of Chinese IDNs? Is there a market for these? Or will English letters always be priority for most to use?

More and more Chinese IDN extensions such as .中国 (China) and .公司(company) are being launched, so there may be a market. It's still early to see the direction.

 

[Lionel Cohen]

@ChinaMobi

Thanks for your help.

What I'm triyng to say is that if these names are all acronyms, they can only be using these initial characters - including ZH, SH and CH.

I've noticed all 5L.com starting with SH and ZH are taken, but there are a lot available starting with CH.

Is it possible that CH***.com domains can count as somekind of four letter acronyms?

Surely someone had this in mind since there are no SH***.com and ZH***.com available.

My question now is: are sound started with CH less valued than those started with ZH and SH?

Thanks

Here you can find the initials list ordered by the times they start a PinYin sylable:
f 9
j 14
q 14
x 14
r 15
b 16
c 16
s 16
p 17
z 17
m 19
t 19
g 19
k 19
h 19
ch 19
sh 19
zh 20
d 22
n 24
l 25

The rationale is that you are more likely to use the letter L than the letter F in an acronym.
Notice this is the famed list that excludes the "bad" letters: A E I O U and V

sounds starting with ZH:
zha/zhe/zhi/zhai/zhei/zhao/zhou/zhan/zhen/zhang/zheng/zhong/zhu/zhua/zhuo/zhuai/zhui/zhuan/zhun/zhuang

sounds starting with CH:
cha/che/chi/chai/chao/chou/chan/chen/chang/cheng/chong/chu/chua/chuo/chuai/chui/chuan/chun/chuang

sounds starting with SH:
sha/she/shi/shai/shei/shao/shou/shan/shen/shang/sheng/shu/shua/shuo/shuai/shui/shuan/shun/shuang

For the simple reason that they refer to city codes. You have 31 geographic divisions in China:
AH BJ CQ FJ GS GD GX GZ HA HB HL HE HU HN JS JX JL LN NM NX QH SA SD SH SX SC TJ XJ ZJ

 

[RU]

.company?

 

[Kassey Lee]

4L.com are top runners. Just look at the Nov 17 auction result on 4.cn. Among the 30 domain names listed, every domain name sold for over 10k RMB is 4L.

zqyk.com ¥17,800
qkrg.com ¥17,690
ctys.com ¥18,207
bpzk.com ¥17,890
sszq.com ¥18,000
gkyh.com ¥18,200
bkxn.com ¥16,800

Chinese source

 

[krx]

Apparently, It is not accurate that Google Translate for Chinese Pinyin to English definition.
Maybe you should download a Chinese input software on your phone.

Could you elaborate on that a bit? What is a Chinese input software and how would it help? Thanks.

 

[Kassey Lee]

8677.com was sold for close to 1m RMB. 8 is associated with 发(make a fortune) and 6 with 顺(smotth). 77 may mean 去去(go go) or 嘻嘻(laugh).

Chinese source

 

[Andy Dexter]

Could you elaborate on that a bit? What is a Chinese input software and how would it help? Thanks.

You can download the Sougou and Baidu input apps. Then you can type the Chinese characters.
For example, when I type PQ, there will be many Chinese characters such as 聘请, 脾气, 抛弃..
Then I copy the characters to Google to translate. I find the 聘请 means hire, 脾气 means temper,
抛弃 means abandon. By this way, I have known what PQ means in Chinese.

 

[Konga]

@ChinaMobi
Can you please tell me if LUV abb same in Chinese as it in English?