Chinese look at names very seriously. Because names have meanings, we want names that are simple, meaningful, and appropriate. This attitude is best described by Confucius who once said, “If the name is not correct, the words will not ring true (名不正则言不顺)”.
Translation by meaning. Apple is a good example. In China, it is directly translated to the Chinese characters 苹果 (Ping Guo = apple). Its official website is Apple.com but it does not own Pingguo.cn. Another example is Microsoft, which uses the Chinese name 微软 (Wei Ruan = micro soft). Its official website is Microsoft.com but it does not own Weiruan.cn. Again, both examples here use 2-pin, indicating its wide popularity in China.
Read MoreWhat about companies which have not entered China? Then, you can see all sorts of funny translations. For example, Facebook does not have an official Chinese name, but an unofficial, phonetic translation circulating in China is 非死不可 (Fei Si Bu Ke = have to die). This is not something you want your Chinese users to remember...
