We come across various international brand names in our daily lives. They may be very familiar to you, yet if you hear Chinese people talking about them, you might not be able to recognize these brands so easily. This is because the majority of these names are translated from their alphabetical names into the equivalent Chinese characters, so as to appeal more to local Chinese people. If you are not aware of this, it might even be difficult to order a cup of “Cola” in McDonald’s, or maybe worse, you can’t even ask where the McDonald’s is, because McDonald’s is “麦当劳mài dāng láo” instead.
Many brand names are translated based on their pronunciations, for example:
Coca Cola kě kǒu kě lè 可口可乐
McDonald’s mài dāng láo 麦当劳
Starbucks xīng bā kè 星巴克
Some are translated based on its meaning, for example:
Ice tea bīng chá 冰茶
Apple píng guǒ 苹果
Burger King hàn bǎo wáng汉堡王
Some are translated with a combination of the sound and meaning:
Canon jiā néng佳能
BMW bǎo mǎ 宝马
Heineken xǐ lì喜力
Let’s take a look at more examples:
Drinks:
Coca-Cola 可口可乐 kě kǒu kě lè
Pepsi 百事可乐 bǎi shì kě lè
7 up 七喜 qī xǐ
Fanta 芬达 fēn dá
Ice tea 冰爽茶 bīng shuǎng chá
Heineken 喜力 xǐ lì
Fastfood chain stores:
McDonald’s 麦当劳 mài dāng láo
KFC 肯德基 kěn dé jī
Pizza Hut 必胜客 bì shèng kè
Burger King 汉堡王 hàn bǎo wáng
Subway 赛百味 sài bǎi wèi
Starbucks 星巴克 xīng bā kè
Electronics:
Apple 苹果 píng guǒ
Philip 飞利浦 fēi lì pǔ
Bosch 博世 bó shì
Acer 宏碁 hóng jī
Epson 易普生 yì pǔ shēng
Sony 索尼 suǒ ní
Canon 佳能 jiā néng
Nikon 尼康 ní kāng
Nokia 诺基亚 nuò jī yà
Samsung 三星 sān xīng
Blackberry 黑莓 hēi méi
Lenovo 联想 lián xiǎng
Siemens 西门子 xī mén zǐ
Panasonic 松下 sōng xià
Toshiba 东芝 dōng zhī
HP 惠普 huì pǔ
Asus 华硕 huá shuò
Dell 戴尔 dài ěr
Fashion:
Gucci 古驰 gǔ chí
Chanel 香奈儿 xiāng nài ěr
Luis Vuitton 路易威登 lù yì wēi dēng
Hermes 爱马仕 ài mǎ shì
Prada 普拉达 pǔ lā dá
Armani 阿玛尼 ā mǎ ní
Versace 范思哲 fàn sī zhé
Dior 迪奥 dí ào
Givenchy 纪梵希 jì fán xī
Cartier 卡地亚 kǎ dì yà
Patek Philippe 百达翡丽 bǎi dá fěi lì
Rolex 劳力士 láo lì shì
OMEGA 欧米茄 ōu mǐ jiā
Longines 浪琴 làng qín
Cars:
BMW 宝马 bǎo mǎ
Audi 奥迪 ào dí
Benz 奔驰 bēn chí
Porsche 保时捷 bǎo shí jié
Toyota 丰田 fēng tián
Honda 本田 běn tián
Volkswagen 大众 dà zhòng
Buick 别克 bié kè
Ford 福特 fú tè
Volvo 沃尔沃 wò ěr wò
Skoda 斯柯达 sī kē dá
Some Chinese names add a special appeal to the brand. Coca Cola可口可乐kě kǒu kě lè and Pepsi Cola are good examples. “可乐 kě lè” means something “joyful” or “worth laughing”, indicating “Cola” is a joyful or interesting drink. Further, “可口kě kǒu” means something “delicious” or “tasty”, thus “Coca- Cola” is “deliciously joyful”. In the case of Pepsi Cola百事可乐, “百事 bǎi shì” in Chinese means “a hundred things” or “everything”, and “Pepsi”, namely “百事可乐bǎi shì kě lè” in Chinese can be associated as “everything is joyful”. Another examples are “BMW” and “Benz”. BMW, 宝马 bǎo mǎ in Chinese, word by word means “precious/treasured horse”, and Benz奔驰 bēn chí, literally means “running” or “sprinting”. Both names give people a feeling of running fast, thus very suitable for the cars.
What is your favourite brand name translation, and why? Share them with us!