It's generally easy to look up words in a foreign language.
You just go to a dictionary (in paper form, or online) and get given the translation.
The problem is that many dictionaries don't include proper nouns. That means you miss out on the translations for things like:
Place names
Brand names
Celebrity names
So how do you find out how to say these things?
Check out my Wikipedia technique below. It allows you to translate names from any major language to and other major language.
However as mentioned, the same technique works with any major language.
Translating proper nouns from English to Chinese with Wikipedia
Step 1: Go to Wikipedia.org and type in the name you want to translate.
When you hit enter, you'll get taken to that thing's English Wikipedia page. Because you're translating proper nouns, it's almost certain that your person / thing will have a Wikipedia page.
Step 2: Scroll down the page slightly. On the left, you'll see a list of languages. These are all the language in which you can read the article. Click the language into which you want your name to be translated.
Step 3: You arrive at the page for the same thing – but in a different language. That means that the text in the title is the translation for your proper noun.
Translating names from Chinese to English using Wikipedia
Translating from your second language into your first language is very similar.
Step 1: Go to the Wikipedia home page and type in the word you want translated into English. Make sure you select from the menu the language you're typing in.
When you hit enter, you'll arrive at the page for that thing, in the language you selected.
Step 2: Scroll down until you see the list of languages on the left. Select the language you want (in this case, English).
Step 3: The title of the page you arrive at will be the English translation. Congratulations!
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