In the past, plenty of foreign companies avoided choosing a Chinese name; they worried it would damage their brand recognition. These days, however, it's crucial to have a proper Chinese name if you want to do business here. Without a Chinese name, it's hard to sell your products online and word-of-mouth will basically be non-existent. After all, how can they talk about your company if they can't say your name? Helping foreign companies choose a great Chinese name is now big business, as marketing and consulting firms are ready and willing to assist – for a reasonable fee, of course.
There are a few different approaches to finding a Chinese name, which we can see clearly in three fast food chains. Some companies choose a Chinese name that simply sounds sort of like the original without any special meaning, such as McDonald's (麦当劳 – mài dāng láo). The name literally means "wheat serve as labor," which doesn't exactly describe fast food. Others go for a literal translation, as we can see in the name of Burger King (汉堡王 – hàn bǎo wáng). Finally, some companies go for a combination with a Chinese name that sounds similar and can also have a special meaning. For example, the famous Subway (赛百味 – sài bǎi wèi) sandwich shops – the Chinese name is a phonetic match, and the characters 百味 can be translated as "100 flavors" – a good connotation for a place where you can design your sandwich any way you like.
For some more examples, here are the Chinese names of 50 famous foreign companies, split into five categories:
TECH
Apple (苹果 – píng guǒ)
Microsoft (微软 – wēi ruǎn)
Google (谷歌 – gǔ gē)
Facebook (脸书 – liǎn shū)
Amazon (亚马逊 – yà mǎ xùn)
Sony (索尼 – suǒ ní)
Nokia (诺基亚 – nuò jī yà)
Canon (佳能 – jiā néng)
Samsung (三星 – sān xīng)
LinkedIn (领英 – lǐng yīng)
CARS
BMW (宝马 – bǎo mǎ)
Audi (奥迪 – ào dí)
Ford (福特 – fú tè)
Toyota (丰田 – fēng tián)
Ferrari (法拉利 – fǎ lā lì)
Mercedes Benz (梅赛德斯奔驰 – méi sài dé sī bēn chí)
Volkswagen (大众 – dà zhòng)
Honda (本田 – běn tián)
Nissan (尼桑 – ní sāng)
Acura (讴歌 – ōu ɡē)
FASHION
Nike (耐克 – nài kè)
Adidas (阿迪达斯 – ā dí dá sī)
Armani (阿玛尼 – ā mǎ ní)
Gucci (古奇 – gǔ qí)
Levi's (李维斯 – li wéi sī)
Rolex (劳力士 – láo lì shì)
Burberry (巴宝莉 – ba bǎo lì)
Chanel (香奈儿 – xiāng nài er)
Ikea (宜家 – yi jiā)
Louis Vuitton (路易威登 – lù yì wēi dēng)
FOOD/DRINK
Coca-Cola (可口可乐 – kě kǒu kě lè)
Pepsi (百事可乐 – bǎi shì kě lè)
McDonald's (麦当劳 – mài dāng láo)
Burger King (汉堡王 – hàn bǎo wáng)
KFC (肯德基 – kěn dé jī)
Pizza Hut (必胜客 – bì shèng kè)
Starbucks (星巴克 – xīng ba kè)
Subway (赛百味 – sài bǎi wèi)
Lay's (乐事 – lè shì)
Budweiser (百威 – bǎi wēi)
FINANCE
Visa (维士 – wéi shì)
Mastercard (万事达 – wàn shì dá)
American Express (美国运通 – měi guó yùn tōng)
HSBC (汇丰银行 – huì fēng yín háng)
Citibank (花旗银行 – huā qí yín háng)
Ernst & Young (安永 – ān yǒng)
KPMG (毕马威 – bì mǎ wēi)
Goldman Sachs (高盛 – gāo shèng)
JP Morgan (JP摩根 – JP mó gēn)
PricewaterhouseCoopers (普华永道 – pǔ huá yǒng dào)
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