Someone in the comment of The Dog and Tiger’s Evil Fight in China asked what is Microsoft called in China? Here you are, Microsoft is a little bit tender. Smart translation, isn’t it? Here’s how the name is converted to a great Chinese brand. Cutting the name “Microsoft” to two parts, “Micro” is translated to “Wei” which means “a little bit”, and “soft” to “Rien” meaning “tender”, that makes Microsoft a little bit tender in China. Kind of funny.
Many global tech companies are nicely branded in China with smart names translated/converted. The general practice is to translate company name based on the sounding to Chinese pronunciation and then pick up the Chinese words which give a kind of meaning. Take a look:
Microsoft -> a little bit tender
Oracle -> divine’s word
Cisco Systems -> think science
HP -> benefiting the public
Sun Microsystems -> raising sun
IBM -> just IBM, no translation
Apple Computers -> still apple, the same fruit
Interesting.
Some car brands got great Chinese name by translation:
Mercedes-Benz — run fast
BMW — treasure horse
HUMMER — wild horse
Some of financial firms’ names had been translated to Chinese with good meanings:
Wells Fargo Bank — rich country bank
Fidelity Investments — reach wealth
Charles Schwab — good trust
Citibank — flower flag bank, don’t know what this translation mean.
Chase Manhattan Bank — big common bank, no idea how this was translated.