How sinologists choose their Chinese names

Fatima Daulet teaches Chinese in Kazakhstan. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Fatima Daulet, professor in Chinese language teaching with Al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Kazakhstan.

To be honest, I don't have a Chinese name. Of course, I use Chinese letters that sound like my name. For example, in English my name is spelled as "Fatima". In the beginning I used letters法提瑪(reads "fa ti ma"), because that's exactly how my name sounds.

However, through time, I changed the letter 提 (ti) to a more sounding letter 蒂(di), which means "flower". I have Chinese friends that insist on 法吉瑪 (fa ji ma). 吉(ji)－is 吉祥(jixiang, meaning auspiciousness) in Chinese. Just like most Chinese people, I'm superstitious, and just like my friends I believe that this letter will bring happiness and luck. That's why, 法蒂瑪 (fa di ma) and 法吉瑪 (fa ji ma) are both acceptable for me.