The first step is finding a compatible surname. You might pick one that sounds like your English last name. Or you can pick based on the meaning of the character.
You can investigate the most common family names (surnames) and their meanings: here
Here's a very good tool to help you explore a given name that suits you: here
And another: here
This tool also provides several options: here
Here are some examples of the classic phonetic way (transliteration) for a foreigner to convert their name to Chinese: here
Lastly, I'd like to share a nice blog post by ChinesePod superstar Jenny Zhu on the nature of Chinese names: here
Important Festival Vocabulary:
zhōng 中 center, middle
qiū 秋 autumn, fall
jié 节 festival
zhōng qiū jié 中秋节 mid autumn festival
kuài lè 快乐 happy, joyous
zhōng qiū kuài lè 中秋快乐 happy mid autumn festival
yuè bǐng 月饼 moon cake
shǎng yuè 赏月 to admire the moon
Writing characters in the correct order is essential for the character to look correct. Two basic rules are followed: Stroke Order 1. Top before bottom 2. Left before right These rules conflict whenever one stroke is to the bottom and left of another. Several additional rules resolve many of these conflicts. 3. Left vertical stroke (usually) before top horizontal stroke 4. Bottom horizontal stroke last 5. Center stroke before wings 6. Horizontal strokes before intersecting vertical strokes 7. Left-falling strokes before right-falling srokes A final rule can contradict the others: 8. Minor strokes (often) last Despite these conflicts between rules most students quickly acquire a natural feel for the proper stroke order.
Component Order Most Chinese characters are combinations of simpler, component characters. Usually the two parts are written at top and bottom
or left and right
so that the main two stroke order rules readily apply. Occasionally these rules also conflict with respect to components. When one component is at the bottom-left, and the other at the top-right, the top-right component is sometimes written first. When there are several components, top components are written first. These rules usually imply each component is written in its entirety before another component is written. Exceptions may arise when one component divides another,
encompasses another,
or the individual components are no longer discernible in modern writing. (source: www.zhongwen.com) Remember: most online dictionaries offer stroke order animations, so check there when you're not sure how to write a character.
