# Does Yau-Yau have a meaning in Chinese? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 19, 2019, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-yau-yau-have-a-meaning-in-chinese/829828 "2019-02-19T14:32:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-yau-yau-have-a-meaning-in-chinese/829828/21 "2019-02-22T04:04:53Z")
We’ll keep going around in circles making uneducated guesses unless the OP can provide the Hanzi for the name. Which likely is Yao as the surname and Yao as the given name. In the example I gave, 姚 瑶, 姚 is the same surname as Yao Ming and according to this page: 瑶 can mean numerous things including jade, precious, mother of pearl. And when popped into Google translate, the first pronuncation (to my ears) of both characters sounds the same. But if you press the speech icon again, it’s slowed down and you can clearly hear the different tone of each character. I’m sure a native speaker will correct me, but I don’t think Chinese parents take the surname into consideration when naming their children. For example, I know someone whose Chinese name is 王美月, Wong Mei Yut (King/Emperor Beautiful Moon), which happens to make sense in English, but her surname could have been anything else, but what’s important for a native speaker is that her given name is Beautiful moon. ---
**Author:** ![HeiLo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c77e96/32.png) [@HeiLo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeiLo)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-yau-yau-have-a-meaning-in-chinese/829828/22 "2019-02-22T21:42:16Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > We’ll keep going around in circles making uneducated guesses unless the OP can provide the Hanzi for the name. Which likely is Yao as the surname and Yao as the given name. Agreed. OP, if you are really interested: I think most people would be happy to show you how their name is written if you ask nicely. We’ll help you translate it. > [@lingyi](#): > > For example, I know someone whose Chinese name is 王美月, Wong Mei Yut Small nitpick: The pinyin for that is wáng měi yuè. You seem to be writing something more like Jyutping, i.e. a romanization for Cantonese. ---
**Author:** ![HeiLo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c77e96/32.png) [@HeiLo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeiLo)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-yau-yau-have-a-meaning-in-chinese/829828/23 "2019-02-22T21:45:42Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > I’m sure a native speaker will correct me, but I don’t think Chinese parents take the surname into consideration when naming their children. Since you brought it up, I went looking and found this interesting article: [How Chinese Parents Pick Baby Names With Character](https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1002204/how-chinese-parents-pick-baby-names-with-character) ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2019, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-yau-yau-have-a-meaning-in-chinese/829828/24 "2019-02-23T04:20:06Z")
> [@HeiLo](#): > > Agreed. OP, if you are really interested: I think most people would be happy to show you how their name is written if you ask nicely. We’ll help you translate it. > Small nitpick: The pinyin for that is wáng měi yuè. You seem to be writing something more like Jyutping, i.e. a romanization for Cantonese. She’s Cantonese, so I wrote in (poorly) romanized Cantonese. 😃 Actually, when I see Chinese names or words, I immediately think in Cantonese (what very little I know), then have to mentally translate it to Mandarin (knowing even less than Cantonese) if appropriate. When I first read “Yao Yao”, I immediately thought of 有有, [I really] have [something] in Cantonese. :smack: Personally, I have difficulty with pinyin or any type of romanized Asian with tone or accent marks as they fail to capture the subtlety of the language, especially regional differences. This is one of my favorite videos of native Koreans struggling to read romanized Hangul: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuQEDKZpKsg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuQEDKZpKsg) . I know there’s a Japanese verision for romanji and I’m sure there’s a Mandarin version for pinyin. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2019, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-yau-yau-have-a-meaning-in-chinese/829828/25 "2019-02-23T04:30:52Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > She’s Cantonese, so I wrote in (poorly) romanized Cantonese. 😃 Actually, when I see Chinese names or words, I immediately think in Cantonese (what very little I know), then have to mentally translate it to Mandarin (knowing even less than Cantonese) if appropriate. When I first read “Yao Yao”, I immediately thought of 有有, [I really] have [something] in Cantonese. :smack: > > Personally, I have difficulty with pinyin or any type of romanized Asian with tone or accent marks as they fail to capture the subtlety of the language, especially regional differences. This is one of my favorite videos of native Koreans struggling to read romanized Hangul: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuQEDKZpKsg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuQEDKZpKsg) . I know there’s a Japanese verision for romanji and I’m sure there’s a Mandarin version for pinyin. Just to be clear. I’m not laughing at the people because they’re struggling to decipher the English writing, but how poorly romanization captures the subtlety of any language, not only Asian languages. Yes, it has it’s purpose, but IMO, shouldn’t be relied on for a true understanding or appreciation of any language. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2019, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-yau-yau-have-a-meaning-in-chinese/829828/26 "2019-02-23T05:05:29Z")
Supposedly [some forms of] Cantonese/Jyut pronunciation are actually pretty conservative when it comes to Middle Chinese tones, consonants, and vowels. Yet I have seen more than one beginners’ textbook of (classical) Chinese stick to pinyin when it comes to explaining how to read the characters. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2019, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-yau-yau-have-a-meaning-in-chinese/829828/27 "2019-02-23T07:31:14Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > Kind of scary what a quick Google search can bring up. I suggest the OP not give too much more personal info so as not to invade the woman’s privacy. > [@lingyi](#): > > We’ll keep going around in circles making uneducated guesses unless the OP can provide the Hanzi for the name. I like your first idea better than the second. Discussin the name in general, Yaoyao is often used as a nickname in Taiwan, according to my Taiwanese friend. When used as a nickname, 摇摇 is common. I simply don’t know enough about Chinese names to make any more guesses. ---
**Author:** ![HeiLo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c77e96/32.png) [@HeiLo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeiLo)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2019, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-yau-yau-have-a-meaning-in-chinese/829828/28 "2019-02-23T12:45:24Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > Personally, I have difficulty with pinyin or any type of romanized Asian with tone or accent marks as they fail to capture the subtlety of the language, especially regional differences. This is one of my favorite videos of native Koreans struggling to read romanized Hangul: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuQEDKZpKsg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuQEDKZpKsg) . I know there’s a Japanese verision for romanji and I’m sure there’s a Mandarin version for pinyin. Oh, that’s interesting! Can you give an example of such differences? ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2019, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-yau-yau-have-a-meaning-in-chinese/829828/29 "2019-02-23T15:35:16Z")
> [@HeiLo](#): > > Oh, that’s interesting! Can you give an example of such differences? Here’s a video where everyone is speaking Mandarin, but there’s a distinct difference and fluidity between Northern and Southern Mandarin. There’s pinyin subtitles, but the tone marks fail to capture the differences in the dialects. BTW, I was able to guess them all correctly (though these are extreme examples of Northern vs Southern dialects). [[URL=“https://www.youtube.com/results?search\_query=guess+chinese+dialects+north+south”]https://www.youtube.com/results?search\_query=guess+chinese+dialects+north+south](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfNbq3s_51o) ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2019, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-yau-yau-have-a-meaning-in-chinese/829828/30 "2019-02-23T16:58:04Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > I like your first idea better than the second. > > Discussin the name in general, Yaoyao is often used as a nickname in Taiwan, according to my Taiwanese friend. When used as a nickname, 摇摇 is common. I simply don’t know enough about Chinese names to make any more guesses. According to the dictionary, 搖 means shake; wave / scull; row / swing, rock, agitate… ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2019, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-yau-yau-have-a-meaning-in-chinese/829828/31 "2019-02-23T17:36:24Z")
Additional Yaos that have been mentioned in this thread: 瑶 = fine, precious jade 遥 = distant / remote / far / long 耀 = bright, dazzling, to shine; illustrious; honor, acclaim cf 曜 = sunlight, bright, illuminate, illustrious 謠 = ballad, rhyme, folk song, rumor 杳 = somber and deep; sundown, darkness, dim, obscure, secluded, mysterious 夭 = young, fresh, beautiful, delicate, tender, flourishing, luxuriant; but also cognate 夭 = _die_ young [NB 夭夭 = smiling, gracious, amiable] ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2019, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-yau-yau-have-a-meaning-in-chinese/829828/32 "2019-02-23T20:12:48Z")
As for the subtleties \*\*lingyi \*\*discussed, there’s such a thing as [tone sandhi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tone_sandhi) that arises when two tones are pronounced adjacent to each other. When the 3rd tone is followed by another 3rd tone, it loses its low dipping contour and keeps only the rising part, making it sound similar to the 2nd tone. E.g. 你好 nǐ hǎo sounds like ní hǎo. The neutral tone comes out higher or lower depending on which tone it follows. These changes aren’t captured by Pinyin. ETA: Sandhi (Sanskrit for ‘putting together’, cognate to _synthesis_) means how a sound changes its usual pronunciation when followed by certain other sounds. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-yau-yau-have-a-meaning-in-chinese/829828.md?page=1)