Your mark in Chinese - 您的中文商标

The rapidly growing Chinese market offers increasing business opportunities. Many companies are therefore expanding their field of activity to include Chinese-speaking countries, including China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Selling or being present in a Chinese-speaking country includes protecting your own brand, preferably in Chinese characters. In China, for example, you can register your trademark in both Latin letters and Chinese characters.

The main advantages of a registered trademark in Chinese are the very high recognition value for your Chinese-speaking customers and the higher level of protection for your trademark. In addition, a translation of your brand – and also your company name – ensures correct understanding.

The reason for this is that trademarks or company names which are protected exclusively in Latin letters harbor high risks that can arise from incorrect pronunciation or may even have a negative meaning in Chinese.

Translation strategies
There are basically two approaches to translating brands and company names.

The translator can translate a mark from a purely phonetic point of view. Chinese characters would be chosen that come closest to the pronunciation of the mark in the original language.

In the case of brands that have a meaning – i.e. convey a message – you can alternatively proceed with the aim of a meaningful translation.
A combination of both options represents a challenge on the one hand, but at the same time means an unmistakable translation that is based on the original pronunciation and conveys a positive sales message.

A resourceful example of this is the Chinese translation of "BMW", also known colloquially as "beamer" in English, namely 宝马, pronounce "Bao Ma". On the one hand, the Chinese pronunciation is phonetically reminiscent of "BMW" or "Beamer", on the other hand, a message is conveyed that is very sales-promoting for a car brand, because 宝马 literally means "valuable horse".

A comparable solution has been found for the "Benz" brand. In Chinese, "Benz" is translated as 奔驰 - "Ben Chi", conveying the meaning of "gallop" or "run fast". Certainly a successful translation.

Another example is the Chinese version of the brand Coca-Cola: 可口可乐. The pronunciation "Ke Kou Ke Le" is clearly reminiscent of the original sound of the mark in English. At the same time, 可口 has the meaning of "tasty, delicious" while 可乐 means "pleasant".

Your brand in Chinese
It is clear from these examples that the translation of your brand or company name needs to be well thought out and carried out by professionals.
We are always at your side to find a suitable translation of your trademark into Chinese.