This story is about the Chinese surname Li.
Mandarin
我是李明明,你是谁?
李明明:嗨,你好!我是李明明,你是谁?
Maria:你好呀,我是Maria,你也可以叫我玛丽亚。原来你也姓李,我遇见好几个中国人都姓李。
李明明:这是因为李姓是中国前三大姓,目前总共有接近1000万人姓李。
Maria:原来是这样,怪不得我认识这么多姓李的人呢。
李明明:你呢,你姓什么?
Maria:我姓Lockhart。所以我的全名是Maria Lockhart。我的姓不那么常见,但是我的名字特别常见。
李明明:好有意思,在中国,姓和名是跟你们反着说的。而且,在中国,大家都喜欢起独特的名字,人们好像都不太想跟其他人重名。
Maria:我也观察到了这一点。
Multiple Choice Questions
English translation
I am Li Mingming, who are you?
Li Mingming: Hi, hello! I’m Li Mingming. Who are you?
Maria: Hi! I’m Maria. You can also call me Maria. It turns out your surname is Li too. I’ve met several Chinese people with the surname Li.
Li Mingming: That’s because Li is one of the top three surnames in China, with nearly 10 million people having the surname Li.
Maria: Oh, that’s why I know so many people with the surname Li.
Li Mingming: What about you, what’s your surname?
Maria: My surname is Lockhart. So my full name is Maria Lockhart. My surname is not very common, but my first name is quite common.
Li Mingming: That’s interesting. In China, surnames and given names are said in reverse order compared to yours. Also, in China, people like to have unique names, and it seems that no one wants to have the same name as others.
Maria: I’ve noticed that too.