Difference Between Chinese Male And Female Names

Boy names will often have the “tree” radical (木) in the characters such as “楠, 杨, 桢.” The “man” (亻) radical is also very common, such as in “伊, 佳，伟.” The "metal" radical (钅) is also common, as in "钯, 钣, 钡."

Other common characters in Chinese boy names:
力 lì, “power.”
雄 xióng, “male.”
宏 hóng, “grand.”
子 zǐ, “son.”
成 chéng, “succeed.”

王力宏, a famous Chinese pop singer, has the both the character “力” for power and “宏” for grand.

Related: 7 Mandopop Songs To Help You Learn Chinese

However, just like in English names, there are some boys that have more feminine characters in their names and vice-versa, especially in more modern households. Many people are gradually straying away from the tradition style of names.

What happens when you come across a gender-ambiguous name? Well, luckily for you, gender pronouns in Chinese all sound exactly the same, so you will never have any confusion of when to use “him” or “her.” (Read more here.)

And there are plenty of gender-neutral honorifics and titles to use, especially in the workplace. Check out the ones below.

“总 zǒng ” (short for “总经理”) refers to “president” or “manager.” A person with the name “王阳” might be referred to as simply, “王总.” This can be used when addressing someone more senior than you are.

“同事 tóng shì” refers to “co-worker.” “王阳” would become “王同事.” Can be used to refer to those at the same position as you, or less senior than you.

“同志 tóng zhì” refers to “comrade.” “王阳” would become “王同志.” This is a more colloquial way to refer to co-workers, but usually not used for those more senior than you. Be careful when using this term, however, as millenials sometimes use this to describe someone that is LGBT.

“老师 lǎo shī” refers to "teacher." “王阳” would become “王老师.” This title isn’t just used with teacher-student relationships, it can also be used to refer to people with a higher education degree.