Proper nouns include names of people, places, and organizations, among other things.
Unlike in English, Chinese personal names are given in the following order: The chosen name is followed by the surname, which may be one or two syllables.
陈慧敏 Chén Huìmǐn (Chen Huimin)
Surname: 陈 Chén(Chen)
Chosen name: 慧敏Huìmǐn (Huimin)
黄晓明 Huáng Xiǎomíng (Huang Xiaoming)
Surname: 黄 Huáng (Huang)
Chosen name: 晓明Xiǎomíng(Xiaoming)
王安娜 Wáng Ānnà (Wang Anna)
Surname: 王 Wáng (Wang)
Chosen name: 安娜 Ānnà (Anna)
杨伟 Yáng Wěi (Yang Wei)
Surname: 杨 Yáng (Yang)
Chosen name: 伟Wěi (Wei)
李宁 Lǐ Níng (Li Ning)
Surname: 李 Lǐ (Li)
Chosen name: 宁Níng (Ning)
Relatively few surnames are used in Chinese; these include some of the most popular Chinese family names as well as 陈 Chén, 何 Hé, 李 Lǐ, 王 Wáng, and 许 Xǔ.
In the form of address, title, or status designating nouns are used after the surname:
王经理 Wáng jīnglǐ (Manager Wang)
李小姐 Lǐ xiǎojiě (Miss Li)
陈老师 Chén lǎoshī (Teacher Chen)
高先生 Gāo xiānshēng (Mr. Gao)
李医生 Lǐ yīshēng (Dr. Lee)
张律师 Zhāng lǜshī (Attorney Zhang)
Chinese refers to people by their occupation far more frequently than English does. As a result, it would be proper to refer to people as “陈老师 Chén lǎoshī (Teacher Chen),” “王经理 Wáng jīnglǐ (Manager Wang),” etc.
Furthermore, a status noun such as 县 xiàn’ county,’ 镇 zhèn ‘town,’ 市 shì’ city,’ 地区 dìqū’ district’ or 省 shěng ‘province’ may be used after the names of locations.
For example:
广州市 Guǎngzhōu shì (the City of Guagnzhou)
广东省 Guǎngdōngshěng (Guangdong Province)
电白县 Diànbái xiàn (Dianbai County)
In the names of institutions, the place name is followed by a noun that denotes the institution’s role:
广东省公安厅 Guǎngdōngshěng Gōngāntīng
(Guangdong Provincial Public Security Bureau)
北京师范大学 Běijīng shīfàn dàxué
(Beijing Normal University)
上海公安局 Shànghǎi gōng’ān jú
(Shanghai Public Security Bureau)
广东省人民医院 Guǎngdōng shěng rénmín yīyuàn
(Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital)
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