3 ms·
"former Google Inc. executive Lee Kai-fu" You would think Bloomberg would at least get his name right.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kai-Fu_Lee http://en.wikip
by rajbot 17y ago
"former Google Inc. executive Lee Kai-fu"
You would think Bloomberg would at least get his name right..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kai-Fu_Lee http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kai-Fu_Lee
- xiaoma 17y agoFamily names come first in Chinese, Japanese and a number of other languages. E.g., Chairman Mao was Mao Zedong, not Zedong Mao.
- CamperBob 17y agoThe frustrating thing is that many Asians are starting to reverse their names when working with the rest of the world. If "Kai-Fu Lee" sends me an email, I'll have no idea how to address him ("Hi, Lee", "Hi, Kai-Fu", "Hi, Mr. Lee," and so forth). :-P
- catch23 17y agoIf it helps, chinese often address other chinese using their given name rather than the family name, otherwise it would be pretty annoying to address each other within the family. If it's a formal greeting, use the family name, otherwise use the given name.
- andrew1 17y agoUnless I misunderstand you, isn't that basically the same thing we do in English?
- rajbot 17y agoI understand Asian family names work, but the proper way to address him in English is "Dr. Lee".
- CamperBob 17y agoOr is it "Dr. Kai-Fu"? That's the question I'm asking... how can I tell if my correspondent has already swapped his names in the belief that he's following the Western custom?