Chinese family name for a foreigner
quite understandable that while studying Chinese one will surely have to write his/her first name with Chinese characters or to pick up a Chinese first name instead.

question is, when does a foreigner need to use his/her last name (family name) written with Chinese characters? when working with business partners from China from abroad? or only when studying or working in China?

thank you!

Question

Chinese family name for a foreigner
quite understandable that while studying Chinese one will surely have to write his/her first name with Chinese characters or to pick up a Chinese first name instead.

question is, when does a foreigner need to use his/her last name (family name) written with Chinese characters? when working with business partners from China from abroad? or only when studying or working in China?

thank you!

Answer

可以叫全名也可以只叫名

Answer

一个外国人的姓氏，只要是出现在中文语境里，就理所应当用中文书写。这里没有任何疑问。

问题在于，如何正确翻译自己的姓氏。

以你们斯拉夫人为例，-tin对应的是‘京’，-kin对应的是‘金’，不可混用。为什么？因为现代汉语里没有发音为kin的汉字，而‘金’在中古汉语里的发音类似于kin。现在一些媒体把普京翻译成普金，这就是不懂得这里的讲究，是错误的。

如果想知道自己姓氏的正确汉译，可以参考《俄语姓名译名手册》。

Answer

When we introduce ourselft to others, we first tell our family name, and then the full name.  The family name is easy to remember, such as Mr.zhang.    And if two people meet first time, it is normal to call the family. Once r they get closed, they would call the full name.   this is my personal opinion, hope it will help you.  Have a nice day!