Tom：I heard that the Chinese people are particular over first names, right?

聽(tīng)說(shuō)中國(guó)人的名字都有講究，是嗎？

Han Meimei：Yeah, most Chinese first names express the parents' hopes for the child. For example, the name "Qiang" for men means strong, and "Li" for women means beautiful. But names change a lot these days.

是啊，很多人的名字都有一定的含義，表示一定的愿望。比如男人的名字用“強(qiáng)”表示堅(jiān)強(qiáng)，女人的名字用“麗”表示美麗。不過(guò)現(xiàn)在的名字變化很大。

Tom：Mei, what does your name mean?

梅，你的這個(gè)“梅”字有什么含義嗎？

Han Meimei：I was born when the plum trees were blossoming, so my father hoped that I would be as beautiful as plum blossoms.

我是梅花盛開(kāi)的時(shí)候生的，爸爸希望我能像梅花那么漂亮。

Tom：I heard that all the children have nicknames, right?

聽(tīng)說(shuō)孩子都有小名，是嗎？

Han Meimei：Yes, most kids have intimate nicknames like "Shi Tou" or "Xiao Hong".

是的，孩子一般都有小名，叫起來(lái)親切一些。比如“石頭”、“小紅”什么的。