A bilingual brand works when the Chinese name and the English name are chosen together, carry the same weight on the page, and each makes sense to the people who read it. Many of my clients in Toronto run under two names, and the pairs that work best get those three things right.
Three ways to pair the names
Same meaning. The two names say the same thing. 懒猫咖啡 and Lazy Cat Cafe. 恒美 and Ever Beauty, where 恒 means lasting and 美 means beauty. This is the easiest pair to remember, because customers in both languages picture the same thing. It fails when the meaning doesn’t travel: a lucky number, a pun or a classical phrase can fall flat, or sound odd, in the other language.
Same sound. One name carries the other’s sound. 磨沟沿 keeps its Chinese sound in English as Mo Gou Yan. 班米旺 picks characters that echo the Vietnamese bánh mì, and its 旺 becomes Wang in English. You get one name in both languages. The cost is that one group hears the sound without the meaning, so the logo, the photos and the first line of copy have to do more of the work.
Two names. Each name is chosen on its own, linked by an idea rather than by translation. My own studio is 每日优创 in Chinese and Day of Design in English. 每日 means “every day”, and the day is the link. Two names give you the best name in each language. They also take the most work to hold together, and that is the mark’s job.
There is a playful version too. 圆滚滚猫咖 means something like “the round, chubby cat café”, and its English name is Purrfect Pet Cafe. Different words, the same feeling, and a joke for each audience.
Decide which name leads where
Customers find you in different places in each language. Decide which name leads in each place, write it down, and keep to it.
- Google Maps, Google search and street signs are where most English-speaking customers find you. Lead with English, or give both names equal weight.
- WeChat, Xiaohongshu (小红书) and Chinese-language media are where Chinese-speaking customers look. Lead with Chinese.
- Your website can lead with whichever language most of your customers use, with the other one click away.
If you plan to open in Quebec, check the French-language rules before you print anything: outdoor signs there have to give French clear predominance.
Set both so neither looks added later
- Match the weight, not the point size. Chinese characters look bigger and darker than Latin letters at the same size. Set them by eye until the two feel equal.
- Pair typefaces by structure. A sans with a sans, a serif with a Song or Ming style. On my own site I pair Figtree with Noto Sans SC.
- Never fake it. Don’t stretch characters, don’t let software make a bold the typeface doesn’t have, and don’t fill missing characters from a different Chinese font.
- Use each language’s punctuation. Full-width marks in Chinese (，。「」), proper quotes and apostrophes in English.
- Never break a name across two lines. 每日 on one line and 优创 on the next reads as two words.
Check before you commit
- Say both names out loud, in Mandarin and in Cantonese. Many customers in the GTA speak Cantonese, and a name can sound very different, or unlucky, in it.
- Search both names on Google Maps, Xiaohongshu and WeChat to see who already uses them nearby.
- Search the Canadian Trademarks Database before you print anything.
- Check the domains and the social handles for both.
Two names are more work than one. Done well, they let you speak to two groups of customers without ever looking like a translation. If you’re building the rest of the brand at the same time, start with what a small business actually needs from a brand.