What if TLDs are Chinese?
Do certain top level domain names have a Chinese meaning?
We’ve often seen TLDs repurposed. For instance, .ME and .TV – originally the country codes of Montenegro and Tuvalu, respectively – are mainly understood as words. While .SI means Slovenia in Slovenia, Spanish speakers might read it as “yes”. More recently, .PW has been marketed as a shorthand for “professional web”. Such extra interpretations can be either natural or forced. Some arise without prompting; some fail to catch on despite heavy promotion. Either way, they occur.
As Western domainers confronted by a swelling Chinese market look for patterns and explanations, rumors have begun circulating regarding TLDs with surprising Chinese significance. Breathlessly Bob asks Bill if it’s true that the suffix he’s invested in means “sure bet”. Bill tells Bob that’s what he’s heard.
Usually the source of this gossip turns out to be Google Translate. Even for acronyms, that algorithm will frequently output a best-guess translation. Simply instruct Google to read “DDS” as Chinese, and you’ll be told it means “most”.
In fact, most short TLDs can be read as Chinese using this crude crystal ball. Examining every TLD up to 4 letters long, I found 295 (roughly 60%) for which Google yields a Chinese translation. My own observations appear below the table. Judge for yourself.
| TLD | Google English | Google Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dictionary | |||
| .AF | Avatar | 阿凡 | Ā fán dá |
| Avatar (movie) | |||
| .AG | A-share | A股 | |
| .AI | Love | 爱 | ài |
| to love; affection; to be fond of; to like | |||
| .AL | Ali | 阿里 | Ā lǐ |
| Ali (proper name); e.g. Ali Baba | |||
| .AM | Amen | 阿门 | Ā mén |
| amen | |||
| .AN | press | 按 | àn |
| to press; to push; to leave aside; to control; to restrain; to refer to; as stated by; to make a comment | |||
| .BA | The | 把 | bǎ |
| to hold; to contain; to grasp; to take hold of a handle; particle marking the following noun as a direct object | |||
| .BANK | Plate | 板块 | bǎn kuài |
| block; slab; tectonic plate | |||
| .BAR | Man | 把人 | (1) bǎ/ (2) bà + (3) rén |
| (1) to hold; to contain; to grasp; to take hold of; a handle (2) handle (3) man; person; people; |
|||
| .BB | baby | 宝宝 | bǎo bǎo |
| darling; baby | |||
| .BD | Baidu | 百度 | Bǎi dù |
| Baidu.com | |||
| .BE | Hungry | 不饿 | (1) bù + (2) è |
| (1) not; no (2) to be hungry; hungry |
|||
| .BF | section | 部分 | bù fèn |
| part share; section piece | |||
| .BG | but | 不过 | bù guò |
| only; merely; no more than; but; still; anyway (to get back to a previous topic) | |||
| .BH | will not | 不会 | bù huì |
| improbable; unlikelyl will not; not able | |||
| .BI | ratio | 比 | bǐ |
| particle used for comparison (e.g. “-er than”); to compare; to gesture (with hands); ratio | |||
| .BID | Bound to | 必定 | bì dìng |
| be bound to; be sure to | |||
| .BIZ | author | 笔者 | bǐ zhě |
| the author; the writer | |||
| .BJ | Beijing | 北京 | Běi jīng |
| Beijing | |||
| .BL | originally | 本来 | běn lái |
| original; originally; at first; it goes without saying; of course | |||
| .BM | avoid | 避免 | bì miǎn |
| to avert; to prevent; to avoid; to refrain from | |||
| .BN | Can not | 不能 | bù néng |
| cannot; must not; ought to not | |||
| .BO | thin | 薄 | bó |
| (1) meager; slight; weak; ungenerous; frivolous; to despise; to belittle (2) surname Bo |
|||
| .BOM | film | 薄膜 | bó mó |
| membrane; film | |||
| .BOX | Exploit | 剥削 | bō xuē |
| to exploit; exploitation | |||
| .BQ | and | 并且 | bìng qiě |
| and; besides; moreover; furthermore; in addition | |||
| .BR | such as | 比如 | bǐ rú |
| for example; for instance; such as | |||
| .BS | No | 不是 | bù shì |
| (A) no; not (B) fault blame |
|||
| .BT | different | 不同 | bù tóng |
| different; distinct; not the same; not alike | |||
| .BUY | Do not | 不要 | bù yào |
| don’t!; must not | |||
| .BUZZ | Insatiability | 不知足 | (1) bù + (2) zhī zú |
| (1) not; no (2) content with one’s situation |
|||
| .BW | help me | 帮我 | (1) bāng + (2) wǒ |
| (1) to help; to assist; to support; hired (as worker); side (of pail, boat etc); outer layer; group; gang; clique; party; secret society (2) I; me; my |
|||
| .BY | Do not | 不要 | bù yào |
| don’t!; must not | |||
| .BZ | Unknown | 不知 | bù zhī |
| not to know; unaware; not to admit (defeat, hardships, tiredness etc) | |||
| .BZH | Unknown | 不知 | bù zhī |
| not to know; unaware; not to admit (defeat, hardships, tiredness) | |||
| .CA | rub | 擦 | cā |
| to wipe; to erase; rubbing; brush stroke in painting; to clean; to polish | |||
| .CASH | wipe | 擦拭 | cā shì |
| clean; cleanse | |||
| .CC | Cao Cao | 曹操 | Cáo Cāo |
| Cao Cao, a famous statesman and general | |||
| .CD | Chengdu | 成都 | Chéng dū |
| Chengdu city and capital of Sichuan province | |||
| .CF | eat | 吃饭 | chī fàn |
| to eat a meal | |||
| .CG | success | 成功 | chéng gōng |
| success; to succeed | |||
| .CH | eat | 吃 | chī |
| to eat; to have one’s meal; to eradicate; to destroy; to absorb; to exhaust | |||
| .CHAT | plug | 插头 | chā tóu |
| plug | |||
| .CI | this | 此 | cǐ |
| this; these | |||
| .CK | reference | 参考 | cān kǎo |
| consultation; reference; to consult; to refer | |||
| .CL | apart from | 除了 | chú le |
| besides; apart from; in addition to; except | |||
| .CM | clever | 聪明 | cōng ming |
| acute (of sight and hearing); clever; intelligent; smart | |||
| .CN | Ability | 才能 | cái néng |
| talent; ability; capacity | |||
| .CR | adult | 成人 | chéng rén |
| adult | |||
| .CS | at this time | 此时 | cǐ shí |
| now; this moment | |||
| .CU | Crude | 粗 | cū |
| coarse; rough; thick; unfinished; vulgar; rude; crude | |||
| .CW | become | 成为 | chéng wéi |
| to become; to turn into | |||
| .CX | appear | 出现 | chū xiàn |
| to appear; to arise; to emerge; to show up | |||
| .CY | participate | 参与 | cān yù |
| to participate (in sth) | |||
| .CZ | operating | 操作 | cāo zuò |
| to work; to operate; to manipulate | |||
| .DAD | achieve | 达到 | dá dào |
| to reach; to achieve; to attain | |||
| .DAY | regarding | 大约 | dà yuē |
| approximately; regarding | |||
| .DD | in the end | 到底 | dào dǐ |
| finally; in the end; when all is stated and done; following all; to the end; to the last | |||
| .DDS | most | 大多数 | dà duō shù |
| (great) majority | |||
| .DE | of | 的 | de |
| of; structural particle used ahead of a noun, linking it to preceding possessive or descriptive attributive | |||
| .DESI | Fernandez | 德斯 | |
| .DIY | the first | 第一 | dì yī |
| first; number one | |||
| .DJ | everyone | 大家 | dà jiā |
| everyone; influential family; great expert | |||
| .DK | turn on | 打开 | dǎ kāi |
| to open; to show (a ticket); to turn on to switch on | |||
| .DM | Never | 都没 | (1) dōu + (2) mò |
| (1A) all, both; each; even; by now (1B) surname Du (2) drowned; to end; to die; to inundate |
|||
| .DZ | resulting in | 导致 | dǎo zhì |
| to lead to to create to cause to bring regarding | |||
| .EDU | Credits | 额度 | (1) é + (2) dù |
| (1) forehead; horizontal tablet or inscribed board; specified number or amount (2) dù to pass; to spend (time); measure; limit; extent; degree of intensity; degree (angles, temperature etc); kilowatt-hour; classifier for events and occurrences |
|||
| .EG | Jokes | 恶搞 | è gǎo |
| a spoof (web based genre with cult status from 2005) | |||
| .EH | deterioration | 恶化 | è huà |
| to worsen | |||
| .ER | and | 而 | ér |
| and; as well as; and so; but; yet | |||
| .ES | starve | 饿死 | è sǐ |
| starvation | |||
| .ESQ | Russian thing | 俄事情 | (1) é + (2) shì qíng |
| (1) suddenly; very soon; Russian (2) affair; matter; thing; business |
|||
| .ET | Forehead | 额头 | é tóu |
| forehead | |||
| .FAN | All | 凡 | fán |
| ordinary; commonplace; mundane; temporal; of the material world; every; all; whatever; gist; outline; note of Chinese musical scale | |||
| .FANS | all | 凡是 | fán shì |
| every; all | |||
| .FJ | aircraft | 飞机 | fēi jī |
| airplane | |||
| .FK | Madness | 疯狂 | fēng kuáng |
| madness; extreme popularity | |||
| .FM | parents | 父母 | fù mǔ |
| father and mother; parents | |||
| .FO | Buddha | 佛 | Fó |
| Buddha; Buddhism | |||
| .FUN | Women | 妇女 | fù nǚ |
| woman | |||
| .FYI | translation | 翻译 | fān yì |
| to translate; to interpret; translator; interpreter; translation; interpretation | |||
| .GA | Karma | 噶 | gá |
| phonetic ga (used in rendering Tibetan and Mongolian sounds) | |||
| .GAL | curry | 咖喱 | gā lí |
| curry | |||
| .GB | fundamental | 根本 | gēn běn |
| fundamental; basic; simply; absolutely | |||
| .GD | Guangdong | 广东 | Guǎng dōng |
| Guangdong province in southern China | |||
| .GE | Months | 个 | gè |
| individual; this; that | |||
| .GED | Around | 各地 | gè dì |
| in all parts of (a country); various regions | |||
| .GF | effort | 功夫 | gōng fu |
| skill; art; kung fu; labor; effort | |||
| .GG | just | 刚刚 | gāng gang |
| just recently; just a moment ago | |||
| .GH | planning | 规划 | guī huà |
| plan; program | |||
| .GL | Kilometer | 公里 | gōng lǐ |
| kilometer | |||
| .GM | Why | 干嘛 | gàn má |
| what are you doing? whatever for? why on earth? | |||
| .GMBH | Close the door | 关门闭户 | (1) guān mén + (2) bì + (3) hù |
| (1) close down; closed doors (2) to close; stop up; shut; obstruct (3) a household; door; family |
|||
| .GN | Give you | 给你 | (1) gěi+ (2) nǐ |
| (1) to; for; for the benefit of; to give; to allow; to supply; to provide (2) you (informal, as opposed to courteous) |
|||
| .GP | stock | 股票 | gǔ piào |
| share; stock (market) | |||
| .GQ | past | 过去 | guò qu |
| (in the) past; former; previous; to pass by | |||
| .GR | personal | 个人 | gè rén |
| individual; personal; oneself | |||
| .GS | the firm | 公司 | gōng sī |
| firm; corporation; incorporated | |||
| .GT | common | 共同 | gòng tóng |
| common; joint; together; collaborative | |||
| .GU | Therefore | 故 | gù |
| happening; instance; reason; cause; former; old; therefore; hence; to die; dead | |||
| .GW | give me | 给我 | (1) gěi + (2) wǒ |
| (1) to; for; for the benefit of; to give; to allow; to do sth (for sb); (passive particle) (2) I; me; my |
|||
| .GY | on | 关于 | guān yú |
| pertaining to; concerning; regarding; regarding | |||
| .HAIR | Harm | 害人 | hài rén |
| to harm sb; to victimize; pernicious | |||
| .HK | quickly | 很快 | (1) hěn + (2) kuài |
| (1) quite; very (2) rapid; quick; speed; rate; soon; almost; to make haste; clever; sharp (of knives or wits); forthright; plain-spoken; gratified; pleased; pleasant |
|||
| .HT | contract | 合同 | hé tong |
| business contract | |||
| .HU | Hu | 胡 | hú |
| (A) non-Han people, esp. from central Asia (B) beard mustache whiskers (C) surname Hu |
|||
| .IST | i mentioned | i所提 | |
| .JE | Money | 金额 | jīn é |
| sum of money; monetary value | |||
| .JM | Poly US | 聚美 | (1) jù+ (2) měi |
| (1) to congregate; to assemble; to mass; to gather together; to amass; (2) America; beautiful |
|||
| .JP | keyboard | 键盘 | jiàn pán |
| keyboard | |||
| .KE | can | 可 | kě |
| can; may; able to; to approve; to permit; certain(ly); to suit; very | |||
| .KG | Seen | 看过 | (1) kàn + (2) guò |
| (1) to see; to look at; to read; to watch; to consider; to regard as; to view as; to treat as; to judge; to give it a try; to visit; to treat (an illness); to look following; Watch out! (2A) to cross; to pass (time); to celebrate (a holiday); to live; to get along; excessively; too (2B) surname Guo |
|||
| .KH | client | 客户 | kè hù |
| client; client | |||
| .KI | Can i | 可i | |
| .KN | may | 可能 | kě néng |
| might (happen); possible; probable; possibility; maybe; perhaps | |||
| .KP | I am afraid | 恐怕 | kǒng pà |
| fear; to dread; I’m afraid that; perhaps; maybe | |||
| .KR | The guests | 客人 | kè rén |
| visitor; guest; client; client | |||
| .KRD | Tolerance | 宽容度 | (1) kuān róng + (2) dù |
| (1) lenient; tolerant; indulgent; charitable; to forgive (2) to pass; to spend (time); measure; limit; extent; degree of intensity; degree (angles, temperature etc) |
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| .KW | Reading | 看完 | (1) kàn+ (2) wán |
| (1) to see; to look at; to read; to watch; to consider; to regard as; to view as; to judge; to give it a try; to visit; to treat (an illness); to look following; Watch out! (2) to finish; to be over; whole; complete; entire |
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| .KY | can | 可以 | kě yǐ |
| can; may; possible; able to | |||
| .LA | Pull | 拉 | lā |
| to pull; to play (string instruments); to drag | |||
| .LAND | Bother | 懒得 | lǎn dé |
| not wishing to do anything; disinclined | |||
| .LAT | Drab | 邋遢 | lā ta |
| sloppy | |||
| .LB | boss | 老板 | lǎo bǎn |
| boss; business proprietor | |||
| .LC | twice | 两次 | liǎng cì |
| twice | |||
| .LI | Plum | 李 | lǐ |
| (A) plum (B) surname Li |
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| .LINK | Lincoln | 林肯 | Lín kěn |
| Lincoln; Abraham Lincoln | |||
| .LLC | Showing | 流露出 | liú lù chū |
| to display (talent); to exude (pleasure) | |||
| .LR | e.g. | 例如 | lì rú |
| for example; for instance; such as | |||
| .LS | teacher | 老师 | lǎo shī |
| teacher | |||
| .LT | forum | 论坛 | lùn tán |
| forum (for discussion) | |||
| .LU | road | 路 | lù |
| road; path; way | |||
| .LV | green | 绿 | lǜ |
| green | |||
| .LY | use | 利用 | lì yòng |
| exploit; make use of; to utilize | |||
| .MA | horse | 马 | mǎ |
| (A) horse; knight in chess (B) surname Ma (C) abbr. for Malaysia |
|||
| Buy | 买了 | (1) mǎi+ (2) le / (3) liǎo | |
| (1) to buy; to purchase (2) modal particle intensifying preceding clause; (3A) to finish; to achieve; to understand (3B) bright-eyed; clear-sighted; to understand clearly |
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| .MAP | Ass | 马屁 | mǎ pì |
| horse hindquarters; flattery; boot-licking | |||
| .MC | Each | 每次 | měi cì |
| every time | |||
| .MD | face | 面对 | miàn duì |
| to confront; to face | |||
| .ME | What | 么 | me |
| suffix, used to form interrogative | |||
| .MEME | kisses | 么么 | me me |
| kissing sound | |||
| .MEN | They | 们 | men |
| plural marker | |||
| .MF | free | 免费 | miǎn fèi |
| free of charge | |||
| .MG | United States | 美国 | Měi guó |
| United States; USA; US | |||
| .MH | Fine | 美好 | měi hǎo |
| beautiful; fine | |||
| .MIL | Milan | 米兰 | Mǐ lán |
| Milan (Italy) | |||
| .MK | Doorway | 门口 | mén kǒu |
| doorway; gate | |||
| .ML | beautiful | 美丽 | měi lì |
| beautiful | |||
| .MLS | marathon | 马拉松 | mǎ lā sōng |
| marathon (race) | |||
| .MM | mom | 妈妈 | mā ma |
| mama; mommy; mother | |||
| .MN | beauty | 美女 | měi nǚ |
| beautiful woman | |||
| .MO | Mo | 莫 | mò |
| (A) do not; there is none who (B) surname Mo |
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| .MODA | Great | 莫大 | mò dà |
| greatest; most notable | |||
| .MOM | silently | 默默 | mò mò |
| in silence; not speaking | |||
| .MP | Tickets | 门票 | mén piào |
| ticket (for theater, cinema etc) | |||
| .MQ | Right now | 目前 | mù qián |
| at the present time; right now | |||
| .MS | immediately | 马上 | mǎ shàng |
| at once; right away; immediately; lit. on horseback | |||
| .MT | every day | 每天 | měi tiān |
| every day | |||
| .MU | wood | 木 | mù |
| (A) surname Mu (B) tree; wood; coffin; wooden; simple; numb |
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| .MW | Named | 名为 | míng wèi |
| named as | |||
| .MX | obvious | 明显 | míng xiǎn |
| clear; distinct; obvious | |||
| .MY | No | 没有 | méi yǒu |
| hasn’t; doesn’t exist; to not have; to not be | |||
| .MZ | first name | 名字 | míng zi |
| name (of a person or thing) | |||
| .NA | that | 那 | nà |
| that; those; then (in that case) | |||
| .NAME | Then | 那么 | nà me |
| like that; in that way; regarding; in that case | |||
| .NC | nickname | 昵称 | nì chēng |
| nickname; diminutive term of endearment | |||
| .NE | It | 呢 | ne |
| question particle | |||
| .NF | south | 南方 | nán fāng |
| south; the South | |||
| .NG | That one | 那个 | nà ge |
| that one | |||
| .NI | you | 你 | nǐ |
| you (informal, as opposed to courteous) | |||
| .NL | where | 哪里 | nǎ lǐ |
| where?; somewhere; anywhere; wherever | |||
| .NP | Even | 哪怕 | nǎ pà |
| even; even if; even though; no matter how | |||
| .NR | woman | 女人 | nǚ rén |
| woman | |||
| .NRW | Feminine | 女人味 | (1) nǚ rén + (2) wèi |
| (1) woman (2) taste; smell |
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| .NU | angry | 怒 | nù |
| anger; fury; flourishing; vigorous | |||
| .NYC | that time | 那一次 | (1) nà+ (2) yī cì |
| (1) that; those; then (in that case) (2) first; first time; once; (math.) linear |
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| .NZ | you are | 你在 | (1) nǐ + (2) zài |
| (1) you (informal, as opposed to courteous; (2) (located) at; (to be) in; to exist; in the middle of doing sth |
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| .PA | afraid | 怕 | pà |
| (A) to be afraid; to dread; to be unable to endure; perhaps (B) surname Pa |
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| .PF | skin | 皮肤 | pí fū |
| skin | |||
| .PG | apple | 苹果 | píng guǒ |
| apple | |||
| .PH | Coordinate | 配合 | pèi hé |
| matching; compatible with; to correspond; to fit; rapport; cooperate; to become man and wife; to combine parts of machine | |||
| .PID | Leather belt | 皮带 | pí dài |
| strap; leather belt | |||
| .PING | level | 平 | píng |
| (A) flat; level; equal; calm; peaceful (B) surname Ping |
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| .PINK | poor | 贫困 | pín kùn |
| impoverished; poverty | |||
| .PL | comment | 评论 | píng lùn |
| to comment on; to discuss; comment; commentary | |||
| .PM | screen | 屏幕 | píng mù |
| screen (TV, computer or movie) | |||
| .PN | Accompany you | 陪你 | (1) péi+ (2) nǐ |
| (1) to accompany; to keep sb firm (2) you (informal, as opposed to courteous) |
|||
| .PR | Deceive | 骗人 | piàn rén |
| to cheat sb; a scam | |||
| .PT | ordinary | 普通 | pǔ tōng |
| common; ordinary; general average | |||
| .PUB | universal | 普遍 | pǔ biàn |
| universal; general; widespread; common | |||
| .PW | Accompany me | 陪我 | péi wǒ |
| Accompany me | |||
| .PY | friend | 朋友 | péng you |
| friend | |||
| .RE | heat | 热 | rè |
| to warm up; to heat up; hot (of weather); heat; fervent | |||
| .RED | Hot spot | 热点 | rè diǎn |
| hot spot point; of special interest | |||
| .RENT | human body | 人体 | rén tǐ |
| human body | |||
| .RICH | daily | 日常 | rì cháng |
| daily; everyday | |||
| .RS | life | 人生 | rén shēng |
| human life | |||
| .RU | Such as | 如 | rú |
| as; as if; such as | |||
| .RUHR | How to make | 如何让 | (1) rú hé + (2) ràng |
| (1) how; what way; what (2) to yield; to permit; to let sb do sth; to have sb do sth |
|||
| .RUN | Profit | 润 | rùn |
| smooth; moist | |||
| .SA | spread | 撒 | (1) sā / (2) sǎ |
| (1) to let go; to cast; to let loose; to discharge; to give expression to (2) to scatter; to sprinkle; to spill |
|||
| .SALE | Caesar | 撒了 | (1) sā / sǎ + (2) le |
| (1A) to let go; to cast; to let loose; to discharge; to give expression to (1B) to scatter; to sprinkle; to spill (2) completed action marker |
|||
| .SB | casual | 随便 | suí biàn |
| as one wishes; as one pleases; at random; negligent; casual; wanton | |||
| .SC | generate | 生成 | shēng chéng |
| to generate; to produce; generated; produced | |||
| .SD | Shandong | 山东 | Shān dōng |
| Shandong province in northeast China | |||
| .SE | color | 色 | sè |
| color; look; appearance; sex | |||
| .SH | It is | 是 | shì |
| is; are; am; yes; to be | |||
| .SI | four | 四 | sì |
| four 4 | |||
| .SJ | time | 时间 | shí jiān |
| time; period | |||
| .SK | Attend class | 上课 | shàng kè |
| to go to class; to teach a class | |||
| .SL | Forget | 算了 | suàn le |
| let it be; let it pass; forget regarding it | |||
| .SM | what | 什么 | shén me |
| what?; who?; something; anything | |||
| .SPA | For fear that | 生怕 | shēng pà |
| to fear; afraid; to avoid | |||
| .SR | although | 虽然 | suī rán |
| although; even though; even if | |||
| .SRL | intake | 摄入量 | shè rù liàng |
| intake (quantity) | |||
| .SS | at any time | 随时 | suí shí |
| at any time | |||
| .ST | body | 身体 | shēn tǐ |
| (human) body; health | |||
| .SU | Su | 苏 | sū |
| (A) to revive (B) surname Su (C) abbr. for Soviet Union, Jiangsu province, or Suzhou city |
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| .SX | First of all | 首先 | shǒu xiān |
| first (of all); in the first place | |||
| .SY | and so | 所以 | suǒ yǐ |
| therefore; as a result; so | |||
| .SZ | even | 甚至 | shèn zhì |
| even; so much so that | |||
| .TAX | Exile | 他乡 | yì guó tā xiāng |
| foreign lands; living as expatriate | |||
| .TC | Quit | 跳槽 | tiào cáo |
| to change jobs; job-hopping | |||
| .TD | his | 他的 | (1) tā + (2) de / (3) dí / (4) dì |
| (1) he or him (used for either sex when the sex is unknown or unimportant); other; another (2) of; structural particle: used ahead of a noun, linking it to preceding possessive or descriptive attributive (3) really and truly (4) aim; clear |
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| .TECH | specialty | 特产 | tè chǎn |
| special local product; regional specialty | |||
| .TF | typhoon | 台风 | tái fēng |
| hurricane; typhoon | |||
| .TG | Spread | 推广 | tuī guǎng |
| to extend; to spread; to popularize; promotion (of a product etc) | |||
| .TH | Days | 天后 | Tiān hòu |
| Tin Hau, Empress of Heaven, another name for the goddess Matsu | |||
| .TJ | recommend | 推荐 | tuī jiàn |
| to recommend; recommendation | |||
| .TK | pain | 痛苦 | tòng kǔ |
| pain; suffering; painful | |||
| .TL | railway | 铁路 | tiě lù |
| railroad; railway | |||
| .TM | they | 他们 | tā men |
| they | |||
| .TN | childhood | 童年 | tóng nián |
| childhood | |||
| .TOUR | Put in | 投入 | tóu rù |
| to throw into; to put into; participate in; to invest in; engrossed | |||
| .TP | vote | 投票 | tóu piào |
| to vote; vote | |||
| .TR | suddenly | 突然 | tū rán |
| sudden; abrupt; unexpected | |||
| .TT | day by day | 天天 | tiān tiān |
| every day | |||
| .TW | Taiwan | 台湾 | Tái wān |
| Taiwan | |||
| .TZ | Notice | 通知 | tōng zhī |
| to notify; to inform; notice; notification | |||
| .WANG | king | 王 | (1) wàng / (2) wáng |
| (1) surname Wang; to rule (2) king; best; strongest; great |
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| .WF | Unable | 无法 | wú fǎ |
| unable; incapable | |||
| .WOW | I ask | 我问 | (1) wǒ + (2) wèn |
| (1) I; me; my (2) to ask |
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| .WS | I am | 我是 | (1) wǒ + (2) shì |
| (1) I; me; my (2) is; are; am; yes; to be |
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| .XXX | Hee hee hee | 嘻嘻嘻 | xī xī xī |
| Hee hee hee | |||
| .XYZ | Next | 下一站 | xià yī zhàn |
| the next stop (of a bus etc) | |||
| .YE | and also | 也 | yě |
| (A) also; too; final particle implying affirmation (B) surname Ye |
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| .YOU | Have | 有 | yǒu |
| to have; there is; there are; to exist; to be | |||
| .YT | Cherry | 樱桃 | yīng táo |
| cherry | |||
| .ZA | How | 咋 | zǎ |
| dialect: how?; what?; why? | |||
| .ZM | how | 怎么 | zěn me |
| how?; what?; why? |
True? Some of it. To some extent. Not speaking Chinese, I won’t presume to say what means what. But I will say that I’m leery of automatic translation; and you ought to be skeptical of the information gathered above. We must be smarter than our tools. Google Translate is no substitute for a dictionary. So I’ve gone a bit further in compiling:
- Chinese output from Google (not just English);
- Dictionary entry for that Chinese;
- Pinyin version of that Chinese.
This way, you can assess how the Chinese Pinyin compares to the TLD visually and as pronounced. I’d divide cases into 3 groups:
- TLD and Pinyin coincide exactly: .ME = me; .MODA = mò dà; .PING = píng
- TLD is read as an acronym: .PG = píng guǒ; .NF = nán fān
- TLD is a truncated version of the Pinyin: .TECH = tè chǎn; .TOUR = tóu rù
Keep in mind that acronyms rarely stand for just 1 thing. What meaning they do have can be classified in 3 ways:
- Generally recognized: BBC = British Broadcasting
- Niche audience: BBC = Baptist Bible College / Bilharzial Bladder Cancer (both true)
- Fanciful: BBC = Bitter Bald Clowns
Which is which? You figure it out! At best, this table is a starting point for your own due diligence. Chinese speakers are not in short supply. Talk to one ahead of you spend a fortune.
If these results are to be believed, then it turns out .PR means to “deceive”; .FUN means “women”; .MEME means “kisses”; .RUN means “profit”; .FYI means “translation”; .MAP means “sycophantic ass”; and .XXX means “hee hee hee!” For entertainment value alone, let them all be legit!
Then again, does .DESI really mean Ferndandez? And Hernandez? And Mercedes? Maybe as the final part of the transliterated sound – “dez”. That’s the reason why Google states .AF means “Avatar”, .SALE means “Caesar”, and .MLS means “marathon”; the Pinyin sounds similar.
Another pitfall to watch out for is shown by .BOM (“film”) and .AN (“press”). Context is everything. “Film” in the sense of “membrane”, the skin on stagnant split pea soup – not Hollywood. “Press” in the sense of pushing, not publishing or journalism. Google even states .BE = “hungry”, although the dictionary suggests the opposite: “not hungry”.
Also, watch out for cases like .AG and .IST where Google’s Chinese output is really a mixture of alphabets. Be especially careful when a string of Chinese characters is not found as a unit within the dictionary but only as separate entries. These I’ve denoted with a “+” symbol.
Disclaimers aside, some of these purported meanings (if accurate and widely recognized) seem promising. That includes abbreviations for provinces and cities within China as well as Chinese surnames. Furthermore, we have TLDs that theoretically might mean “ability”, “aircraft”, “baby”, “Baidu”, “beautiful”, “boss”, “Buddha”, “client”, “daily”, “doorway”, “eat”, “expat”, “first”, “forum”, “free”, “friend”, “give me”, “great”, “green”, “guests”, “help me”, “hot spot”, “body”, “life”, “love”, “man”, “mom”, “money”, “nickname”, “parents”, “personal”, “planning”, “profit”, “railway”, “reading”, “recommendation”, “screen”, “south”, “success”, “teacher”, “tickets”, “time”, “translation”, “United States”, “universal”, “vote”, “where”. Not 1 but 3 TLDs could mean “feminine”, “woman”, or “women”. Yes, Google even tells me that I’m the .BIZ = “author” of this article.
Does this reveal huge opportunities for domain investors? Possibly not. Consider this domainer trivia. Anything beyond that will be icing on the cake.
