I like domain names made up of English words, and this attitude is quite natural. These days you can start a business on the internet and be instantly connected to suppliers, customers, and investors all around the world. So, isn’t it common sense to choose a domain name which is easily remembered by people across different cultures?
While Pinyin domain names are very popular in China, I often see use of English words by Chinese companies. Here, I want to share a few of them with you.
Babytree (宝宝树)
Babytree.com is the largest parenting website in China. More than 50% of of internet users who are mothers of young children regularly visit this site but, I guess, the mothers must have no problem remembering this domain name, which is made up of two commonly used English words. The company also owns Baobaoshu.com, the Pinyin equivalent. Interestingly, Baidu search reveals that Babytree.com is the corporate site — not Baobaoshu.com. Why would a company prefer an English name over its Pinyin name? Food for thought.
People’s Daily (人民网)
People’s Daily is a very established newspaper. Founded in 1948 before even the communist China was born, it is one of the top 10 newspapers in the world. People’s Daily owns both People.cn and People.com.cn but not People.com. Its corporate website was upgraded from Peopledaily.com.cn in 2000. The Pinyin equivalents — Renmin.cn and Renmin.com — seem to belong to someone else.
SpeedX (野兽骑行)
SpeedX is a startup which applies internet and mobile technologies to cycling. SpeedX bicycles help riders train and track their progress in real time. The company was founded in 2014 but within only 2 years has become a force to be reckoned with in the global marketplace for smart bicycles. SpeedX’s corporate site is Speedx.com but the company does not own the matching Pinyin domain name Yeshou.com.
Darling (打令)
Darling manufactures smart products in the mobile, home, and car areas. Their robots are used in railway stations to provide assistance to passengers. Last year they also launched a mobile phone with virtual reality functions. Darling’s corporate site is Darling.cn. Its Pinyin equivalents are either parked (Daling.cn) or already in use by another company (Daling.com).
Here are few more English names I have come across during my daily study of the market: Foodmall.com (全求吃), Thecover.cn (封面传媒), Youthmba.com (少年商学院), Travelzen.com (天地行), Sharkpark.cn (鲨鱼公园), Treebear.cn (树熊网络), Mydaydream.com (白日梦), Careerfrog.com.cn (职业蛙), Missfresh.cn (每日优鲜), Birdpush.com (小鸟推送).
The takeaway in this post is that domain names composed of simple English words are viable in China. The good news is, even now a Chinese startup can use name generation sites such as Leandomainsearch.com to register a decent domain name for $10 and then use it to launch their next billion-dollar global business.
Where do you start? Maybe we need to go back to the time when we first learned English. In case you are curious, the following was the first English sentence I learned at school:
“This is a man. This is a pen. This is a man and a pen. This is a pen and a man.”
Have a nice week!
Join Domains says
This is a thanks …..
Gene says
Thank you for pointing out this very important fact, Kassey.
Steve says
Great examples. I like that they use generic English words and rebrand them for other products and services. Great article Kasey!