[DanielandHayley]

Bit of a random one this, but it just sprang to mind whilst emailing an old school friend...In the UK it is very common for people to have 'nick names' especially (but not exclusively) among male friends, team mates etc..usually simply based on their surname eg John Smith would likely be 'Smithy' to his mates... is this as common here does anybody know? Is Mr Wong, Wongy to his mates on the football field??

[jaykay]

Yes it is common and not limited to their names, can be related to how they look, something they do or have done, etc. No real difference to the UK or elsewhere really.

[MovingIn07]

so smelly mr wong could be pongy wongy then??? ha ha

[krypton]

Nick names are used less for the locals because they already have an "English name" which kinda serves the same purpose (and these name can be quite funny... see another thread on the topic)

[muddykins]

my rugby coach had the nickname "Cheung Bao" [i don't know the exact meaning, i think its "bread roll"], and his real name was Hing Hung, so they do exist in sports teams and such. one of my other coaches had the nickname 'watermelon' in Chinese, i do believe it was because he was rather tubby. XD