Horny Queen, Sad Eddie: Chinese Nicknames for 'GoT' Characters
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With the last-ever episodes of the ultra-popular HBO series Game of Thrones
almost upon us (sob), and popular bars around town packing out every
week with screening parties, it's hard to avoid talk of the gory George
R.R Martin fantasy epic. And while death-by-dragon, incest, and a casual
beheading or two is fun to watch, the show can also serve as a useful
language learning moment.
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It's
time to go full nerd and learn some of the character names in Chinese,
so you can casually drop them into the conversation as the drama plays
out on screen tonight. "That was such a typical 龙妈 move."
>>WARNING: This article contains spoilers, proceed with caution.<<
But
firstly, let's understand the different ways in which
English-to-Chinese names can be formed, and the differences between the
terms 'literal,' 'transliteral,' and 'descriptive.'
Literal: The meaning of the character's name is directly translated into Chinese.
Transliteral: The sounds of the character's name are represented by similar-sounding Chinese characters.
Descriptive: An entirely new name is created in Chinese, using the character's behavior, name, or attributes as inspiration. Can be used when no exact translation exists.
Dragon Mother
Character: Daenerys "Mother of Dragons" Targaryen
Chinese: 龙妈 lóng mā
Origins of name: Literal
Ok,
it's not super imaginative, but when you've got an English name that
works so well in Chinese, you run with it. Plus, 龙妈 is definitely more
interesting than Dany's unwieldy official name: 丹妮莉丝·坦格利安 dānnī ìsī·tǎn'gélì'ān.
Awkward Snow
Character: Jon Snow
Chinese: 囧雪 jiǒng xuě
Origins of name: Transliteration and Descriptive
"You
know nothing, Awkward Snow" could just have easily been the iconic line
uttered by the late wildling warrior, Ygritte. Jon's official character
name is 琼恩·雪诺 qióngēn·xuěnuò, but fans quickly settled on 囧雪 which is a transliteration of his name. 囧 jiǒng is
a derogatory term and can be translated as
dumbfounded/awkward/confused. Given Jon's recent ability to leak
sensitive information at inopportune times (revealing your true identity
just before a battle? C'mon Snow), we think the name suits him.
Horny Queen
Character: Cersei Lannister
Chinese: 色后 sèhòu
Origins of name: Descriptive
The first Chinese character of Cersei's fan nickname, 色 sè, is a homophone of 瑟 sè, the first character of her official character name (瑟曦·兰尼斯特 sèxī·lánnísītè) and usually just means 'color' but can also mean lustful or horny. While the second character, 后 hòu,
can mean Queen, Empress, and 'rear' or 'behind.' The combination of the
two characters indicates that she got the name because of her love
affair with her twin brother. Take that, Cersei!
Three Silly/Stupid
Character: Sansa Stark
Chinese: 三傻 sānshǎ
Origins of name: Homophonic alternative of the transliteral original
Sansa's official character name in Chinese is actually 珊莎 shānshā,
a transliteration, but given her questionable behavior (crushing on
Joffrey? Really?) in the first couple of seasons, fans quickly adopted
an alternative, homophonic moniker, 三傻 sānshǎ, or Three Stupid. Hmmm... we're detecting a bit of an anti-female characters vibe here...
Second Girl
Character: Arya Stark
Chinese: 二丫 èr yā
Origins of name: Transliteral
Arya's official name is 艾莉亚 àilìyà, but this nickname is also transliteration and plays on the word 丫 yā which is a colloquial and outdated term for a little girl, as in 丫头 yātou.
Given that she is literally the second sister of the Stark family, this
nickname totally makes sense. We would have preferred something like
Tiny Badass Warrior Girl though, I mean, she DID kill the Knight King,
no big deal.
Little Evil Devil
Character: Tyrion "The Imp" Lannister
Chinese: 小恶魔 xiǎo èmó
Origins of name: Descriptive
Tyrion Lannister's Chinese name "little evil devil" is consistent with his English nickname in the Game of Thrones world:
"The Imp" which according to the Merriam Webster dictionary means "a
small demon; a mischievous child." (It's also apparently a transitive
verb: 1: "to graft or repair (a wing, tail, or feather) with a feather
to improve a falcon's flying capacity" but that's neither here nor
there... or is it? Could Tyrion somehow graft or repair
shot-out-the-sky-and-probably-dead Rhaegal and guarantee the Dragon
Queen's victory?)
Beauty
Character: Ser Brienne of Tarth
Chinese: 美人 měi rén
Origins of name: Descriptive
Despite
being one of the greatest warriors in the seven kingdoms, and the
realm's first female knight, Brienne of Tarth has been nicknamed 美人 měi rén "beauty" by Chinese fans because she's, well, not. To be fair, this is also what certain characters within the Game of Thrones universe call her behind her back, but still... enough with the bullshit nicknames, fans!
Kingslayer
Character: Jaime "Kingslayer" Lannister
Chinese: 弑君者 shì jūn zhě
Origins of name: Literal
Chinese
fans have adopted the same nickname used in English, "Kingslayer,"
which refers to the fact that he killed King Aerys Targaryen in Robert's
rebellion. Seems like a missed opportunity to call him Golden Hand
Sister Lover or Ser Floppy Hair of Handsometown though.
Killer Sam
Character: Samwell Tarley
Chinese: 杀手山姆 shāshǒu shānmǔ
Origins of name: Descriptive and Transliteral
Finally,
the unassuming maester gets the recognition he deserves! The 杀手 part of
Samwell's name refers to the fact that he was the first person in the
series to kill a White Walker, while the two characters 山姆 is a commonly
used transliteration for the English name 'Sam.' While Brothers of the
Knight's Watch snidely call Sam "the Slayer" in the English version,
we're choosing to believe that Chinese fans mean it genuinely.
Spider with Eight Feet
Character: Varys
Chinese: 八爪蜘蛛 bā zhuǎ zhīzhū
Origins of name: Literal
Thanks
to Varys's role as the chief intelligence officer and his extensive
network of informants and spies, he's been nicknamed 'The Spider' in
both the English and Chinese versions of the series, although Chinese
fans take it one step further with the ultra-descriptive Spider with
Eight Feet. This addition seems unnecessary (don't all spiders have
eight feet?) but it certainly gives Varys the sinister vibe he deserves.
Little Squid
Character: Theon Greyjoy
Chinese: 小鱿鱼 xiǎo yóuyú
Origins of name: Descriptive
The
late Theon Greyjoy earned himself the nickname 小鱿鱼 in English, which
means "Little Squid." Fans call him that because the Greyjoy family
sigil is the Kraken, a legendary, massive squid. Sure beats the
Ball-less Wonder.
Evil/Magic Mountain
Character: Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane
Chinese: 魔山 móshān
Origins of name: Literal and Descriptive
"Woohoo!
Let's go ride Magic Mountain!" takes on a totally different meaning
when you realize that Chinese fans refer not to the theme park
rollercoaster, but the super creepy, rapey, deadish (?), skull-bursting
Clegane brother, Gregor. Chinese fans kept the "Mountain" part of his
nickname from the original series but added the descriptive "Magic"
which refers to his snatched-back-from-the-brink-of-death transformation
by necromancer and ex-maester Qyburn in season five.
Sad Eddie
Character: Lord Eddard "Ned" Stark
Chinese: 悲伤的艾迪 bēishāng de àidí
Origins of Name: Transliteral and Descriptive
The
origins of this Chinese moniker are mixed, with the first two
characters 悲伤 meaning sad, and the last two 艾迪 being the commonly
used transliteration for the English name Eddie. I mean, if I was
beheaded in the first season of one of the most successful television
series in modern history, I'd be pretty sad about it too. Poor Sean Bean
Edd, he can't cut a break.
Hunting Dog
Character: Sandor "The Hound" Clegane
Chinese: 猎狗 liè gǒu
Origins of name: Literal
Sandor
Clegane is referred to as "The Hound" in the series, a nickname also
adopted by the Chinese. Burntface Man would also have worked, although
it's already taken by the titular character of the British cartoon, a
super-hero with a burnt face (see: fat-pie.com/burntfaceman).
Big Bear
Character: Jorah Mormont
Chinese: 大熊 dà xióng
Origins of name: Descriptive
RIP
Jorah. Ser Mormont's ancestral home is located in the Bear Island, an
island far to the northwest of Winterfell, so this feature combined his
role as sworn protector and unrequited-lover-forever-and-ever of
Daenerys Targaryen means that he's earned the nickname 大熊 dà xióng, "Big
Bear". Not bad, although we're not sure that it tops English-speaking
fan favorite "Ser Jorah Mormont of House Friendzone."
This is
just the beginning... so who did we miss? What are your favorite weird,
fun, and interesting character nicknames from the series?
Written with additional reporting and internet trawling by 邢嘉琦.
Images: Helen Sloan/HBO (via kvpr.org), HBO
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