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Posted

Hi all,

I'd like to know what 王有金 (wángyǒujīn) means in Mandarin. Is it true that it's a name, "Wang Jin"?

Thanks in advance for your answer!

Take care,

diannao

Posted

Quite possible; though literally it means "the king with money (or gold)", but at least here you can see the following:

王有金原是沂水县都头, that is Wang Youjin (王有金) originally was (原是) a head (头) in the capital (都) of Yishui county (沂水县).

Posted

Thanks your your replies. It means "the king with money (or gold)" only in Classical Chinese, right? If I'm not mistaken, "the king with money (or gold)" would be said in another way in Mandarin. What happens if you say Wang Youjin to a native Mandarin speaker? Will he understand "the king with money (or gold)" or will he hear a name?

And what does "a head (头) in the capital" mean?

Thanks in advance!

Posted

The "capital" is the main city in a state or county. A "head" is the main man in the capital ;)

Ps. As to the possibility of hearing "king with gold" instead of a name I think a native speaker will have the last word here

Posted
都頭 is a word, means leader or expert, or it's an official position in dynastic China.

I think the latter is more likely since it's prefixed with the name of an administrative area: 沂水县都头 = the chief of Yishui count (where Yishui probably was/contained a major metropolis).

If I'm not mistaken, "the king with money (or gold)" would be said in another way in Mandarin. What happens if you say Wang Youjin to a native Mandarin speaker? Will he understand "the king with money (or gold)" or will he hear a name?

王有金, taken as a name, would be like "Richie Wang" if the characters were made clear. If taken as a phrase, it would mean "king has money", and wouldn't mean much without additional context.

"The king with money" would be 有金之王 in Mandarin. I'm not sure about classical Chinese, but it's probably similar.

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