Base Posted January 24, 2012 at 06:25 PM Report Posted January 24, 2012 at 06:25 PM Hello! First of all a quick thank you to all those helping with the translations here, for folks like myself it's a big help Anyway a bit of back story: I recently managed to beat a 5 year addiction to Heroin. I'm currently 4 months 2 weeks clean and have no intention of going back to that lifestyle. I wanted to get a small tattoo to celebrate getting this far, obviously it'd be somewhere most people wouldn't see it, and besides that most people around here (the UK) wouldn't be able to read it anyway ;) So as you've probably guessed, I want to know how to translate 'Heroin' into Chinese. I tried using a few online translators but in all honesty I have no idea whether or not they're correct, as this will be a tattoo (aka permanent) I'd rather take 10 minutes extra to ask an actual person. Any suggestions on the subject would be great, even just a point in the right direction would do! Quote
jbradfor Posted January 24, 2012 at 10:20 PM Report Posted January 24, 2012 at 10:20 PM First, congrats on going clean. When finding out words, I suggest a Chinese->English dictionary and using google images. Doing that, it seems that 海洛英 is a common name. However, I (and I'm sure a lot of people here) will strongly suggest you don't do this. I'm not against Chinese tattoos as much as others here, but in this case I too strongly urge you not to. The problem with the word 海洛英 is that it is a transliteration of the name from English into something that sounds kind-of like "Heroin". So in this case what you are really getting tattooed on you is "Ocean <name-of-a-river> brave/England". I really don't think you want this. I do understand your want to get this in a foreign language, but in this case I really suggest Chinese is not the best one for this. Since most heroin comes from Afghanistan now, maybe getting it in Persian (Dari) would be more appropriate? Quote
imron Posted January 24, 2012 at 10:31 PM Report Posted January 24, 2012 at 10:31 PM 海洛因 is I think the more common term. Quote
Base Posted January 25, 2012 at 12:09 AM Author Report Posted January 25, 2012 at 12:09 AM Hmm ok, I was hoping there would be a single symbol for it. Imron - Is that the actual term for Heroin or is it like Jbradfor says, random words that sound like it? If it's the latter I think I might have to go with the suggestion of a different language. Thanks for the replies anyway, if anyone knows the translation into something Persian then please don't hesitate to post Quote
imron Posted January 25, 2012 at 02:41 AM Report Posted January 25, 2012 at 02:41 AM Imron - Is that the actual term for Heroin or is it like Jbradfor says, random words that sound like it? Yes to both questions. In Chinese heroin is a transliteration. That is it uses a number of Chinese characters that approximate the pronunciation in English. Quote
Base Posted January 25, 2012 at 07:05 PM Author Report Posted January 25, 2012 at 07:05 PM That's what I meant though, so the design wouldn't actually say Heroin, it would say (as Jbradfor said) three random words strung together. I've managed to find this: هروئين I'm almost certain that it means Heroin in Persian, although I'm hoping to get someone to confirm that for me before going ahead. Quote
imron Posted January 25, 2012 at 08:53 PM Report Posted January 25, 2012 at 08:53 PM so the design wouldn't actually say Heroin It would say heroin. A Chinese person who saw that tattoo would read and understand it without any problems, it's just that in Chinese the word for heroin is made up of three random characters strung together Quote
jbradfor Posted January 25, 2012 at 09:07 PM Report Posted January 25, 2012 at 09:07 PM It's rather confusing. Pretend that "heroin" is a non-English word (which is kind-of is, being originally a trademark of the German company Beyer...), and that English works like Chinese when adopting foreign words (which it doesn't, but let's pretend it does). In that case, the English name might be "hair oh win", which are English words that sound close to "heroin". So in English, when writing it, we would write "hair oh win". Everyone would know what you mean when you read "hair oh win", but at the same time it would be three random words whose meaning has nothing to do with "heroin", just that the sound does. That's how Chinese works when transliterating foreign names / words. Is that clear at all? 1 Quote
skylee Posted January 25, 2012 at 09:15 PM Report Posted January 25, 2012 at 09:15 PM Persian? You need rezaf. If you wanted an alternative, might I suggest the simple 戒？ This is the word to use when you quit doing something bad, like drugs or smoking, etc. It also means "to guard against" bad things. Take a look -> http://cdict.net/?q=%E6%88%92 3 Quote
shinewind Posted January 30, 2012 at 02:44 AM Report Posted January 30, 2012 at 02:44 AM The most common equivalent is海洛因. How about “再见！海洛因”（Bye Heroin）for the theme? Quote
大肚男 Posted January 30, 2012 at 03:15 AM Report Posted January 30, 2012 at 03:15 AM only problem with 再见，海洛因 is that it literally means "see you later, heroin" which may not be best. 1 Quote
shinewind Posted January 30, 2012 at 05:58 AM Report Posted January 30, 2012 at 05:58 AM only problem with 再见，海洛因 is that it literally means "see you later, heroin" which may not be best. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ You are right. maybe 永别！海洛因will do? Quote
imron Posted January 30, 2012 at 06:36 AM Report Posted January 30, 2012 at 06:36 AM It doesn't have quite the same succinctness to it as 戒, especially when the OP mentioned: Hmm ok, I was hoping there would be a single symbol for it. Quote
skylee Posted January 30, 2012 at 10:51 AM Report Posted January 30, 2012 at 10:51 AM Re a single word for heroin. Obviously there is not, but there is a word that has a broader meaning, ie 毒. Of course it means "poison", but it also means all kinds of narcotics (including heroin). And to quit any narcotics / drug addition is simply 戒毒. So if the OP wants to highlight the poison, s/he could use 毒; if the quitting and determination are to be highlighted, then 戒. Personally I think 戒 is better, and it has fewer strokes, meaning less pain during the tattoo process. 1 Quote
Base Posted January 30, 2012 at 05:15 PM Author Report Posted January 30, 2012 at 05:15 PM Thanks for the replies everyone, sorry I haven't been able to comment for a few days. 毒 sounds quite promising, although I'm worried it might be too general, I mean, a tattoo of 'poison' doesn't make a great deal of sense. If not then 海洛因 seems promising I'll look into the Rezaf suggestion too, thanks! Sorry when you say Rezaf, do you mean that as a language? Google isn't bringing up much #noob Quote
imron Posted January 31, 2012 at 12:00 AM Report Posted January 31, 2012 at 12:00 AM Rezaf is a member of these forums Quote
xiaocai Posted January 31, 2012 at 12:24 AM Report Posted January 31, 2012 at 12:24 AM 海洛因 as a tattoo sounds a bit funny to me. But I guess it doesn't really matter after all if it is as you have said that most people who see it do not read Chinese. I still think 戒 is the best sounding one out of all current suggestions. 1 Quote
Demonic_Duck Posted January 31, 2012 at 09:24 AM Report Posted January 31, 2012 at 09:24 AM Can I just ask, why would you want a tattoo of the word "heroin" anyway (in any language)? It just sounds like glamourising drug use to me. It's not the fact that you were addicted that you're proud of, it's the fact that you quit. So wouldn't 戒毒 (or something along those lines) be a better choice? Quote
rob07 Posted January 31, 2012 at 12:58 PM Report Posted January 31, 2012 at 12:58 PM I've seen 粉儿 (literally "powder") used as a slang term for heroin (unless that was cocaine?). Although I agree that 戒 would be better in any case. Quote
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