the English word for 義父

[Kenny同志]

"... "adopted father" implies the child adopted this new father instead of the other way around.

Yes, this how it happens in many cases, though it could also happen the other way around. The problem is that there's no legal relationship between the two parties involved. Does 'adoped father' imply any legal consequences?

Second point (I'm a native English speaker) is that "godfather" often carries a "gangland/criminal" connotation.

Yes, I am well aware of that. So I will affix a note to the definition if I should include 'godfather' in it.

In reading through this thread, I don't see anyone proposing "stepfather." Would that be inappropriate in the context with which you are dealing?

Yes, stepfather is 繼父, a man who marries the child's mother but isn't his/her father. It's entirely different from 義父.

[anonymoose]

Personally, I don't think "adopted father" is a suitable translation, as per your explanations. To me, "adopted father" implies the guy takes a hands-on approach to raising the child, as if the child were his own. "Godfather", on the other hand, is really just a ceremonial role. Maybe if something happens to the parents of the child so that they are no longer able to raise the child, then the "godfather" may step in (although in reality, it may not be as easy as that, since there is no legal relationship between the godfather and the child), but otherwise, the godfather is unlikely to have any significant part in the raising of the child. At least that is how it is in the UK.

[Kenny同志]

Thanks again Anonymoose.

I doubt we could find a better translation, as you mentioned earlier. I will go for 'godfather'.

[hbuchtel]

I would agree that from a legal point of view 'godfather' works much better than 'adopted father'.

As long as it is written as 'godfather' rather than 'The Godfather' I wouldn't associate the word with the mafia

[Kenny同志]

Thanks again for confirming this, hbuchtel. ：）

[Lu]

If it's for a dictionary, I'd not leave it at just defining it as 'godfather', I'd include the alternative 'adoptive father' and a longer explanation of what it actually means. As has already been noted, there is no one-to-one translation of this term, so it's best to explain what it is and leave it to the readers to choose what they want to make of it.

[Kenny同志]

Thanks for the reminder, Lu. I'll affix a note telling the user what it literally means.

[roddy]

Would it be any use to consider a longer phrase that might capture what you want to express. You can be 'like a father to someone', you can 'treat someone as your own son', 'accept someone into your family', and so on.

[Kenny同志]

Yes, definitely. I will add an explanation as the note I mentioned.