pprendeville Posted September 25, 2013 at 02:59 AM Report Posted September 25, 2013 at 02:59 AM Mods, I did a quick search on this topic but didn't find a suitable thread. Feel free to merge if one already exists. Going to create a list of brand names and would appreciate confirmation that they are correct. Also, if people have some background info on why certain names we're chosen or whether they are just phonetic (should probably be easy to guess these), that would be cool. First up: 金霸王: Duracell Pleco tells me 霸王 (title assumed by 项羽) was a hegemon king from 232 to 202 BC. Interesting. Quote
gato Posted September 25, 2013 at 03:01 AM Report Posted September 25, 2013 at 03:01 AM 百忧解：Prozac 伟哥：Viagra 1 Quote
pprendeville Posted September 25, 2013 at 03:06 AM Author Report Posted September 25, 2013 at 03:06 AM I see you're a fan of pharmaceuticals. Viagra big over here (pardon the pun which has probably been overused). That Prozac translation is brilliant. Quote
xiaoxiaocao Posted September 25, 2013 at 05:13 AM Report Posted September 25, 2013 at 05:13 AM Off topic but - apparently when Viagra came out sales of Deer 'organs' plummeted! 1 Quote
Ruben von Zwack Posted September 25, 2013 at 09:08 AM Report Posted September 25, 2013 at 09:08 AM 哈瑞宝 Haribo My quick web search for Haribo brought me lots of sound-true but wrong names: 哈利波 (Harry in Poland?), 好丽波 ... Weird. Goes to show you can't believe stuff you find on the web. The packaging clearly shows this below. Doesn't need comment as to why "lucky treasure" is the better choice: 1 Quote
pprendeville Posted September 26, 2013 at 03:54 AM Author Report Posted September 26, 2013 at 03:54 AM Starting with an easy one and one of my favourites, easy to say and has a very happy and positive sounding tone to it I think: 家乐褔, Carrefour According to Pleco definition this translates to associate cognitively. Interesting. 联想, Lenovo Last one for today is kinda drole compared to the others. Sounds like a phonetic translation? 立顿, Lipton (tea) Quote
Lu Posted September 26, 2013 at 09:49 PM Report Posted September 26, 2013 at 09:49 PM A few big Dutch ones: 联合利华 Unilever (good translation, but I find it hard to remember with that mix of translation and transliteration) 飞利浦 Philips 壳牌 Shell Quote
skylee Posted September 27, 2013 at 02:54 AM Report Posted September 27, 2013 at 02:54 AM These are phonetic but with very good and relevant meanings - Coca-cola 可口可樂 , which gives you the feel of a tasty and happy drink Revlon 露華濃，from a very famous Tang Dynasty poem. It suggests something very cultured and very beautiful. Paracetamol 撲熱息痛，the name says it all - reduces fever and relieves pain. Panadol 必理痛，which promises that it will certainly handle your pain. Quote
Demonic_Duck Posted September 27, 2013 at 04:01 PM Report Posted September 27, 2013 at 04:01 PM Beer: Tiger 虎牌 Heineken 喜力 Budweiser 百威 Hoegaarden 福佳 Erdinger 艾丁格 Fast food: Subway 赛百味 McDonalds 麦当劳 KFC 肯德基 Pizza Hut 必胜客 Papa Johns 棒约翰 Starbucks (sure, coffee counts as food) 星巴克 Other: Pepsi 百事 Durex 杜蕾斯 Tupperware 特百惠 Snickers 士力架 Quote
abcdefg Posted September 29, 2013 at 06:09 AM Report Posted September 29, 2013 at 06:09 AM 黑人牙膏。 Darlie Toothpaste. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darlie 1 Quote
pprendeville Posted September 29, 2013 at 07:45 AM Author Report Posted September 29, 2013 at 07:45 AM I love the flavour of Darlie toothpaste. Is it any good though. My brand name for today is 谷歌 Google. Saw the word under the Google logo and googled it and Google gave me Google. Quote
Ruben von Zwack Posted September 29, 2013 at 05:52 PM Report Posted September 29, 2013 at 05:52 PM I thought Darlie was a genuine Chinese brand, cause I just couldn't imagine it in a Western supermarket Quote
Demonic_Duck Posted September 29, 2013 at 06:03 PM Report Posted September 29, 2013 at 06:03 PM To be honest I thought it didn't have a Chinese name and 黑人牙膏 was simply a description. It's like toothpaste... but for black people! Quote
Lu Posted September 30, 2013 at 07:41 AM Report Posted September 30, 2013 at 07:41 AM It used to be called Darkie (until fairly recently). I always thought it's a Chinese brand. Quote
pprendeville Posted October 1, 2013 at 05:07 AM Author Report Posted October 1, 2013 at 05:07 AM 路虎 Land Rover 苹果 does this require translation even, it's main rival being 三星, Samsung Quote
pprendeville Posted October 2, 2013 at 03:02 AM Author Report Posted October 2, 2013 at 03:02 AM 土力架 Snickers. Does this translate to something like a snickers staves off hunger for the scholar? Quote
imron Posted October 2, 2013 at 02:36 PM Report Posted October 2, 2013 at 02:36 PM 土力架 Snickers Actually, this should be 士力架 1 Quote
roddy Posted October 2, 2013 at 02:53 PM Report Posted October 2, 2013 at 02:53 PM John Pasden wrote about Darlie toothpaste way back in 2004. The comments rumble on. Quote
pprendeville Posted October 2, 2013 at 04:23 PM Author Report Posted October 2, 2013 at 04:23 PM Well spotted. You deserve a Snickers after that scholarly work. 中国联通 China Unicom What's China Mobile? Quote
roddy Posted October 2, 2013 at 07:57 PM Report Posted October 2, 2013 at 07:57 PM Easily Googleable - you know what China is in Chinese, so Google 中国 China Mobile Quote
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