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Help with a name translation please


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Posted

Hi all hows it going?

Just want to ask a quick question if i may. Could someone please confirm that this is the correct translation of my late mother's name "Carolyn"

I'd like a small tattoo of the chinese symbols.

I got this translation from namesinchinese.com website cost 2.00 pounds.

Also, please could any of you guys tell me how its pronounced.

11904.jpg

Thanks a lot

Take care

Posted

its a transliteration of the name, not a translation. too often western names are transliterated into chinese.

Posted

> too often western names are transliterated into chinese

I think OP *meant* a transliteration. There's no such thing as a translation of "Carolyn". But why do you say "too often"?

Posted

If it is intended for a tattoo, you may wish to have it done in traditional Chinese characters (the one you have is in simplified Chinese). In traditional Chinese, it is -

卡羅琳

Next time you need a translation of a name, ask here and save yourself 2 pounds.

Posted

I'm personally in the opinion that translitrated names is ooogly...

I think translating the meaning would be of much fun...

Try your name Carolyn

a search in baby names network http://www.babynamenetwork.com/search.cfm

will get you the following meaning

Carolyn

From the name Carol and Linda. Carol - A free person. Lyn - A waterfall.

Ranked #222 of the last decade

Now you have a couple of keyword: "free, person, waterfall, water, fall"

translate this keywords into chinese and you have "由/空, 人, 瀑布, 水, 降"

using above components you can make a name.

try something like 蔣油伶

cheers

ax

Posted

Why not just have 'Mum'? I'll let someone with traditional characters installed show you what it looks like.

Roddy

Posted

mum = (ma)

mamma = 媽媽 (ma ma)

mother = 母親 (mu qin)

But I think Carolyn is better.

Posted

I think the problem with transliterating Western names into Chinese is that Chinese names are supposed to have meaning, while Westerners usually choose their child's name based more on sound. A transliterated name might seem odd to a native speaker if the characters are just a bunch of random sounds. So if a Chinese person read your tattoo, he or she might not realize its your mother's name.

I bet there are some appropriate four character phrases about mothers that (in my opinion) would be a better way of honoring her. Or a classical word for mother, 母親.

Posted

No need a 成語[cheng2yu3] lar, just use this title of nursery rhyme often featured in 功夫 [gong1fu4] movie.

世上只有媽媽好 [shi shang zhi you ma ma hao]

媽x

Posted

Chinese nursery rhymes are such utter tosh. Ting laoshi, shuo hao hua, yuk yuk yuk.

And to the tune of Frere Jacques:

Two -o tigers

Two -o tigers

Running fast

Running fast

O-one has no ta-il

O-one has no ey-eyes

Very strange

Very strange

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

For some reasons I don't like the surname of 柯, so I think 祁 (kei4 in Cantonese...) is better. You don't have to follow the Mandarin sounds when translating a personal name.

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