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October 2, 2012 by Sara K. 13 Comments

It Came From the Sinosphere: Manga and Manhwa Titles

There is a famous sci-fi TV series called Yín​hé​ Fēilóng which means “Milky Way Flying Dragon.” It’s part of a group of TV series called “Xīng​jiàn​ Qí​háng​ Jì​” which roughly means “Tales of Strange Starship Journeys.”

What’s it about? Well. there is a starship, and the captain’s name is Ràng-Lǚ​kè​ Pí​kǎ​’ěr​​. In addition to the captain himself, there are other characters, such as:
Bǎi​kē (who is a rénxíng jīqìrén​, which roughly means “human-like machine person”)
Qiáodí​ Lā​fú​jí (my favorite character)​
Wò​’ěr​fū​ (who is a kèlíngòng)
Wéisīlì Kē​luòxià​ (by sheer coincidence, Wéisīlì is also the name of the most famous character from original Chinese-language science fiction),
Dí​ān​nà Tè​luò​yī​ (who is half bèi​tǎ​rén​)
Bèi​fú​lì​ Kē​luòxià​
​​Wēi​lián​ Ruì​kè

If you don’t recognize this TV show, take a look at one of the covers of the Taiwanese DVD set:

The cover of the Taiwanese edition of 'Star Trek: Next Generation'

This is a big issue when English speakers and Chinese speakers interact with each other. The English titles and Chinese titles are often so different that it can be difficult to determine if we are talking about the same movie/TV show/book/etc.

Ok, there are some cases which are quite straightforward, such as the movie Měiguó​ Duìzhǎng, which literally means “Captain United States.” And it wasn’t too hard for me to figure out that Fù​chóu​zhě​ Lián​méng​ (Avengers’ Union) is The Avengers. But without a reference, such as a movie poster, it’s difficult to make the connection between Biànxíng Jīngāng (Shape-Changing Hard Metal) and Transformers.

Not that things are any easier going in the other direction. Taiwanese people always stare at me when I explain that the most common title for Shén​diāo​ Xiá​lǚ (“Divine Eagle Gallant Companion,” alternatively “The Giant Eagle and Its Companion”) in English is ​Return of the Condor Heroes. And then there is Tiān​lóng​bā​bù which is often called Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils because that title is practically impossible to ​translate into English. An alternative English title, “The Eight Levels of the Heavenly Dragon” is more literal but misses the point, and yet another English title, “Dragon Oath,” demonstrates that the translator pretty much gave up on trying to translate the original title and instead tried to create a title which was appropriate for the work being translated.

Which raises the question … how are various manga and manhwa titles translated into Chinese? The answer is, the Chinese titles for various manga and manhwa are often as close to the Japanese/Korean/English title as Yín​hé​ Fēilóng is to Star Trek: Next Generation, or Lǜ​ Yě​ Xiān​ Zōng​ (Traces of the Wild Green Celestial) is to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

The cover of a Taiwanese manhua adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

I think some Chinese manga/manhwa titles are an improvement … and some make me groan.

So I have put together a collection of Chinese titles of various manga/manhwa with a literal English translation, and another list of the official English titles. And I’ve jumbled the order. I will post the correct correlations between the Chinese titles and the official English titles when I have time. Until then, have fun matching them up yourself.

Chinese Titles / Literal English

Huǒyǐng Rěnzhě (Fire-Shadow Ninja)
Huàn Hǎi​ Qí​ Qíng (Fantastic Sea Strange Happenings)
Wǒ​ de​ Yě​mán Wáng​fēi​ ​(My Uncivilized Royal Consort)
Háng​hǎi​ Wàng​ (Seafaring King)
Rén​yú​ Liàn​rén ​(Merman Lover)
Fàng​kè hòu​ Bǎo​jiànshì​ (After Class Nurse’s Office)​​
Xiāng​jù yī Kè​​​ (Together for a Moment)
Quǎn​yè​chà​ ([no translation])
Yāo​jing​ de Wěi​ba​ (Tail of the Evil Spirit)
Tōu​tōu​ Ài​zhe Nǐ​ (Secretly Loving You)
Měi​ Shào​nǚ Zhàn​shì​​ (Beautiful Maiden Warrior)
Wǒ​men de Cún​zài (Our Existence)
Měi​wèi​ Dà Tiǎo​zhàn​​ (Great Delicious Challenge)
Jué​duì​ Bǐ​shì​ (Absolute Bishi)
Sǐ​shén (Death Gods)​​​
Yǐn​ zhī​ Wàng (Kin​g of Secrets)
Zhàn​lì​ Shājī (Trembling Intent to Kill)
Bǎo​ Mǎ​ Wáng​zǐ​ (Precious Horse Prince)
Huá​lì​ de Tiǎo​zhàn​ (Glamorous Challenge)
Wǒ hé​ Tā de XXX (My and Her XXX)​​
Měi​shí​ Liè​rén​ (Gourmet Hunter)
Huā​ Yàng​ Rén​shēng​ (Flower-style Life)
Mó​ Kǎ Shào​nǚ ​​Yīng​ (Demon Card Maiden Cherry)
Pó​suō​luó​ (I ought to put this as [no translation], but just for kicks, I will translate this as ‘Whirling Gauze’)

Official English Titles

7Seeds
Absolute Boyfriend
Afterschool Nightmare
Banana Fish
Basara
Bleach
Evyione: Ocean Fantasy
Fairy Tail
Flower of Life
Goong
Hana-Kimi
Inuyasha
Maison Ikkoku
Nabari no Ou
Naruto
Oishinbo
One Piece
Princess Knight
Sailor Moon
Skip Beat
Toriko
Your and My Secret

UPDATE: The answers are posted in the comment below.

Next Time: Spirit Sword (novel)


Sara K. thinks it is wonderful that this post is going live on her birthday.

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Filed Under: It Came From the Sinosphere Tagged With: Chinese, manga, manhwa

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Estara says

    October 2, 2012 at 3:46 pm

    A Happy and Healthy Birthday then! And let me start off with the obvious ones

    Your and My Secret = Wǒ hé​ Tā de XXX (My and Her XXX)​​
    Absolute Boyfriend = Jué​duì​ Bǐ​shì​ (Absolute Bishi)
    Flower of Life = Huā​ Yàng​ Rén​shēng​ (Flower-style Life)
    Toriko = Měi​shí​ Liè​rén​ (Gourmet Hunter)
    Oishinbo = Měi​wèi​ Dà Tiǎo​zhàn​​ (Great Delicious Challenge)

    now for my guesses

    Evyione: Ocean Fantasy = Rén​yú​ Liàn​rén ​(Merman Lover)
    Afterschool Nightmare = Fàng​kè hòu​ Bǎo​jiànshì​ (After Class Nurse’s Office)​​
    Skip Beat = Huá​lì​ de Tiǎo​zhàn​ (Glamorous Challenge)
    Princess Knight = Bǎo​ Mǎ​ Wáng​zǐ​ (Precious Horse Prince)
    Goong = Wǒ​ de​ Yě​mán Wáng​fēi​ ​(My Uncivilized Royal Consort)
    Basara = Pó​suō​luó​

    I can’t decide with One Piece
    Huàn Hǎi​ Qí​ Qíng (Fantastic Sea Strange Happenings)
    or
    Háng​hǎi​ Wàng​ (Seafaring King)

    Also, it was a lot of fun trying to find out about Ràng-Lǚ​kè​ Pí​kǎ​’ěr. And I have always wondered why a Chinese comic and anime (which is how I met that story) has Condors in the title. Eagle makes much more sense.

    Reply
    • Sara K. says

      October 5, 2012 at 3:18 am

      Well, all of your guesses were correct.

      It’s a pity there are no Mandarin dubs of Star Trek – I think it’d be fun to hear the characters speaking in Mandarin. Of course, I could get a similar effect by watching it with Chinese subtitles and putting the sound on mute. Then again, I might not need to mute the sound – I saw part of one of the Harry Potter movies with Chinese subs, and read the subtitles instead of listening to the actors. Whenever I think of that section of the movie, I think of the characters as speaking in Mandarin, not English. Weird.

      Reply
  2. JRB says

    October 2, 2012 at 4:55 pm

    A couple of those are closer to the original Japanese than the English title is (My and Her XXX, After Class Nurse’s Office), but some sound like a lot more fun in Chinese. I’d love to see a manga that lives up to the title “Trembling Intent to Kill” or “Demon Card Maiden Cherry”. :)

    Reply
    • Sara K. says

      October 5, 2012 at 3:19 am

      I would say “Trembling Intent to Kill” lives up to the title. I was always more interested in the violence than the Ash/Eiji relationship in that manga…

      Reply
  3. CJ says

    October 2, 2012 at 5:11 pm

    Lol, we should make a game out of this to see who gets the most correct! I think a few were easy, but then I just started random mass guessing. I can’t even imagine what “Merman Lover” is supposed to be.

    7Seeds (Death Gods)
    Absolute Boyfriend (Aboslute Bishi)
    Afterschool Nightmare (After Class Nurse’s Office)
    Banana Fish (I can’t even imagine, let’s say the untranslated one)
    Basara (Trembling Intent to Kill)

    Bleach (Whirling Gauze)

    Evyione: Ocean Fantasy (Fantastic Sea Strange Happenings)

    Fairy Tail (Tail of an Evil Spirit)

    Flower of Life (Flower-style Life)

    Goong (My Uncivilized Royal Consort)

    Inuyasha (Demon Card Maiden Cherry)

    Maison Ikkoku (Our Existence)

    Nabari no Ou (Fire-Shadow Ninja)

    Naruto (Merman Lover)

    Oishinbo (Great Delicious Challenge)

    One Piece (Precious Horse Prince)

    Princess Knight (Beautiful Maiden Warrior)

    Sailor Moon (Glamorous Challenge)

    Skip Beat (Together for a Moment)

    Toriko (Gourmet Hunter)

    Your and My Secret (My and Her XXX)

    Seriously, I can’t wait to find out the answers to these!

    Reply
    • Sara K. says

      October 5, 2012 at 3:21 am

      Well, you were the only person to get Fairy Tail right. And I thought that was an easy one … oh well.

      Reply
  4. Travis says

    October 3, 2012 at 4:37 am

    Huǒyǐng Rěnzhě (Fire-Shadow Ninja) – Naruto
    Huàn Hǎi​ Qí​ Qíng (Fantastic Sea Strange Happenings) – Fairy Tail
    Wǒ​ de​ Yě​mán Wáng​fēi​ ​(My Uncivilized Royal Consort) – Goong
    Háng​hǎi​ Wàng​ (Seafaring King) – One Piece
    Rén​yú​ Liàn​rén ​(Merman Lover) – Evyione: Ocean Fantasy
    Fàng​kè hòu​ Bǎo​jiànshì​ (After Class Nurse’s Office)​​ – Afterschool Nightmare
    Xiāng​jù yī Kè​​​ (Together for a Moment) – ???
    Quǎn​yè​chà​ ([no translation]) – 7Seeds
    Yāo​jing​ de Wěi​ba​ (Tail of the Evil Spirit) – Inuyasha
    Tōu​tōu​ Ài​zhe Nǐ​ (Secretly Loving You) – Maison Ikkoku
    Měi​ Shào​nǚ Zhàn​shì​​ (Beautiful Maiden Warrior) – Sailor Moon
    Wǒ​men de Cún​zài (Our Existence) – We Were There
    Měi​wèi​ Dà Tiǎo​zhàn​​ (Great Delicious Challenge) – Oishinbo
    Jué​duì​ Bǐ​shì​ (Absolute Bishi) – Absolute Boyfriend
    Sǐ​shén (Death Gods)​​​ – Bleach
    Yǐn​ zhī​ Wàng (Kin​g of Secrets) – Nabari no Ou
    Zhàn​lì​ Shājī (Trembling Intent to Kill) – Banana Fish
    Bǎo​ Mǎ​ Wáng​zǐ​ (Precious Horse Prince) – Princess Knight
    Huá​lì​ de Tiǎo​zhàn​ (Glamorous Challenge) – Skip Beat
    Wǒ hé​ Tā de XXX (My and Her XXX)​​ – Your and My Secret
    Měi​shí​ Liè​rén​ (Gourmet Hunter) – Toriko
    Huā​ Yàng​ Rén​shēng​ (Flower-style Life) – Flower of Life
    Mó​ Kǎ Shào​nǚ ​​Yīng​ (Demon Card Maiden Cherry) – Card Captor Sakura
    Pó​suō​luó​ (I ought to put this as [no translation], but just for kicks, I will translate this as ‘Whirling Gauze’) – Basara

    You have more Chinese titles than English ones, so I took some blind guesses (though I will be extremely surprised if my guess of Card Captor Sakura is not correct). There were a couple where I was torn, like Toriko and Oishinbo, because either title seemed like it could fit. Same with Evyione, One Piece, and Fairy Tale, which are all about the sea. (Though Luffy wants to be the pirate king, so I decided seafaring king was best for him, and couldn’t imagine a shounen series being called Merman Lover, so that sorted the other two.)

    Between stuff being similar to the Japanese title or obviously having some connection to the content (death gods, ninjas, etc), it was easy to match quite a few, but then I had to start guessing.

    Reply
    • Sara K. says

      October 5, 2012 at 3:23 am

      Overall, you did quite well. I wonder if one could make a game of matching Japanese + Literal English and Official English titles (though English-speaking manga fans are generally more familiar with Japanese titles, so it might be harder to stump people).

      Reply
  5. Melinda Beasi says

    October 3, 2012 at 7:49 am

    I hope you had a lovely birthday, Sara! Nice to see people jumping in to make guesses. :)

    Reply
  6. Sara K. says

    October 3, 2012 at 10:50 am

    Whoops, I somehow left Hana-Kimi off the list … fixed that (I would have done that earlier, but my internet access had been extremely restricted for the past few days).

    Answers will be posted sometime on Friday (which might be Thursday in some parts of the world).

    Reply
  7. Sara K. says

    October 5, 2012 at 3:13 am

    And … here are the answers:

    Huǒyǐng Rěnzhě (Fire-Shadow Ninja) – NARUTO
    Huàn Hǎi​ Qí​ Qíng (Fantastic Sea Strange Happenings) – 7SEEDS
    Wǒ​ de​ Yě​mán Wáng​fēi​ ​(My Uncivilized Royal Consort) – GOONG
    Háng​hǎi​ Wàng​ (Seafaring King) – ONE PIECE
    Rén​yú​ Liàn​rén ​(Merman Lover) – EVYIONE: OCEAN FANTASY
    Fàng​kè hòu​ Bǎo​jiànshì​ (After Class Nurse’s Office)​​ – AFTERSCHOOL NIGHTMARE
    Xiāng​jù yī Kè​​​ (Together for a Moment) – MAISON IKKOKU
    Quǎn​yè​chà​ ([no translation]) – INUYASHA
    Yāo​jing​ de Wěi​ba​ (Tail of the Evil Spirit) – FAIRY TAIL
    Tōu​tōu​ Ài​zhe Nǐ​ (Secretly Loving You) – HANA-KIMI
    Měi​ Shào​nǚ Zhàn​shì​​ (Beautiful Maiden Warrior) – SAILOR MOON
    Wǒ​men de Cún​zài (Our Existence) – WE WERE THERE
    Měi​wèi​ Dà Tiǎo​zhàn​​ (Great Delicious Challenge) – OISHINBO
    Jué​duì​ Bǐ​shì​ (Absolute Bishi) – ABSOLUTE BOYFRIEND
    Sǐ​shén (Death Gods)​​​ – BLEACH
    Yǐn​ zhī​ Wàng (Kin​g of Secrets) – NABARI NO OU
    Zhàn​lì​ Shājī (Trembling Intent to Kill) – BANANA FISH
    Bǎo​ Mǎ​ Wáng​zǐ​ (Precious Horse Prince) – PRINCESS KNIGHT
    Huá​lì​ de Tiǎo​zhàn​ (Glamorous Challenge) – SKIP BEAT
    Wǒ hé​ Tā de XXX (My and Her XXX)​​ – YOUR AND MY SECRET
    Měi​shí​ Liè​rén​ (Gourmet Hunter) – TORIKO
    Huā​ Yàng​ Rén​shēng​ (Flower-style Life) – FLOWER OF LIFE
    Mó​ Kǎ Shào​nǚ ​​Yīng​ (Demon Card Maiden Cherry) – CARD CAPTOR SAKURA
    Pó​suō​luó​ ([no translation]) – BASARA

    And yes, I had a nice birthday :)

    Reply
    • Travis says

      October 5, 2012 at 3:47 am

      Woohoo! That was fun.

      Interesting choice for 7 Seeds. I don’t really feel that it has that much to do with the sea! I mean, there is some ocean-related stuff, but that’s because Japan is an island country and so it’s kind of to be expected.

      You have Hana-Kimi as the answer for two series (Secretly Loving You and Flower-style Life). Which is it?

      Reply
      • Sara K. says

        October 5, 2012 at 4:45 am

        Whoops … fixed that mistake. Flower-style Life is Flower of Life.

        I think they picked that title for 7Seedsto get the alliteration – it allows the title to have two ‘h’ sounds and two ‘q’ sounds. Also, when the falling-rising tone is in that position, it sounds like a falling tone, so it’s almost as if the title is falling-falling-rising-rising, as far as tones go.

        Reply


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