Translating names of anime characters
 

Konichi wa mina,
I already watched tones of anime and I always wondered: "What do the names of the character mean?" So I start this thread so me and others can ask the one who know what the names mean.

So can anyone tell me (if they have any meaning) what Shanks, Ryuuma, Ushio and Brook mean?

I hope you all enjoy this thread and this isn't going to be an off topic nor that people flame this thread was ridiculous. ;) :vsign:

I could be wrong but isn't Brook a variation English name, with "brook" meaning kind of a trickling stream? Likewise Shanks doesn't sound like any real name, but it kind of has a colloquial English meaning. . . No idea about Ryuuma or Ushio, but I'm sure 'Ryuu' means 'dragon' :P I could be completely wrong, lol, so I look forward to being corrected if that's the case, I'm as interested as you are as to what they mean :)

and which character do you mean?

I guess it depends on the person who is translating... if they want to 100% translate everything, they'd translate the names... but if they want to be 50/50 about it (i'm looking at you tvnihon you lazy ass muthaF****s) then I suppose they won't

Translate names into what?

田中 translates to "Tanaka"...not "In The Rice Field".

isn't that's what it mean.. if "not"? then what does it mean?

lol You're missing the point.

That's what the characters mean, yes, but are you saying that instead of calling her Princess Aiko we should call her Princess Love Child? I don't think so.

Japanese people don't look at 田中 and say, "He is in the rice field." They look at it and think, "His name is Tanaka."

so i'm assuming when the OP asks "what Shanks, Ryuuma, Ushio and Brook mean?" , it clearly means that those names are "just" names alone, without looking at it as a meaning.

Names are names. They only mean the sound of the name. I`m sure you could look up what your name meant, but that isn`t what it actually means in reality to you and everyone who hears it.
Someone with the last name of, say, Smith is not going to have people react with "His name means he forges iron!" It`s just a name.
If you want to look into the history or root of a names, that is fine. But don`t assume that anyone ever thinks of their "meaning" in daily life. A Japanese name means no more it`s "meaning" than Linda means "Lime Tree" to those listening to it.

i'm impressed, does Linda actually mean "lime tree"?

actually, for american names, majority doesn't mean anything. so i'm guessing i then should think of japanese names are like american, just the sounds of a name but deals no meaning. (unless if you were to look it up)

so.. i think it would be useless for the OP to get its answers on the name. lol
[unless if it's possible]

Before names people used "Hey You, get over here"...wich could be confuseing when you had a large crowd..so of course they improvised... "Hey you..guy with the pitch fork, get over here"...to "Hey pitchfork guy, get over here" and finially just "PitchFork!!..get over here".

This has been a loosely paraphrased historical acount.......:mtongue:

But "American names" DO have meaning.

very unlikely.

if you were to say that, then i am able to state that most japanese names DOES have a meaning. :ywave:

But it's the same thing. You say "American names" have no meaning, even though they do, but nobody worries about it. It's the same in Japan. Trying to place significance in the meanings of names in either country is kind of a waste of energy.

well, majority that i know doesn't. or at least "normally" wouldn't be recognize to be expressed as a meaning (ie. Aaron, Chris, Brad, Wilson, Anthony, Derek, Mike, Henry, etc.)
henceforth, the list goes on.

however, it is true that no one worries about it, that's why even those a few that i listed "may" have a meaning, but majority of americans doesn't even know the meaning to those names. unless if they are REALLY religious with names then they would've know the meaning behind most names.

i don't really see how american names WILL have a meaning, in general, unless if they are studying the backgrounds and history of american names (although majority of american names came from other side of the world, like hebrew, french, italian, british, swedish, etc origins of names) which now some are took as considerations to "american" names instead.

Just because you don't think people's names have meaning doesn't mean they don't have meaning.

My point is the actual meaning is as meaningless to us as it is in Japan. So the point is pretty much moot.

Aaron: "high mountain" or "exalted"

Christopher: "bearing Christ"

Bradley: "broad clearing"

Wilson: "son of Will"

It goes on...

You know MMM, I am thinking that the reluctance to accept that a name may just be a name in Japanese is because kanji have meanings. And we both know how strange beliefs can be about the deep "mystical" meanings of those. :rolleyes:

Usually, the only people who think about the meaning of a name are parents. Just like in other places, they buy baby name books and look up names. And then if they find a name they like - just like elsewhere - they may change the way it`s written/spelled to be more "unique". Or they may just think up a cool sounding name and use it (applying kanji that will make the right sound).

Really, if you have to look your name up to figure out what it means, or do some research into it... The name doesn`t have a real life meaning. It`s just a name. This is the same in Japan.

Asking what the names of certain anime characters mean is really along the same lines as looking up the names of characters on a US sitcom to see what they mean. Imagine someone doing that then going on and on about how perfect the meaning was for the character or how cool it was for the character to have a name meaning such-and-such like is common with anime names.

It sounds a bit silly when put into those terms, doesn`t it?

I have a Chinese Character-based name, like 96% of South Koreans do, and I always think my name doesn't suit me at all when it comes to the literal translation of my name. Go figure.

Most people seem to go completely overboard with this whole name thing but there are some stories that have characters with names that are deliberate play on words or puns, which are totally lost in dubs and translation.

I don't think it's wrong to want to understand where a joke is coming from but all too often they seem to go about it the wrong way; it's like asking why the idea of an amorous dwarf called 'Cassanunda' is supposed to be funny and being told "Oh, well, 'cassa' means 'house' and 'unda' means 'shadow' and he like... sneaks into people houses to seduce women all the time, lol!".

Maybe Japanese surnames dont have that much of a meaning anymore but names surely have:

Like もも、いちご、けんじ、ゆめ、きょうへい、。。。they all have a meaning in their name that the parents wanted to transfer into the kids.

Why else would Japanese say: [名前に負けた] It means that if somebody would have a really strong/impressive name but he would look really fable, weak and unimpressive, well, he will surely [lose to his name] then, right?

So names definitely have a meaning, but translating them wouldnt make too much sense, since the 'sound' of the name also is important.

Just my 2 cents ;)

/discuss

v.v This has gone some weird discussion^^ I never imagined it to end like this xD but well I like it :vsign:
@RobinMask: I think you're right, ryuuma means dragon, I heared something like that but I'm not that good at japanese and my book tells me tatsu means dragon :/

I've not come across the word 'tatsu' as my Japanese is quite basic, but it's possible that they both mean dragon :) Like in any language some meanings can have more than one word, and some words more than one meaning.

The problem is, Shanis, you can't get ANY accurate (or even partially accurate) idea of the meaning from Romaji (romanized japanese). 'Tatsu' for example ~can~ mean 'dragon' but only if written with specific kanji. Otherwise it could equally mean 'to lapse', 'to sever', 'to be built', 'to stand' or any one of a dozen or more homophones. It could even be slang for 'erection'.

Kantango gave me 4 different ways to write 'Ryuuma' with kanji (thought there are probably more), and not one of them is translated as 'Dragon'. All of them are 'translated' as "Ryuuma" and sure, all of those use a character for 'dragon', but that's not the same as meaning. Saying "Ryuuma means dragon" is like saying "Arthur means art" or "Cathy means cat".

Most names mean something, including judeo-christian names. Might as well call people that, too. Like if somebody's name is John Smith, you should call them "Merciful one who works with metal"? Silly, ain't it?

Yeah xD My sister's name is Lea and in some language it means "the lions strong" (I don't know how to call it in english so forgive me ;)) And I also heared that "hime" means princess but also lion so that must be some example for it :)

Ok, I've got a name some1 has to translate for me it's:
赤髪のシャンクス
In romanji it's "Akagami no Shankusu" and in english it's "Red-haired Shanks" so I don't want to know what akagami no means, but what shanks means :D

For the record, this is neither a Japanese language question OR a translation question. You're asking English speakers to translate an English word into... English. Couldn't you have tried looking it up in a dictionary FIRST instead of bringing the same question here again?

Here's what 2 seconds googling got me:

Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com

shank   [shangk] Show IPA
–noun
1.
Anatomy. the part of the lower limb in humans between the knee and the ankle; leg.
2.
a corresponding or analogous part in certain animals.
3.
the lower limb in humans, including both the leg and the thigh.
4.
a cut of meat from the top part of the front (foreshank) or back (hind shank) leg of an animal.
5.
a narrow part of various devices, as a tool or bolt, connecting the end by which the object is held or moved with the end that acts upon another object.
6.
a straight, usually narrow, shaftlike part of various objects connecting two more important or complex parts, as the stem of a pipe.
7.
a knob, small projection, or end of a device for attaching to another object, as a small knob on the back of a solid button, or the end of a drill for gripping in a shaft.
8.
the long, straight part of an anchor connecting the crown and the ring.
9.
the straight part of a fishhook away from the bent part or prong.
10.
Music. crook1 (def. 8).
11.
Informal.
a.
the early part of a period of time: It was just the shank of the evening when the party began.
b.
the latter part of a period of time: They didn't get started until the shank of the morning.
12.
the narrow part of the sole of a shoe, lying beneath the instep.
13.
shankpiece.
14.
Printing. the body of a type, between the shoulder and the foot.
15.
Golf. a shot veering sharply to the right after being hit with the base of a club shaft.
16.
the part of a phonograph stylus or needle on which the diamond or sapphire tip is mounted.
17.
Jewelry. the part of a ring that surrounds the finger; hoop.
–verb (used with object)
18.
Golf. to hit (a golf ball) with the base of the shaft of a club just above the club head, causing the ball to go off sharply to the right.
–verb (used without object)
19.
Chiefly Scot. to travel on foot.Compare shanks' mare.
—Idiom
20.
shank of the evening, the main or best part of the evening: Don't leave yet—it's just the shank of the evening.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME (n.); OE sc(e)anca; c. LG schanke leg, thigh; akin to G Schenkel thigh, Schinken ham

—Related forms
un·shanked, adjective

Slang:
Shank (n.) a home-made knife
Shank (verb) to stab someone.

As to which (IF ANY) the name is supposed to be, well that's down to guessing. Considering this is an anime name, it's probably just been chosen for the sound rather than the meaning.

Yeah thanks..

I've always wondered what Kenshiro means. I thought it meant "Soul of the Fist," but I could be wrong.

Kenshiro was wtitten 拳四郎 in the prototype Manga.Only once.
拳＝ken=fist
四＝shi=four ,fourth
郎=rou
郎　is usually used as the last part of man's name with numbers and simply means man.You can easily find Japanese men whose name end with ROU.

ＥＤＩＴ
As for Ryuken's brother,he is written 拳志郎.志=shi=belief.