City of Heroes: Live Forum Archive

Help me come up with a Chinese name

AzureSkyCiel

By AzureSkyCiel,
Posted on: 2011-08-16 15:28 in CoH and CoV General Discussions

 

Posted

A guy who is called "Shen Shao Shi" would be "Shen shi fu" = "Shen" + "Master".

The case of Shi Shen fu is different. It is an ancient and obsolete usage. The fu (夫) of "Shi Shen fu" (石申夫) is different from "shi fu" (师傅 teacher/master, unless it's your teacher then it's 师父 teacher/father) . It is the "fu" of Confucious aka "Kong fu zi" (孔夫子) whose surname is Kong (孔). Unless you are a dead guy with cult status, modern people aren't going to "fu" (夫) you

Shen shi fu = what other people call your dude, surname Shen, 沈师傅
Shen shi fu = what your dude's disciples call him, surname Shen 沈师父
Shi Shen fu = Shi Shen, surname Shi name Shen, the dead dude with cult status, 石申夫

"Honesty is for the most part less profitable than dishonesty." -- Plato

Playing Gods (51106) - Heroic Lvl 5-20
What Rough Beast (255143) - Villainous Lvl 40-50

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Freem View Post
A guy who is called "Shen Shao Shi" would be "Shen shi fu" = "Shen" + "Master".

The case of Shi Shen fu is different. It is an ancient and obsolete usage. The fu (夫) of "Shi Shen fu" (石申夫) is different from "shi fu" (师傅, master/teacher) . It is the "fu" of Confucious aka "Kong fu zi" (孔夫子) whose surname is Kong (孔). Unless you are a dead guy with cult status, modern people aren't going to "fu" (夫) you
I knew there was something fishy with the naming in that article! So essentially if I want to call someone by the title "master," I would essentially pair master or "shi fu" with his surname. OK, that makes sense. Is the "shi fu" lowercase, by the way? I ask because you wrote it in lowercase, but should I write it that way if I'm writing it down in a description field and, inversely, would it be a mistake to capitalise all three "words?" Would that be confusable with a real name? Not a big deal, by the way, that's just my curiosity speaking.

And speaking of curiosity: Freem, could you tell us a little bit more about yourself? Your knowledge of the language and naming seems extensive and I'd like to know at least a tiny bit more about you and how you came upon this knowledge I generally don't make a habit of asking people for personal info, and I will absolutely understand if you choose to decline. I just find it fascinating that you know so much in an area where I know precisely nothing at all.

Either way, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for your help

Quote:
Originally Posted by Arcanaville View Post
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

 

Posted

Just wanted to chime in and say this is fascinating to see how your name is evolving.

 

Posted

While you're here, Freem, mind reaffirming some names of mine?

One being a character I refer to in backstory as simply Master Cheng. I originally wrote his full name being something like Cheng Gao Li but now, I only know of those names being surnames, not personal names. Can you do that? Or are family names not in some 'off limits' category for peronal use? If not, can you put any meaning to that name? It's for an old martial arts master (kind of like Sam's but not even close to being that old...more like 90something before he was killed). He is the sole teacher of a technique to condition the human body to surpass its limits of speed, strength, stamina and toughness (and he was a pretty bass ad fighter) and he taught my main (and one other) this ability.

Curious what other titles he'd be in the running for besides the ones you mentioned too.

...eh, I have 2 other names that might need research but I don't wanna bug you too much ^_^

 

Posted

Samuel:

I capitalised the name of the people to differentiate them from other words. I think pinyin convention is such that they will join two characters together if it is a compound word, so it is "shifu".

I know about all this because I'm chinese (as in racially). I live in the east and speak/read the language. If you have a thread on "help me pick a French name" you'll probably have a French EU player popping up.

If you have any more questions feel free to PM me.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Leo_G View Post
One being a character I refer to in backstory as simply Master Cheng. I originally wrote his full name being something like Cheng Gao Li but now, I only know of those names being surnames, not personal names. Can you do that? Or are family names not in some 'off limits' category for peronal use?
There is no off-limits for using surnames as part of names. Besides, the English transliteration can look the same, but they can be completely different characters. "Gao Li" can mean "standing proud/tall" (a perfectly reasonable name parents give their children".

I am happy to help with your other names. You can PM me if you like.

"Honesty is for the most part less profitable than dishonesty." -- Plato

Playing Gods (51106) - Heroic Lvl 5-20
What Rough Beast (255143) - Villainous Lvl 40-50

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Freem View Post
I know about all this because I'm chinese (as in racially). I live in the east and speak/read the language. If you have a thread on "help me pick a French name" you'll probably have a French EU player popping up.

If you have any more questions feel free to PM me.
Thank you That's more or less what I wanted to ask without actually coming out and asking it, as it felt... Rude, I suppose you could say. I've always found it amazing what kind of diverse array of people we have here and the knowledge that brings to the table. Over the years, I've needed to ask quite a variety of somewhat odd questions, like the feasibility of movie-style instant-kill poisons, the functions and jobs of the different military ranks and so forth. I've found that it's almost always better to directly ask about a subject on which I have little or no knowledge than it is to try and fake it on my own, and helpful people like you have... Pretty much always been there to help. Thank you kindly.

Still, I was a bit surprised to hear you are Chinese. I remember when I was looking for a Japanese name, I don't think we ended up having a Japanese person come around to contribute, but it's possible I remember wrong. Either way, your English is better than mine, and I salute you for it!

Now I'm kind of disappointed I hail from such an obscure country that no-one will ever need my services in that regard...

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I have my name, it's in the game, and I couldn't be happier with it. If anyone wants to make use of the thread from here on out for further requests as Leo has, you are more than welcome to do so. This is been one of the most positive things to come out of the forums in the last few months (to me, at least), so if we can keep using it, I'd like that

Quote:
Originally Posted by Arcanaville View Post
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.