Chapter 12: The Mirror of Erised
| Simplified Chinese (Mandarin: China) | ||
| 厄里斯魔镜 Èlǐsī mójìng |
厄里斯
Èlǐsī = 'Elisi'. 魔 mó = 'magic'. 镜 jìng = 'mirror'. |
Elisi Magic Mirror |
| Traditional Chinese (Mandarin: Taiwan) | ||
| 意若思鏡 Yìruòsī jìng |
意若思
Yìruòsī = 'Yiruosi', characters mean 'wish seems like thought'. 鏡 jìng = 'mirror'. |
Yiruosi Mirror / 'Wish seems like thought' Mirror |
| Japanese | ||
| みぞの鏡 Mizo no kagami |
みぞ
mizo = 'ditch'. の no = connecting particle 鏡 kagami = 'mirror' |
Mirror of the Ditch / Erised (Desire) Mirror |
| Korean | ||
| 소망의 거울 Somang-ui geoul |
소망 (所望) somang = '(what one) desires'. 의 -ui connecting particle. 거울 geo'ul = 'mirror'. |
Mirror of Desire |
| Vietnamese (Chinese characters show etymology) | ||
| Tấm gương Ảo ảnh | tấm = counter for mirrors, glass, etc. gương = 'mirror'. ảo ảnh (幻影) = 'illusion'. |
Mirror of Illusion |
| Mongolian (previous) | ||
| Шидэт толь Shidet tol' |
шид shid = 'supernatural power, magic, sorcery'. шидэт shidet = 'having magic, magical, supernatural'. толь tol' = 'mirror'. |
Magic Mirror |
| Mongolian (new) | ||
| Хүслийн толь Khusliin tol' |
хүсэл khüsel = 'wish, desire'. (-ийн -iin Genitive form хүслийн khüsliin 'of desire'.) толь tol' = 'mirror'. |
Mirror of Desire |
The Mirror of Erised has an inscription around its frame: "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi". Read the other way around, this becomes "I show not your face but your heart's desire". The name of the mirror comes from the first word of the inscription, Erised. The nature of the mirror is to show you that which you desire.
This intriguing piece of word play is discussed here.
How is 'Mirror of Erised' rendered in translation?
- The Japanese translator comes up with a creative solution: she reverses the syllables
of 望み nozomi 'desire' to yield 溝の mizo no, 'of the ditch' (in hiragana みぞの mizo no). Fortunately, reversing nozomi 'desire'
yields real Japanese words, and even better, they vaguely suggest the idea of
being trapped in a ditch. Note that it is the syllables, not the individual
letters, that are inverted: NO-ZO-MI is reversed to MI-ZO-NO.
- In the two Chinese translations, the inscription is simply an approximation of the English read backwards.
- In the Mainland translation, 厄里斯 Èlǐsī is the approximation of 'desire' spelt backwards. There is no particular meaning. This is rescued somewhat by calling it a 'magic mirror' 魔镜 mójìng.
- The Taiwanese version is more creative: 意若思 yì ruò sī, which is again 'desire' spelt backwards (!), means roughly 'wish
seems like thought' or 'meaning is like what you think', an indication of the
nature of the mirror.
- Two translators name the mirror 'The Mirror of Desire', leaving no mystery about its nature.
- The Korean translation uses 소망의 거울 somang-ui geoul 'mirror of (what one) desires'.
- The new Mongolian translation calls it хүслийн толь khusliin tol' 'mirror of desire'.
- The Vietnamese translator gives the mirror a different name, Tấm gương Ảo ảnh 'Mirror of Illusion'. The English name is explained in a footnote.
- The previous Mongolian translation simply calls the mirror a 'magic mirror'.
(Korean appears thanks to "Hiro".)
(For a more thorough treatment, see .)
(Detailed notes on the chapter can be found at Harry Potter Lexicon)
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