Chapter 5: The Whomping Willow

Simplified Chinese (Mandarin: China)
打人柳 Dǎ-rén-liǔ	打人 dǎ rén = 'hit person'. 柳 liǔ = 'willow'.	The Person-hitting Willow
Traditional Chinese (Mandarin: Taiwan)
渾拚柳 Hún-pīn-liǔ	渾 hún = 'stupid, unsophisticated'. 拚 pīn = 'go all out, be ready to risk all (in a fight, in work, etc.)'. 柳 liǔ = 'willow'.	The Blindly Fighting Willow
Japanese
暴れ柳 Abare-yanagi	暴れ abare- = 'running amok, riotous' (from the verb 暴れる abareru 'behave furiously, run amok'.) 柳 yanagi = 'willow'.	The Rioting Willow
Korean
커다란 버드나무 Keodalan beodeu-namu	커다랗다 keodalahda = 'large' (커다란 + ㄴ keodala+n) 버드나무 beodeu-namu = 'willow-tree'.	The Big Willow Tree
Vietnamese (Chinese characters show etymology)
Cây liễu roi	cây = 'tree'. liễu (柳) = 'willow'. roi = 'whip, lash, bamboo cane'.	The Whip Willow Tree
Mongolian (previous)
Ууртай уд мод Uurtai ud mod	ууртай uurtai = 'angry'. уд мод ud mod = 'willow tree'.	The Angry Willow Tree
Mongolian (new)
Зодоонч уд мод Zodoonch ud mod	зодоонч zodoonch = 'fighter, brawler' уд мод ud mod = 'willow tree'.	The Brawling Willow Tree

The 'Whomping Willow' is the willow that, true to its name, whomps Ron and Harry as they arrive in a flying Ford Anglia.

The English name is based on 'Weeping Willow', playfully modified to 'Whomping Willow' (thanks to Randolph Fritz for pointing this out). The word 'willow' is easy enough. The problem is 'whomping', which is based on the informal word 'whomp', meaning 'strike heavily; thump'.

How is 'whomping willow' translated?

Different translators come up with different solutions.

• The Mainland Chinese version renders meaning directly as 打人柳 dǎ-rén-liǔ 'person-hitting willow'.
  
  
• The Chinese-language translation from Taiwan renders the English word 'whomping' phonetically as 渾拚 hún-pīn. The resulting name, which means something like 'willow that struggles stupidly' or 'the willow that goes all out blindly', partly captures the English meaning.
  
  
• In Japanese, 暴れ柳 abare-yanagi 'rioting willow' is an echo of しだれ柳 shidare-yanagi 'weeping willow', having a similar structure with the same number of syllables (Thanks to Ramon Escamilla for pointing this out).
  
  
• The Vietnamese likens the willow tree (cây liễu) to a whip, lash, or bamboo cane (roi).
  
  
• The previous Mongolian translation described the willow as 'angry' (ууртай uurtai), similar to the Mongolian name for Angry Birds, ууртай шувуу uurtai shuvuu.
  
  
• The newer Mongolian translation uses зодоонч zodoonch, a word for a person involved in зодоон zodoon 'a fight or brawl'. This is in turn related to зодох zodokh meaning 'beat, hit, strike, assault'.
  
  
• The Korean translation avoids the issue altogether by calling it the 'large willow tree' (커다란 버드나무 keodalan beodeu-namu).

(Korean appears thanks to "Hiro".)

(Detailed notes on the chapter can be found at Harry Potter Lexicon)

⇚ Chapter 4

Chapter 6 ⇛