"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

Simplified Chinese (Mandarin: China)
哈利･波特与密室 Hālì Bōtè yǔ mì-shì	哈利･波特 Hālì Bōtè = phonetic transcription 与 yǔ = 'and' (written Chinese) 密室 mì-shì = 'secret room'.	Harry Potter and the Secret Room
Traditional Chinese (Mandarin: Taiwan)
哈利波特 消失的密室 Hālì Pōtè — Xiāoshī de mìshì	哈利波特 Hālì Pōtè = phonetic transcription 消失 xiāoshī = 'vanish'. 的 de = connecting particle (equivalent here to English 'which') 密室 mì-shì = 'secret room'.	Harry Potter and the Secret Room Which Vanished
Japanese
ハリー・ポッターと秘密の部屋 Harii Pottā to Himitsu no Heya	ハリー・ポッター Harii Pottā = Harry Potter in katakana. と to = 'and'. 秘密の himitsu no = 'secret'. 部屋 heya = 'room'.	Harry Potter and the Secret Room or Harry Potter and the Room of Secrets
Korean
해리포터와 비밀의 방 Haeli Poteo-wa Bimil-ui Bang	해리포터 Haeli Poteo = phonetic transcription. 와 wa = 'and'. 비밀 (秘密) bimil = 'secret'. 의 -ui = 'connecting particle'. 방 (房) bang = 'room'.	Harry Potter and the Secret Room or Harry Potter and the Room of Secrets
Vietnamese (Chinese characters show etymology)
Harry Potter và phòng chứa bí mật	Harry Potter (pronunciation footnote: Ha-ri Pốt-tơ). và = 'and'. phòng (房) = 'room'. chứa = 'contain, hold'. bí mật (秘密) = 'secret'.	Harry Potter and the Room Holding Secrets
Mongolian (previous)
Харри Поттер ба нууцат өрөө Harri Potter ba nuutsat öröö	Харри Поттер kharri potter = 'Harry Potter'. ба ba = 'and'. нууцат nuutsat = 'secret, mysterious'. өрөө öröö = 'room'.	Harry Potter and the Room of Secrets
Mongolian (new)
Харри Поттер ба нууцат өрөө Harri Potter ba nuutsat öröö	Харри Поттер kharri potter = 'Harry Potter'. ба ba = 'and'. нууцат nuutsat = 'secret, mysterious'. өрөө öröö = 'room'.	Harry Potter and the Room of Secrets

All translations follow their respective formats for titles in the series. In keeping with the practice of adding something extra to the title, the Chinese-language translation from Taiwan adds the words 消失的 xiāoshī de 'which vanishes, vanished'. This refers to the fact that the secret room had vanished until the events recounted in the story.

How is 'The Chamber of Secrets' translated?

This expression is also found at the chapter title 'The Chamber of Secrets'.

The Chamber of Secrets is a room deep under Hogwarts that has been sealed off for many years. Access is by a secret entrance. Looking at each word:

• A 'chamber' is basically a kind of room. The word was borrowed from Middle French chambre 'room' and originally referred to a private room. In modern-day English it has come to have more restricted meanings, in particular a large room used for formal or public events, or an enclosed space or cavity, such as a burial chamber. The title 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets' suggests a relatively large and magnificent space, but also has an association with the dead.
  
  
• 'The chamber of secrets' is a secret or hidden room, but more to the point, the name indicates that it contains some kind of secret.

How is 'chamber' translated?

Not all languages have suitable words to convey the sense of 'chamber' as used in English. Even French chambre (used in the French translation) is just the ordinary word for 'room'. Likewise, all the languages covered here use a form that means simply 'room'.

• Instead of the mundane everyday word 房間 (Trad.) / 房间 (Simpl.) fángjiān 'room', both Chinese-language versions use the suffix 室 -shì, which can be used for all kinds of room:
  
  
  • 卧室 wòshì 'bedroom', 教室 jiàoshì 'classroom', 會議室 (Trad.) / 会议室 (Simpl.) huìyìshì 'meeting room', etc.).
    
    
  密室 mì-shì, as used in both Chinese translations, is a single word meaning 'secret room' or 'sealed room'.
  
  
• Japanese also has the suffix 室 -shitsu 'room', which can be used in the same way as Chinese. 密室 misshitsu 'secret room, sealed room' would be possible, but instead the translator chose the native word 部屋 heya, an independent word for 'room'.
  
  
• Korean and Vietnamese both use words borrowed from Chinese 房 fáng:
  
  
  • In Korean, 방 bang can stand as an independent word.
    
    
  • In Vietnamese, phòng is also an independent word.
    
    
  The Chinese form 房 fáng, though, is no longer an independent word and can only occur in combination.
  
  
• Both Mongolian versions use the native word өрөө öröö meaning 'room'.

How is 'of secrets' translated?

• Translations in three Chinese-influenced languages use the same word (etymologically) for '(a) secret': Japanese 秘密 himitsu, Korean 비밀 bimil (in characters 秘密), and Vietnamese bí mật.
  
  
• The Chinese translations use the single character 密 mì 'secret, sealed', in combination with the suffix 室 -shì '-room'. The meaning is 'secret', 'private', or 'sealed off'.
  
  
• Mongolian uses the native word for 'secret', нууц nuuts. This is related to нуух nuukh 'to hide, conceal'.

Interestingly, while all of the translations use words meaning 'secret' or something akin to it, not all of them convey the sense that the room contains secrets.

• The Vietnamese translation conveys this meaning most clearly, rendering the name of the room as Phòng chứa bí mật, where chứa means 'containing, holding'.
  
  
• The Mongolian title (both translations) uses нууцат nuutsat 'mysterious, secret'. Нууц nuuts means '(a) secret'; the suffix -(а)т -(a)t is the shortened form of -тай -tai 'having'. However, нууцат nuutsat also has the nuance of 'mysterious, unknown'. This hints at mysteries found in the room, which is close to the meaning implied by 'the chamber of secrets' in English.
  
  
• Japanese uses 秘密の部屋 himitsu no heya 'secret room, room of secret/s'. This has the primary meaning of 'hidden or secret room', and secondarily 'room with secrets'.
  
  
• Korean 비밀의 방 bimil-ui bang is similar to the Japanese.
  
  
• As noted above, both Chinese versions use the established word 密室 mìshǐ, literally a 'secret room' or 'sealed room'. This is used for a hidden, private, secret, or sealed-off room, but does not necessarily suggest that the chamber contains secrets.
  

⇚ Book 1 Chapter 17

Chapter 1 ⇛