Chapter 6: Talons and Tea Leaves

 

(For the romanisation of Chinese and Japanese, see Transliteration. To understand the writing systems of CJV, see Writing Systems. For word order notes, see Word Order)

Where a Vietnamese word has been borrowed from Chinese, the original Chinese character is shown in parentheses.

 

Chinese (Mainland)	猎鹰和茶叶 Lièyīng hé cháyè	猎鹰 lièyīng = 'hunting hawk' = 'falcon'. 和 hé = 'and'. 茶叶 cháyè = 'tea leaf'.	Falcon and tea leaves
Chinese (Taiwan)	獸爪與茶葉 Shòuzhǎo yǔ cháyè	獸爪 shòuzhǎo = 'beast's claws' = 'talons'. 與 yǔ = 'and'. 茶葉 cháyè = 'tea leaf'.	Talons and tea leaves
Japanese	鈎爪と茶の葉 Kagitsume to cha-no-ha	鈎爪 kagi-tsume = 'hook claws' = 'talons'. と to = 'and'. 茶 cha = 'tea'. の no = connecting particle 葉 ha = 'leaf'.	Talons and tea leaves
Vietnamese	Móng vuốt và lá trà	móng vuốt = 'claws, talons'. và = 'and'. lá = 'leaf'. trà = 'tea'.	Talons and tea leaves

'Talons and tea leaves' is a reference to two matters: Harry's fate as read in tea leaves in Professor Trelawney's divination class, and the talons of the hippogriff, another of Hagrid's 'loveable' pet creatures.

The Mainland Chinese version translates 'talons' as 'hunting hawk' (i.e., 'falcon'). A falcon, representing a deadly enemy, is what Professor Trelawney saw in Harry's tea leaves. The connection with the hippogriff is ignored.

The Taiwanese, Japanese, and Vietnamese versions use the term 'talon', which refers directly to one of the hippogriff's physical features.

(A summary of this chapter can be found at Harry Potter Facts. Detailed notes on the chapter can be found at Harry Potter Lexicon)

Chapter 5

Chapter 7