Chapter 6: The Portkey

Simplified Chinese (Mandarin: China)
门钥匙 Mén-yàoshi	门 mén = 'door, gate'. 钥匙 yàoshi = 'key'.	The Door Key
Traditional Chinese (Mandarin: Taiwan)
港口鑰 Gǎngkǒu-yào	港口 gǎngkǒu = 'port, harbour' 鑰 yào = 'key'.	The Port/Harbour Key
Japanese
移動（ポート）キー Idō kii (pōto kii)	移動 idō = 'movement'. キー kii = 'key'. ポート pōto = 'port'.	The Movement Key / Portkey
Korean
포트키 Poteuki	포트키 poteuki = Portkey (transliterated from English)	The Portkey
Vietnamese (Chinese characters show etymology)
Khóa-cảng	khóa = 'key'. cảng (港) = 'port, harbour'.	The Port/Harbour Key
Mongolian (new)
Зөөвөрлөгч Zöövörlögch	зөөвөрлөгч zöövörlögch = 'carrier'.	The Carrier

The Portkey is another of Rowling's enchanting gadgets, an object (usually an unassuming one) that whisks you off to a pre-determined destination when you grab hold of it. The Portkey in this chapter is one that takes wizards to the Quidditch World Cup.

How is 'Portkey' translated?

The main differences among translations lie in the interpretation of 'port'. The name supposedly comes from French porter 'to carry' plus the English word 'key' -- an interpretation that has Rowling's blessing. This makes the Portkey a 'key' to being 'carried' to another place.

But 'port' has alternative connotations. It suggests the word 'transport' (related, of course, to French porter); a sea port or harbour (the beginning of a voyage); and a door (French la porte, as well as English 'portal', etc.). Another relevant sense is that of a 'computer port'. These all work reasonably well with 'key', especially 'door', which yields the sense of a 'key to a door or portal'.

Some of the translators choose interpretations relating to a door or a sea port. Others place the emphasis on movement.

• The Chinese (Mainland) translation renders Portkey as 门钥匙 mén-yàoshi, literally 'door key' -- 门 mén 'door' or 'gate' + 钥匙 yàoshi 'key'. (In Traditional characters this is 門鑰匙.)
  
  
• The Vietnamese and Chinese (Taiwan) translations interpret 'port' as 'sea port' (港口 gǎngkǒu; cảng).
  
  
  • The Taiwanese abbreviates 鑰匙 yàoshi 'key' to 鑰 yào, yielding 港口鑰 gǎngkǒu-yào 'seaport key'.
    
    
  • The Vietnamese uses Khóa-cảng 'key-seaport' ('seaport-key' in English order), indicating the key of a sea port.
  
  Both portray the Portkey as the key to a journey or voyage.
  
  
• Korean uses a direct transliteration of the English word, 포트키 poteuki. This makes a certain amount of sense to Korean speakers.
  
  
  • 포트 poteu is likely to be understood in a general sense as 'sea port', although IT professionals will understand it as a computer port. (포트 poteu is also the Korean rendering of English 'pot', but 'key to a pot' is an unlikely interpretation.)
    
    
  • 키 ki in Korean means 'key', borrowed from English and used alongside the Korean word 열쇠 yeolsoe (鑰匙) 'key', which has been borrowed from Chinese.
  
  The sense of 'key to some kind of port' is thus quite accessible to Korean speakers.
  
  
• The Japanese translation uses rubi (see The Knight Bus) to give both a meaning and the English pronunciation.
  
  
  • The main text gives 移動キー idō-kii meaning 'movement key'. (移動 idō means 'movement'; キー kii, from English, is commonly used in Japanese in place of the native word かぎ kagi, especially for car keys.)
    
    
  • In addition, rubi (small katakana on top) give 移動 idō the pronunciation ポート pōto.
  
  The effect is to write 'movement key' while simultaneously indicating that it should be pronounced ポートキー pōto-kii.
  
  
• The Mongolian translator omits 'key' altogether, simplifying the name to зөөвөрлөгч zöövörlögch meaning 'carrier'. This is from зөөвөрлөх zöövörlökh 'to transport, carry' + -гч -gch 'an agent that does something'. (The ultimate root is зөөх zöökh 'to carry, transport'.) Interestingly, an earlier unauthorised online translation of Harry Potter from the Russian also used this word.

(For an explanation, see Portkey (Gadgets section).)

(Korean appears thanks to "Hiro".)

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

⇚ Chapter 5

Chapter 7 ⇛