Chapter 33: The Death Eaters
| Simplified Chinese (Mandarin: China) | ||
| 食死徒 Shí-sǐ-tú |
食
shí = 'eat' (written Chinese). 死 sǐ = 'die, death'. 徒 tú = 'follower, disciple'. |
Death-eating Followers |
| Traditional Chinese (Mandarin: Taiwan) | ||
| 食死人 Shí-sǐ-rén |
食
shí = 'eat' (written Chinese). 死 sǐ = 'die, death'. 人 rén = 'person'. |
Death-eating People |
| Japanese | ||
Shi-kui-bito (desu-iitā) |
死喰い人
shi-kui-bito = 'death-eating person'. 死 shi = 'death'. 喰い kui = 'eat', from the verb 喰う kuu 'to eat' (a rough everyday word mainly used by men). 人 hito = 'person'. デス・イーター desu-iitā = 'death-eater'. |
Death-eating People (Death-eaters) |
| Korean | ||
| 죽음을 먹는 자들 Jugeumeul meongneun jadeul |
People who Eat Death | |
| Vietnamese (Chinese characters show etymology) | ||
| Tử thần Thực tử | tử thần
(死神) = 'god of death'. thực (食) = 'eat'. tử (子) = 'person'. |
God of Death Eaters |
| Mongolian (new) | ||
| Үхэл залгигчид Ükhel zalgigchid |
үхэл ükhel = 'death' (from үхэх ükhekh 'to die'). залгигч zalgigch = 'eater, swallower (plural)' (from залгих zalgikh 'swallow, devour, ingest' + -гч -gch, suffix indicating an agent). |
Death Eater |
'Death eaters' is the term by which the followers of Voldemort are known. Rowling has given no explanation of the origins of this name, although there has been some speculation on the Internet.
How is 'Death Eater' translated?
- The two Chinese-language translators (Mainland and Taiwanese) make up similar words for 'Death Eater'.
- Mandarin 食 shí 'to eat' is an old literary word meaning 'to eat', now mainly used to make compound words, such as 食品 shípǐn ('food'). The normal everyday verb 'to eat' is 吃 chī.
- 'Death' is straightforwardly 死 sǐ. The word order is 'eat-death' (食死 shí-sǐ).
- To express 'person', the Taiwanese translator uses a straightforward 人 rén 'person'. The Mainland translator goes one better, characterising them as followers of Voldemort with 徒 tú 'follower, disciple'.
- The Japanese translator also makes up a word, 死喰い人 shi-kui-bito 'death-eating person'.
- This follows normal Japanese word order, 死を喰う shi о kuu 'eat death'. 'Eat' is transformed into a verbal noun, that is, 喰う a rough word meaning 'to eat', is transformed into 喰い kui 'eating'.
- 人 hito 'person' becomes -bito when forming compound words.
- The furigana (or rubi) give the pronunciation
as デス・イーター desu-iitā ('death eater'). However, at other places in the book, furigana indicate that
the characters are to be pronounced しくいびと shi-kui-bito.
- The meaning of the Vietnamese is not totally clear. The first word is 'death', or rather the 'god of death' (tử thần) as a personification of death. The second word is thực tử, which
means 'eater'. In an interesting flourish, the compound starts and ends with the same syllable (tử).
- The Mongolian translation creates the verbal noun залгигч zalgigch 'one who eats', from залгих zalgikh 'eat, swallow, devour, ingest'. 'Death' is үхэл ükhel, from үхэх ükhekh 'to die'.
Japanese and Mongolian differ from Chinese and Vietnamese in the use of changes in the verb to create new words.
(Detailed notes on the chapter can be found at Harry Potter Lexicon)
| ⇚ Chapter 32 |  |