Chapter 9: The Half-Blood Prince
| Simplified Chinese (Mandarin: China) | ||
| 混血王子 Hùnxuè wángzi |
混血
hùnxuè = 'mixed blood, half blood'. 王子 wángzi = 'prince'. |
The half-blood prince |
| Traditional Chinese (Mandarin: Taiwan) | ||
| 混血王子 Hùnxuè wángzi |
混血 hùnxuè = 'mixed blood, half blood'. 王子 wángzi = 'prince'. |
The half-blood prince |
| Japanese | ||
| 謎のプリンス Nazo no purinsu |
謎 nazo = 'riddle, puzzle'. の no = connecting particle プリンス purinsu = 'prince' (from English). |
The enigmatic prince |
| Vietnamese (Chinese characters show etymology) | ||
| Hoàng Tử Lai | hoàng tử (皇子) = 'prince'. lai = 'mixed blood, half breed'. |
The half-blood prince |
Apart from the Japanese, a straightforward translation.
The Japanese translator has obviously struggled with the term 'half-blood'. In the book title and the chapter title she uses 謎のプリンス Nazo no purinsu 'the enigmatic prince' in preference to any reference to 'half-blood'. This is probably because of the difficulty of finding a suitable word for 'half-blood' in the existing vocabulary. Words like 混血 konketsu 'mixed blood' carry unfavourable overtones in Japanese, while the modern word ハーフ hāfu, taken from English, would look odd both for its specific associations with racial mixed blood (often Japanese and non-Japanese mixtures) and its quite contemporary connotations.
However, in the concluding words of the chapter itself, where Harry finds the words 'Half-blood prince' written in his potions textbook, the translator uses 半純血のプリンス han-junketsu no purinsu 'half pure-blood prince'.
For the pun on 'prince', see the title, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
(Detailed notes on the chapter can be found at Harry Potter Lexicon)
| ⇚ Chapter 8 |  |