HARRY POTTER PROJECT
envelope

Chapter 21: The Tale of the Three Brothers

Simplified Chinese (Mandarin: China)
三兄弟的传说
Sān-xiōngdì de chuánshuō
sān = 'three'.
兄弟 xiōngdì = 'brothers'.
de = connecting particle
传说 chuánshuō = 'legend'.
Legend of the three brothers
Traditional Chinese (Mandarin: Taiwan)
三兄弟的故事
Sān-xiōngdì de gùshì
sān = 'three'.
兄弟 xiōngdì = 'brothers'.
de = connecting particle
故事 gùshì = 'story'.
Story of the three brothers
Japanese
三人兄弟の物語
Sannin kyōdai no monogatari
三人 sannin = 'three people'.
兄弟 kyōdai = 'brothers'.
no = connecting particle
物語 monogatari = 'story, tale'.
The story of the three brothers
Vietnamese (Chinese characters show etymology)
Chuyện kể về ba anh em chuyện kể = 'story'.
về = 'about'.
ba = 'three'.
anh em = 'brothers'.
The story of the three brothers

The Mainland Chinese translator translates 'tale' here as 传说 chuánshuō or 'legend'. In other places 'tale' is translated as 故事 gùshì 'story'.

Notice that 'three brothers' is translated as 三兄弟 sān-xiōngdì, without any classifier or measure word. Normally 'three brothers' would be 三个兄弟 sān-ge xiōngdì, using the measure word ge. Omitting the measure word makes the expression into a single noun ('three-brothers'), which is more literary and elegant, and refers not just to any old three brothers (三个兄弟 sān-ge xiōngdì), but to the Three Brothers (三兄弟 sān-xiōngdì).

See also: Hagrid's Tale, Kreacher's Tale, and The Prince's Tale.

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

Chapter 20
Back to Top