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Help[Opinions] Re: Japanese models' names
in reply to a message by Bear
Oh, okay. :) I love talking about Japanese names.
Here goes.
In the case of these models, Aiku, Erika and Ayumi don't really have a meaning, because they are written in hiragana (Japanese phonetic script). In Japanese, for a name to have a meaning, it must be written in kanji (Chinese characters). Those three names can have meanings if they are written in kanji. The model Ikumi writes her name in the Roman alphabet, so it doesn't have a meaning either. Sometimes, Japanese celebrities choose to write their name in the Roman alphabet (to look cool), but normal people wouldn't do that.
(I think) Ayumi is thought of as a cool and pretty name in Japan, as it's borne by the very popular singer Ayumi Hamasaki. Erika also has a famous bearer - the actress Erika Sawajiri.
Naoko ("honest/sincere child"), Shizuka ("quiet/silent"), and Mizuki ("beautiful moon") are common, traditional names. Many of the other models' names are quite modern-sounding.
Chihiro - "a thousand" and "inquire" (this kanji is probably used simply bacause it has the sound "hiro")
Harumi - "spring beauty"
Iruka - "enter" (again, probably chosen because of the sound) and "summer"
Kozue - "treetop" or "tip of a branch"
Leena [Riina is the proper transliteration] is definitely a modern, "ateji" name, meaning it's based on the English name Leena, but given Japanese characters. In this model's case the Chinese characters mean "pear tree", "garment" and "name". As the meaning doesn't really make sense, the characters were probably picked for their sound. I've seen many names like this - for example, the singer Anna Tsuchiya's son is called Sky, but is written with the Chinese characters for "sea" and "clear". Ateji names are basically the Japanese equivalent of "creative" naming.
Reina is probably a traditional Japanese name. I think the similarity with English name is a coincidence. In the models' case, it is written for the characters for "star" and "gauze".
I'm sorry this post is so long... But I hope you know more about the names now.
Here goes.
In the case of these models, Aiku, Erika and Ayumi don't really have a meaning, because they are written in hiragana (Japanese phonetic script). In Japanese, for a name to have a meaning, it must be written in kanji (Chinese characters). Those three names can have meanings if they are written in kanji. The model Ikumi writes her name in the Roman alphabet, so it doesn't have a meaning either. Sometimes, Japanese celebrities choose to write their name in the Roman alphabet (to look cool), but normal people wouldn't do that.
(I think) Ayumi is thought of as a cool and pretty name in Japan, as it's borne by the very popular singer Ayumi Hamasaki. Erika also has a famous bearer - the actress Erika Sawajiri.
Naoko ("honest/sincere child"), Shizuka ("quiet/silent"), and Mizuki ("beautiful moon") are common, traditional names. Many of the other models' names are quite modern-sounding.
Chihiro - "a thousand" and "inquire" (this kanji is probably used simply bacause it has the sound "hiro")
Harumi - "spring beauty"
Iruka - "enter" (again, probably chosen because of the sound) and "summer"
Kozue - "treetop" or "tip of a branch"
Leena [Riina is the proper transliteration] is definitely a modern, "ateji" name, meaning it's based on the English name Leena, but given Japanese characters. In this model's case the Chinese characters mean "pear tree", "garment" and "name". As the meaning doesn't really make sense, the characters were probably picked for their sound. I've seen many names like this - for example, the singer Anna Tsuchiya's son is called Sky, but is written with the Chinese characters for "sea" and "clear". Ateji names are basically the Japanese equivalent of "creative" naming.
Reina is probably a traditional Japanese name. I think the similarity with English name is a coincidence. In the models' case, it is written for the characters for "star" and "gauze".
I'm sorry this post is so long... But I hope you know more about the names now.
This message was edited 12/8/2010, 10:46 AM
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Replies
Thanks for this post, it's really interesting.
I'm curious - Chihiro 千尋 was the name used in this movie
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0245429/
I've seen people saying it means "thousand questions" which fits what you say, I guess. Wikipedia says the meaning is "thousand fathoms." The English word "fathom" can be used as a verb sort of like inquire or question ... is that a good approximation of the translation, or is it as general as "inquire"?
Interesting:
(etymonline.com)
fathom - O.E. fæðmian "to embrace, surround, envelop;" see fathom (n.). The meaning "take soundings" is from c.1600; its figurative sense of "get to the bottom of, understand" is 1620s.
inquire - late 13c., from O.Fr. enquerre, from V.L. *inquærere, from L. in- "into" + quærere "ask, seek" (see query). Respelled 14c. on L. model, but half-Latinized enquire still persists. Related: Inquired; inquiring; inquiringly.
(wordnet)
fathom - penetrate, come to understand
inquire - ask, wonder, investigate
As an aside, I think it's amusing how the origin of fathom make it a feminine concept, while the modern definition makes it synonymous with penetrate (because of taking soundings).
Anyway, what I want to know is: What captures the meaning of Chihiro better - thousand questions being asked, or thousand questions to be asked?
I'm curious - Chihiro 千尋 was the name used in this movie
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0245429/
I've seen people saying it means "thousand questions" which fits what you say, I guess. Wikipedia says the meaning is "thousand fathoms." The English word "fathom" can be used as a verb sort of like inquire or question ... is that a good approximation of the translation, or is it as general as "inquire"?
Interesting:
(etymonline.com)
fathom - O.E. fæðmian "to embrace, surround, envelop;" see fathom (n.). The meaning "take soundings" is from c.1600; its figurative sense of "get to the bottom of, understand" is 1620s.
inquire - late 13c., from O.Fr. enquerre, from V.L. *inquærere, from L. in- "into" + quærere "ask, seek" (see query). Respelled 14c. on L. model, but half-Latinized enquire still persists. Related: Inquired; inquiring; inquiringly.
(wordnet)
fathom - penetrate, come to understand
inquire - ask, wonder, investigate
As an aside, I think it's amusing how the origin of fathom make it a feminine concept, while the modern definition makes it synonymous with penetrate (because of taking soundings).
Anyway, what I want to know is: What captures the meaning of Chihiro better - thousand questions being asked, or thousand questions to be asked?
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You've intrigued me about this, and I looked into it a little more.
Chihiro Oide, the model for Pretty Style, writes her name 千尋, the same as Chihiro in Spirited Away.
The second character definitely has something to do with questions. It's in the word 尋ねる (tazuneru), which means "to ask, to inquire".
It must also have something to do with distance, because when I looked 千尋 (chihiro) up in the dictionary as a word, I found the meanings "1. great depth (lit: thousand fathoms); bottomless" 2. great height". Another word with the same metaphoric meaning is 万尋 (banjin) , literally "ten-thousand fathoms".
I ran 千尋 through google.co.jp, and got the result that 千尋 = 1.8288 キロメートル (1000 fathoms = 1.8288 kilometres). lol
I think "great depth" was the intended meaning for the name - I wasn't actually aware that "chihiro" is a real vocabulary word until now. I'd just seen the character 尋 in alot of names containing "hiro" so I assumed it was chosen because of the sound.
Chihiro Oide, the model for Pretty Style, writes her name 千尋, the same as Chihiro in Spirited Away.
The second character definitely has something to do with questions. It's in the word 尋ねる (tazuneru), which means "to ask, to inquire".
It must also have something to do with distance, because when I looked 千尋 (chihiro) up in the dictionary as a word, I found the meanings "1. great depth (lit: thousand fathoms); bottomless" 2. great height". Another word with the same metaphoric meaning is 万尋 (banjin) , literally "ten-thousand fathoms".
I ran 千尋 through google.co.jp, and got the result that 千尋 = 1.8288 キロメートル (1000 fathoms = 1.8288 kilometres). lol
I think "great depth" was the intended meaning for the name - I wasn't actually aware that "chihiro" is a real vocabulary word until now. I'd just seen the character 尋 in alot of names containing "hiro" so I assumed it was chosen because of the sound.
This message was edited 12/8/2010, 1:58 PM
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Aha. That makes sense. I wonder how long Chihiro has been used as a name. Maybe it was chosen for the sound at some point - a namey word that could mean something namey, even though it doesn't necessarily. Like Destiny.
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wow, thanks
That's exactly what I was looking for. And my head is still spinning. I had no idea both Erika and Reina were also Japanese names. That alone make it worth me getting up with morning. :-)
Mizuki wouldnt have interested me before. The sounds remind me of Suzuki motorcycles. But with the meaning "beautiful moon" I suddenly am open to the name Mizuki for a girl. :-) Knowing it is a traditional name helps too.
That's exactly what I was looking for. And my head is still spinning. I had no idea both Erika and Reina were also Japanese names. That alone make it worth me getting up with morning. :-)
Mizuki wouldnt have interested me before. The sounds remind me of Suzuki motorcycles. But with the meaning "beautiful moon" I suddenly am open to the name Mizuki for a girl. :-) Knowing it is a traditional name helps too.
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Mizuki
I like Mizuki too. :) It's really cute, and it reminds me of the word "mikazuki" which means "cresent moon" in Japanese.
I like Mizuki too. :) It's really cute, and it reminds me of the word "mikazuki" which means "cresent moon" in Japanese.
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