Learning Chinese with Digimon

Agumon Hakase (Expert) from Digimon profile section in the official Digimon website digimon.net

Not only can one learn Japanese or even English with Digimon, but now Chinese as well. Chinese has also been added as a language option on the official website. It provides a fun way to learn the readings and meanings of Chinese characters through the names of the Digimon. There are two approaches to adapting the names of Digimon in Chinese. 

The first approach involves using them solely for phonetic transcription, while the second approach involves selecting names based on their meanings in case the original name or the Digimon itself references an animal, mythological character, or real-life object with an existing translation. The following examples illustrate these approaches:

1. Teslajellymon: 特斯拉洁莉兽 (tè sī lā jié lì shòu):

- 特斯拉 (tè sī lā): "Tesla"

特 (tè): This character means "special" or "unique." It is often used to indicate something distinctive or extraordinary.

斯 (sī): This character is a transliteration character and doesn't have a specific meaning on its own. [Classical] This. 

拉 (lā): This character can mean "pull" or "draw." It can also be used as a transliteration character.

- 洁莉兽 (jié lì shòu): "Jelly" + 兽 (shòu) means "beast" or "monster" (mon)

洁 (jié): This character means "clean" or "pure." It represents the concept of cleanliness or purity.

莉 (lì): (ARCHAIC) a kind of grass; female name (meaning sweet and pretty)

TeslaJellymon (Official profile in the Digimon Reference Book)

Vemmon: 贝姆兽 (bèi mǔ shòu):

- 贝 (bèi): This character means "shell" or "seashell." It often represents the concept of something valuable or precious.

- 姆 (mǔ): This character is a phonetic component used to represent the sound of the word. [Archaic] Old nurse. 

Vemmon (Digimon Card Game)

Agumon: 亚古兽

- 亚 (yà): It can have several meanings, including "Asia," "secondary," "sub-," "next to," or "inferior." 

- 古 (gǔ): It generally means "ancient" or "old." It can also imply something traditional, historical, or belonging to the past.

Agumon (Digimon Super Rumble website)

In fact, the selection of characters for phonetic transcription is not arbitrary but can be related to the Digimon being depicted. For example, take Gabumon, a reptilian Digimon that incorporates the fur of Garurumon to conceal its true form. Gabumon accumulates the residual data left by Garurumon and wearing it like a pelt. The presence of Garurumon's pelt instills fear in other Digimon, thus safeguarding Gabumon. While donning the pelt, Gabumon experiences a complete reversal of its personality.

Gabumon: 加布兽

- 加 (jiā): It means "to add," "to increase," or "to augment." It can also indicate the act of joining or including something.

- 布 (bù): It can have multiple meanings, including "cloth," "fabric," "to spread," or "to announce." It can also refer to a specific type of woven fabric.

Gabumon (Digimon Card Game)

2. Espimon: 特工兽 (tè gōng shòu):

- 特工 (tè gōng): This refers to a "special agent" or a "secret agent." ("Espi", espionage)

- 兽 (shòu): Again, this means "beast" or "monster."

Quantumon: 量子兽

量子 (liàng zǐ): "量子" (liàng zǐ) means "quantum" in English. It refers to the field of quantum physics and represents the concept of particles and phenomena at the quantum level.

Quantumon (Digimon Ghost Game anime series)

Ragnamon: 诸神黄昏兽

The phrase "诸神黄昏" (zhūshén huánghūn) is a Chinese term that can be translated as "Twilight of the Gods" or "Ragnarok" in English. 

- 诸 (zhū): It means "all" or "various."

- 神 (shén): It means "god" or "deity."

- 黄昏 (huánghūn): It refers to "twilight" or "dusk."

The phrase "诸神黄昏" refers Ragnarok, also known as the Twilight of the Gods, refers to the ultimate demise of the world as described in Norse mythology. It depicts the final battle between the Aesir gods and the forces of Hel, led by Loki. The term "Ragnarok" originates from Old Norse, combining "ragna" (genitive plural of "regin," meaning gods) and "rǫk" (meaning fate or course).

Ragnamon (Official profile illustration) 

Oleamon: 夹竹桃兽

The term "夹竹桃" (jiā zhú táo) describes the oleander plant. Oleander is a flowering shrub with toxic properties, so caution should be exercised when handling or consuming it.

Oleamon (Official profile picture)

Sometimes, even the Chinese profile of a Digimon can offer us additional insights. This is not only because it provides an alternative translation with different nuances compared to the original Japanese or even the English translation, but also in terms of the Digimon's names and their special abilities. The Japanese names of Digimon are always written in Katakana, a special syllabary reserved for foreign words or used for emphasis, meaning that we don't have kanji characters that provide additional information beyond phonetics. However, in Chinese, which lacks a syllabary and instead uses characters called hanzi, these characters not only represent sounds but also carry specific meanings (similar to Japanese kanji). Therefore, they must rely on hanzi characters to refer to the names of Digimon and their special techniques. Consequently, studying the Chinese profile not only serves as a valuable way to learn the language, but also enables us to gather extra or more elucidating information about a Digimon.

For instance, let's consider Chamblemon. When its profile was leaked through the Vital Bracelet without an official translation available, we were solely presented with its Japanese name, シャンブルモン (Shanburumon). The term "Shanburu" could potentially be a transliteration of the English words "shamble" or "chamber." Alternatively, it might allude to "Champignon," the French word for mushroom, with the latter option appearing more plausible. However, given the absence of official confirmation regarding the etymology of this Digimon's name, we turned to the Chinese profile, where it is referred to as 毒蘑菇兽 (dú mó gū shòu), which can be translated as "Poison Mushroom Beast (mon)" in English.

Chamblemon (Vital Bracelet)

The term 毒蘑菇 (dú mó gū) in Chinese can be broken down as follows:

毒 (dú): This character means "poison" or "toxic."

蘑菇 (mó gū): This compound term translates to "mushroom."

Combining the characters, 毒蘑菇 (dú mó gū) translates to "poison mushroom" in English. 

Chamblemon (Official profile picture)

The same phenomenon occurs with loanwords from other languages, such as the term "黑客", a Chinese word that translates to "hacker" in English. It is a combination of the characters "黑" (hēi), meaning "black" or "dark," and "客" (kè), meaning "guest" or "visitor." It was borrowed from the English word "hacker" and adapted into the Chinese language, both in terms of pronunciation and meaning. Loanwords are common in languages when a term or concept from one language is adopted and integrated into another language, often due to cultural, technological, or linguistic influences. In the case of "黑客," it reflects the influence of computer technology and the global nature of the term "hacker" in the field of cybersecurity.