The Titles of Magical Books in Harry Potter

 

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection

 

Chinese (Mainland)	黑暗力量：自卫指南 Hēi'àn lìliàng: zìwèi zhǐnán	黑暗 hēi'àn = 'dark'. 力量 lìliàng = 'force'. 自卫 zìwèi = 'self-protection'. 指南 zhǐnán = 'guide'.	The dark forces: A guide to self-protection
Chinese (Taiwan)	黑暗力量：自衛指南 Hēi'àn lìliàng: zìwèi zhǐnán	黑暗 hēi'àn = 'dark'. 力量 lìliàng = 'force'. 自衛 zìwèi = 'self-protection'. 指南 zhǐnán = 'guide'.	The dark forces: A guide to self-protection
Japanese	闇の力　ー　護身術入門 Yami no chikara - goshin-jutsu nyūmon	闇 yami = 'dark/shadow'. の no = connecting particle 力 chikara = 'strength'. 護身 goshin = 'protect-body' = 'self-protection'. 術 -jutsu = 'craft'. 入門 nyūmon = 'introduction'.	The dark forces - An introduction to the arts of self-protection
Vietnamese	Những lực lượng hắc ám: Hướng dẫn tự vệ Thế Lực Hắc Ám - Hướng Dẫn Tự Vệ	những = plural marker lực lượng (力量) = 'force'. hắc ám (黑暗) = 'dark'. hướng dẫn (嚮引) = 'guide'. tự vệ (自衛) = 'self-protection'. thế lực (勢力) = 'influence, power'. hắc ám (黑暗) = 'dark'.	The dark forces: A guide to self-protection

Shared Vocabulary:

The two Chinese versions are exactly the same. So, virtually, is the Vietnamese, which uses vocabulary of Chinese origin. The exception is the word hướng dẫn. Although created from the Chinese elements 嚮引 (xiàngyǐn), this is not actually a word in Chinese.

Unlike Chinese or Japanese, Vietnamese shows that 'forces' is a plural with the plural marker những.

Japanese uses somewhat different vocabulary from the other two languages: 闇 yami and 力 chikara are both native Japanese words; 護身 goshin is a Chinese borrowing.

Category: Dark Arts