Chapter 16: Through the Trapdoor
| Simplified Chinese (Mandarin: China) | ||
| 穿越活板门 Chuānyuè huóbǎn-mén |
穿越
chuānyuè = 'pass through'. 活板门 huóbǎn-mén = 'trap door'. |
Passing Through the Trap Door |
| Traditional Chinese (Mandarin: Taiwan) | ||
| 穿越活板門 Chuānyuè huóbǎn-mén |
穿越
chuānyuè = 'pass through'. 活板門 huóbǎn-mén = 'trap door'. |
Passing Through the Trap Door |
| Japanese | ||
| 仕掛けられた罠 Shikakerareta wana |
仕掛ける
shikakeru = 'set' (Verb + Passive られ -rare- + Past た -ta = 仕掛けられた shikakerareta 'was set, has been set' 罠 wana = 'trap'. |
The Set Trap (The Trap That Was Set) |
| Korean | ||
| 지하실 문을 지나서 Jihasil mun-eul jina-seo |
지하실 (地下室) jihasil = 'basement, cellar'. 문 (門) mun = 'door'. 을 -eul accusative (object) particle, object of following verb. 지나다 jina-da = 'pass, go by'. -서 -seo = 'after'. |
After Going Through the Basement Door |
| Vietnamese (Chinese characters show etymology) | ||
| Bẫy sập | bẫy sập = trap door. | Trap Door |
| Mongolian (previous) | ||
| Сөхдөг хаалганы цаана Sökhdög khaalagnii tsaan |
сөхөх 'lift up, raise up, open' (Habitual form). хаалга khaalag = 'door'. (-(н)ы -(n)ii Genitive form). сөхдөг хаалга sökhdög khaalag = 'trap door'. цаана tsaan = 'beyond, other side'. |
Beyond the Trap Door |
| Mongolian (new) | ||
| Нүх рүү орсон нь Nükh rüü orson n' |
нүх nükh = 'hole, opening'. рүү rüü = 'into, to'. орох orokh = 'go into' (-сон -son Past Tense). нь n' = 'about' (makes the preceding sentence into a noun). |
Going into the Opening |
Harry, Ron and Hermione go down through the trapdoor to look for the philosopher's stone.
How is 'Through the Trapdoor' translated?
Not all translators feel obliged to follow the English exactly.
- The Chinese versions are faithful to the English, referring to passing through the trap door.
The Chinese word for 'trap door' is interesting. As we saw in the title for Chapter 1, 活 huó means 'to live'. It also has the meaning of 'movable', 'flexible', 'not fixed'. Something that is rigid or fixed is called 死 sǐ or 'dead'. In this case, a trap door is literally a 'live board door', i.e., a door with a 'moving board'. - The Korean translator uses 'After going through the basement door'. Where the English focuses on the action of going through the trap door, the Korean speaks of events that follow. The trap door is described as 'the door to the basement' (지하실 문 jihasil mun), although the trapdoor was on the third floor.
- The older Mongolian translation refers to 'beyond the trap door'. The word for trap door is сөхдөг хаалга sökhdög khaalag, meaning a door that 'lifts up', 'opens up', 'raises up'.
- The newer Mongolian version translates the title more freely as 'going into the opening or hole' (нүх nükh). The title concludes with the particle нь n', which is used to indicate that this is a story about 'what happened when'.
- The Vietnamese uses only the word for 'trap door', bẫy sập.
- The Japanese translator departs completely from the original. She appears to have latched on to the 'trap' in 'trap door' and changes the meaning into a 'set trap' or 'set traps' (仕掛けられた罠 shikakerareta wana 'trap(s) which were set').
(Korean appears thanks to "Hiro".)
(Detailed notes on the chapter can be found at Harry Potter Lexicon)
| ⇚ Chapter 15 |  |