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Chapter 10: Mayhem at the Ministry

Simplified Chinese (Mandarin: China)
魔法部乱成一团
Mófǎ-bù luàn-chéng-yì-tuán
魔法 mófǎ = 'magic'.
= 'ministry, department'.
乱成一团 luàn-chéng-yì-tuán = 'be in a situation of chaos'.
The Ministry of Magic in complete chaos
Traditional Chinese (Mandarin: Taiwan)
魔法部大亂
Mófǎ-bù dà-luàn
魔法 mófǎ = 'magic'.
= 'ministry, department'.
大亂 dàluàn = 'great chaos'.
The Ministry of Magic in great chaos
Japanese
魔法省スキャンダル
Mahō-shō sukyandaru
魔法 mahō = 'magic'.
shō = 'ministry, department'.
スキャンダル sukyandaru (from English) = 'scandal'.
Ministry of Magic scandal
Korean
마법부의 대혼란
Mabeobbu-ui dae-honlan
마법 (魔法) mabeob = 'magic'.
() -bu = 'ministry'.
-ui = connecting particle (possessive).
() dae = 'big, large'.
혼란 (混亂) honlan = 'confusion, chaos, mess'.
The Ministry of Magic's Big Chaos
Vietnamese (Chinese characters show etymology)
Hỗn loạn ở Bộ Pháp thuật hỗn loạn (混亂) = 'disorderly, confused; disorder, confusion'.
= 'at'.
bộ () = 'ministry, department'.
pháp thuật (法術) = 'magic'.
Chaos at the Ministry of Magic
Mongolian (new)
Ид шидийн яам дахь шуугиан
Id shidiin yaam dakh' shuugian
ид шид id shid = 'magic' (-ийн -iin Genitive form).
яам yaam = 'ministry' (from Chinese 衙門 yámén 'ministry, government office').
дахь dakh' = 'which is in/at'.
шуугиан shuugian = 'ruction, clamour, ruckus, uproar'.
Ruckus at the Ministry of Magic

The mayhem in question was caused by Rita Skeeter's article criticising the ministry for lax security, which resulted in the appearance of the Dark Mark at the Quidditch World Cup.

How is 'ministry' translated?

This chapter is talking about a ministry or government department, not the ministry in a church. Probably because China has one of the earliest traditions of government bureaucracy in the world, all our languages use words from Chinese.

How is 'mayhem' translated?

'Mayhem' is mostly translated as 'chaos', but two translations have a slightly different spin.

How is 'in the' (prepositional phrase) translated?

This chapter uses a noun followed by a prepositional phrase, similar to that found at The Boggart in the Wardrobe, The Writing on the Wall, The Journey from Platform Nine and Three Quarters, and The Letters from No One.

This construction appears to be a favoured device for chapter headings in English. The chapter titles mentioned above can be understood as meaning 'the boggart that was in the wardrobe', 'the writing that was on the wall', 'the journey that started from platform nine and three quarters' and 'the letters that came from no one'. In this title, however, the meaning is more along the lines of 'there was mayhem at the ministry' or 'mayhem broke out at the ministry' rather than 'the mayhem that occurred at the ministry'. That is, it is informing us that mayhem broke out at the ministry rather than simply describing the location of the mayhem.

This nuance has led to slightly different treatments of the chapter title.

(Korean appears thanks to "Hiro".)

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

Chapter 9
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