Chapter 14: Felix Felicis
| Simplified Chinese (Mandarin: China) | ||
| 福灵剂 Fúlíng-jì |
福灵
fúlíng = 'good fortune + effective/spirit'. 剂 jì = 'decoction' |
Good luck concoction |
| Traditional Chinese (Mandarin: Taiwan) | ||
| 福來福喜 Fúlái fúxǐ |
福來福喜 fúlái fúxǐ = 'fortune comes fortune happiness'. | Fortune comes fortune happiness (Fulai fuxi) |
| Japanese | ||
| フェリックス・フェリシス Ferikkusu Ferishisu |
フェリックス・フェリシス Ferikkusu Ferishisu = 'Felix Felicis (transliteration) '. |
Felix Felicis |
| Vietnamese (Chinese characters show etymology) | ||
| Phúc Lạc Dược | Phúc Lạc Dược (福樂藥) = 'fortune happiness medicine'. |
Fortune happiness medicine |
'Felix Felicis' is the name of a potion that brings euphoria and a winning streak to the person who drinks it. Whatever they do turns out right. The name is based on Latin felix 'happy'.
The Chinese translator makes up a descriptive name: 福 fú means 'good fortune, happiness', 灵 líng means many things ('quick, nimble, mind, soul, deity, fairy, coffin'), but here it seems to mean either 'spirit' or 'efficacious, effective', a term applied to medicines and potions.
The Taiwanese translator makes up a name, 福來福喜 fúlái fúxǐ, somewhat similar in sound to the English Felix Felicis in sound. The meaning is something like 'fortune comes fortune rejoices'.
The Vietnamese translator makes up a name, Phúc Lạc Dược, which means 'fortune/happiness medicine'.
Interestingly, all three translations include the character 福 fú (phúc in Vietnamese).
The Japanese translation simply transliterates the English. Unfortunately, フェリックス・フェリシス Ferikkusu Ferishisu is a rather horrendous equivalent to what is an elegant Latin term!
(Detailed notes on the chapter can be found at Harry Potter Lexicon)
| ⇚ Chapter 13 |  |