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Firefly–Serenity Chinese Pinyinary
Chinese translations with standard Hanyu Pinyin romanization and Chinese characters for Firefly the TV series and Serenity the movie and comic books

Chinese Dialog

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Ma3shang4!

ma3shang4

[idiom] right away, at once; [literally: on horseback]

  1. ma3: a horse
  2. shang4: to mount

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[Man4man4 di5, ren2lei4 yong4jin4 le5 da4di4 de5 zi1yuan2. Huang1wu2 le5, ta1 wu2ke3 gong1ying4.]
Lüe4duo2zhe3, man3zai4 er2 qu4.
[Chuang4shi4ji4, chan3sheng1 de5 da4di4, shou3du4 gan3dao4 gu1li4. Di4qiu2 wei4 ren2lei2 de5 rou2lin4 er2 tong4ku1-liu2lei4, suan1ku3 de5 lei4shui3, man4liu2 le5 yi1 shi4ji4. Hui3mie4 zhi1 huo3, ru2 tian1 jiang4fu2 zhong1yu2 lai2dao4.]

man4man4 di5, ren2lei4 yong4jin4 le5 da4di4 de5 zi1yuan2

little by little, the human race completely used up the resources of Mother Earth

  1. man4man4 di5: little by little, gradually
    1. man4man4: little by little, gradually
      1. man4: [repeated] to be slow
    2. di5 [usually de5]: [adverb marker] [usually de5 ]
  2. ren2lei4: humankind, the human race
    1. ren2 [for this meaning, used only in compound words]: a human, a human being
    2. lei4: a type, a species
  3. yong4jin4 le5: completely used up
    1. yong4jin4: to exhaust, to completely use up
      1. yong4: to use
      2. jin4: to exhaust, to use up
    2. le5: [completion marker]
  4. da4di4 de5: of the earth, of Mother Earth
    1. da4di4: the earth, Mother Earth
      1. da4: to be big, to be great
      2. di4: the earth
    2. de5: [noun-modifier marker] [here: possessive (genitive), ’s, of]
  5. zi1yuan2: resources, natural resources
    1. zi1 [for this meaning, used only in compound words]: resources, wealth
    2. yuan2 [used only in compound words]: a source

huang1wu2 le5, ta1 wu2ke3 gong1ying4

having become desolate, she could not provide

  1. huang1wu2 le5: has become desolate
    1. huang1wu2: to be desolate, to lie in waste
      1. huang1: to be desolate, to lie in waste
      2. wu2: neglected (land), overgrown with weeds
    2. le5: [completion marker]
  2. ta1: she
  3. wu2ke3: can’t
    1. wu2: [negative prefix]
    2. ke3: can [auxiliary verb], to be possible
  4. gong1ying4: to supply, to provide
    1. gong1: to supply
    2. ying4: to supply, to respond

lüe4duo2zhe3, man3zai4 er2 qu4

the plunderers left fully laden with loot [see Notes 1 and 2 below]

  1. lüe4duo2zhe3: a plunderer, a pillager
    1. lüe4duo2: to plunder, to pillage
      1. lüe4 [for this meaning, used only in compound words]: to plunder, to take by force
      2. duo2: to seize, to take by force
    2. zhe3: [suffix to make doer nouns from verbs/adjectives], -er/-or
  2. man3zai4 er2 qu4: to leave fully loaded
    1. man3zai4: to be fully loaded, to be loaded to capacity
      1. man3: filled full
      2. zai4: to fill, to carry (a load)
    2. er2: [marker connecting adverbial to verb] [here: manner adverbial]
    3. qu4: to leave, to depart

Chuang4shi4ji4, chan3sheng1 de5 da4di4, shou3du4 gan3dao4 gu1li4

the earth that Genesis had given rise to, for the first time felt alone

  1. Chuang4shi4ji4 chan3sheng1 de5 da4di4: the earth that Genesis gives rise to
    1. Chuang4shi4ji4: [Christianity] Genesis (first book of the Old Testament, beginning with creation)
      1. chuang4: to initiate (something), to create
      2. shi4ji4: a century
        1. shi4 [used only in compound words (or as a family name)]: an era, an epoch
        2. ji4 [for this meaning, used only in compound words]: a century
    2. chan3sheng1 de5: that gives rise to
      1. chan3sheng1 de5: to give rise to, to cause
        1. chan3: to produce, to make
        2. sheng1: to give rise to, to cause
      2. de5: [noun-modifier marker] [here: integrated adjectival clause (restrictive relative clause)]
    3. da4di4: the earth, Mother Earth
      1. da4: to be big, to be great
      2. di4: the earth
  2. shou3du4: first time
    1. shou3 [used only in compound words (or as a classifier for certain nouns)]: first
    2. du4: [classifier for times in a sequence]
  3. gan3dao4: to feel / to sense (focus on result/goal)
    1. gan3: to feel / to sense (focus on action)
    2. dao4: [end-result marker]
  4. gu1li4: to be alone, to be isolated
    1. gu1 [for this meaning, used only in compound words]: alone, isolated
    2. li4 [for this meaning, used only in compound words]: to live, to exist

di4qiu2 wei4 ren2lei2 de5 rou2lin4 er2 tong4ku1-liu2lei4, suan1ku3 de5 lei4shui3, man4liu2 le5 yi1 shi4ji4

the earth, because of the rapacious acts of the human race, sobbed her heart out; tears of misery overflowed for a century

  1. di4qiu2: the earth, the globe
    1. di4: the earth
    2. qiu2 [for this meaning, used only in compound words]: a globe
  2. wei4: on account of, because, because of
  3. ren2lei2 de5: of humankind, of the human race
    1. ren2lei2: humankind, the human race
      1. ren2 [for this meaning, used only in compound words]: a human, a human being
      2. lei4: a type, a species
    2. de5: [noun-modifier marker] [here: possessive (genitive), ’s, of]
  4. rou2lin4: to ravage, rapacious acts
    1. rou2 [used only in compound words]: to trample
    2. lin4 [used only in compound words]: to abuse, to lay waste to (a place)
  5. er2: [marker connecting adverbial to verb] [here: causal adverbial]
  6. tong4ku1-liu2lei4: to weep bitterly, to sob one’s heart out
    1. tong4ku1: to weep bitterly, to sob one’s heart out
      1. tong4: bitterly, deeply
      2. ku1: to cry (tears), to weep
    2. liu2lei4: to shed tears (teardrops)
      1. liu2: to flow
      2. lei4 [used only in compound words]: a tear (teardrop)
  7. suan1ku3 de5 lei4shui3: tears of misery
    1. suan1ku3 de5: of misery
      1. suan1ku3: misery, sadness
        1. suan1 [for this meaning, used only in compound words]: grieved, sick at heart
        2. ku3: suffering, pain
      2. de5: [noun-modifier marker] [here: possessive (genitive), ’s, of]
    2. lei4shui3: a tear (teardrop)
      1. lei4 [used only in compound words]: a tear (teardrop)
      2. shui3 [for this meaning, used only in compound words]: a bodily fluid
  8. man4liu2 le5: overflowed
    1. man4liu2: to overflow
      1. man4: to overflow, to flood
      2. liu2: to flow
    2. le5: [completion marker]
  9. yi1 shi4ji4: a century
    1. yi1 [pronounced “yi2” before a 4th-tone syllable]: one, a
    2. shi4ji4: a century
      1. shi4 [used only in compound words (or as a family name)]: an era, an epoch
      2. ji4 [for this meaning, used only in compound words]: a century

hui3mie4 zhi1 huo3, ru2 tian1 [de5] jiang4fu2 zhong1yu2 lai2dao4

the fire that destroyed her, like a blessing from heaven it finally came

  1. hui3mie4 zhi1 huo3: the fire that destroys, the fire that wipes out
    1. hui3mie4 zhi1: that destroys, that wipes out
      1. hui3mie4: to destroy, to wipe out
        1. hui3: to destroy, to ruin
        2. mie4: to destroy, to wipe out
      2. zhi1: [Literary Chinese] = de5 : [vernacular Mandarin] [noun-modifier marker] [here: integrated adjectival clause (restrictive relative clause) ]
    2. huo3: a fire
  2. ru2 tian1 [de5] jiang4fu2: like the blessings of heaven
    1. ru2: to be like, as if
    2. tian1 [de5] jiang4fu2: the blessings of heaven
      1. tian1 [de5]: heaven’s, of heaven
        1. tian1: heaven
        2. [understood: de5 : [noun-modifier marker] [here: possessive (genitive), ’s, of]]
      2. jiang4fu2: to bless, blessings from heaven
        1. jiang4: to fall, to descend
        2. fu2: a blessing, happiness
  3. zhong1yu2: finally, in the end
    1. zhong1: finally, in the end
    2. yu2: [suffix for some time expressions], in, from
  4. lai2dao4: to come / to arrive (focus on result/goal)
    1. lai2: to come / to arrive (focus on action)
    2. dao4: [end-result marker]

Notes:

  1. Pronunciation and Spelling: Taiwan Mandarin pronunciation (FAQ):

    • second-sentence N for standard NG (gong yin for gong1ying4)
    • third-sentence Z for standard ZH (Lue duo ze for Lüe4duo2zhe3); a ze could work here, but then the sentence lacks a subject: lüe4duo2 ze2 掠夺则 (traditional: 掠奪則): plundered and then [left], because [someone had] plundered [, someone left]; lüe4duo2: to plunder, to pillage [see main entry above]; ze2: [marker of sequence], [marker of cause and effect / reason for]
    • fourth-sentence S for standard SH, C for standard CH, and N for standard NG (Chuang si ji, can shen for Chuang4shi4ji4, chan3sheng1)

    In the fifth sentence, tong ku liu lie seems to be a typo for tong4ku1-liu2lei4, a variant of the more common tong4ku1liu2ti4 痛哭流涕 : [set phrase] to weep bitterly, to sob one’s heart out; liu2ti4: to shed tears (liu2: to flow; ti4 [used only in compound words]: tears (teardrops)).

    In the sixth sentence, tien should be tian to be in Hanyu Pinyin romanization.

  2. Set phrase: In the third sentence, man3zai4 er2 qu4 is a play on man3zai4er2gui1 满载而归 (traditional: 滿載而歸 ): [set phrase] to return home fully laden with money/honors, to return from a fruitful journey; gui1: to return, to go back. Thank you to Firefly fan Patrick Zein for a suggestion for the whole sentence containing man3zai4 er2 qu4 before the script was published (Patrick Zein’s Chinese stuff).
  3. When asked for her most difficult translation on Firefly, Chinese translator Jenny Lynn responded:

    The most difficult translation required an hour-long, long-distance conference call between myself and my mother … in Los Angeles, and my cousin … in New York City. The text was a paragraph-long poem about the Earth That Was for a Balinese puppet show in “Heart of Gold.” The actor Jim Lau did a beautiful narration for it, but as luck would have it, not only did the episode not air in the States, only a partial phrase from the poem remains in the final cut.

    (Jenny Lynn, questionnaire answer in E-mail attachment to author, November 11, 2004)

  4. Also: ru2tian1zhi1fu2 如天之福 : [set phrase] as good as the blessing of heaven; ru2: to be like, as if; tian1: heaven; zhi1: [Literary Chinese] = de5 : [vernacular Mandarin] [noun-modifier marker] [here: possessive (genitive), ’s, of]; fu2: a blessing, happiness

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mei4mei5

mei4mei5

little sister, younger sister

  1. mei4 [used only in compound words]: [repeated with neutral 5th tone] little sister, younger sister

Notes:

  1. Script version: For (1): Inara sounds like “meimei” (“may-may”), and the captions also have Mei-mei on the region 1 DVD. Neither have “shao” for the script’s xiao meimei [phonetic for English speakers: shao may-may]: xiao3mei4mei4 小妹妹 : younger sister, young girl; xiao3: to be junior; mei4 [used only in compound words]: [repeated] little sister, younger sister. Unlike in mei4mei5, the repeated mei in xiao3mei4mei4 retains 4th tone instead of changing to neutral 5th tone.
  2. Also:

    Mandarin Words for Siblings
    Relation / GenderFemaleMale
    Older Siblingjie3jie5
    姐姐
    older sister
    ge1ge5
    哥哥
    older brother
    Younger Siblingmei4mei5
    妹妹
    younger sister
    di4di5
    弟弟
    younger brother

See also:

  • xiao3mei4mei4 (“Serenity, Part 2,” Serenity: Better Days #1 & #2)
  • Zhu4fu2 ni3, mei4mei5. (“Heart of Gold”)

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萤火虫宁静中文拼音典
Ying2huo3chong2–Ning2jing4 Zhong1wen2 Pin1yin1-dian3
Firefly–Serenity Chinese Pinyinary