FAQ and Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

Disclaimer

I'm not Chinese, and I've studied only a little Mandarin. For the Firefly part, I used the published scripts, the DVDs, and dictionaries to revise what was on other sites and add many new entries, standard Hanyu Pinyin spellings with tones, Chinese characters, meanings for each word and word part, context, and cross-referencing.

Firefly and Serenity Chinese Translator Jenny Lynn filled in some gaps in the Firefly part but hasn't verified the accuracy of this site as a whole. Fei1chang2 gan3xie4 (thank you very much) to her for her generous help, to my fellow fans for translating the Chinese elsewhere, and to Pip for helping me find the shooting scripts years before they were published.
—Ying [ ]. Firefly. In the Mandarin.

• What are tones? / What are those numbers in the Chinese words?
• Are the actors speaking Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese Chinese, or some mixture?
• What other languages were spoken in Firefly and Serenity?
• Are "shiny" and "gorramn"/"gorram" from Chinese?
• Updated: What do Sihnon, Jiangyin, Kowlan [Fed Base], Ita [Moon], and [Battle of] Du-Khang mean?
• How could one translate X into Mandarin?
• What's the difference between the two written Chinese "Serenities"?
• What's the difference between the two written Chinese "Blue Suns"?
• What are the Chinese characters on Jayne's T-shirts?
• New: What are the Chinese characters on Kaylee's olive-colored (teddy bear and heart) coveralls/jumpsuit in Firefly's "Serenity, Parts 1 and 2"?
• Were there any errors with the written Chinese?
• Was there Japanese writing in Firefly?
• Was there Japanese writing in the movie Serenity?

What are tones? / What are those numbers in the Chinese words?

Every syllable of every word in languages like Mandarin Chinese and Thai have pitch patterns that are part of the correct pronunciation and that contrast with other words that have the same consonant and vowel sounds but different tones.

The wei4 (hey) in "Shindig" is not the same as the wei1 (danger) painted on parts of the ship in the series [sound files of Mandarin syllables with different tones].

• 1st tone high level: starts at very high pitch, flat, long
• 2nd tone high rising: starts at medium pitch, rises to very high, short
• 3rd tone falling rising:
  • full: before a pause or the end of a sentence: starts at fairly low pitch, falls very low, and rises to fairly high, long
  • abbreviated: before a 1st-, 2nd-, 4th-, or 5th-tone syllable: starts at fairly low pitch, falls very low, and stops, short
  • shifts to 2nd tone (high rising): before a 3rd-tone syllable
• 4th tone high falling: starts at very high pitch, falls quickly to very low, short
• 5th tone (or 0th tone) neutral: varies depending on preceding syllable [used with many grammatical words and with endings of many compound words], short

Are the actors speaking Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese Chinese, or some mixture?

All the dialog is Mandarin Chinese with the occasional Taiwan Mandarin Chinese flavor (e.g., si3 for shi3, excrement). According to Firefly Chinese Translator Jenny Lynn, the computer warnings in "Out of Gas" were supposed to be Mandarin, but the voice actor used Cantonese.

Thanks to Firefly Chinese Translator Jenny Lynn for the si3 form and its Taiwan origin.

What other languages were spoken in Firefly and Serenity?

Czech (Niska, "War Stories") and Russian (Simon, Serenity Movie, as code word).

Are shiny and gorramn/gorram from Chinese?

Shiny and gorramn (gorram in the comic book Serenity: Better Days #2, p. 2) are considered English by the script writers (no requests for Chinese) and captioners (no italics).

Shiny is just a metaphorical use of that word to include the slang meaning of "cool" and so forth.

Gorramn is almost certainly from goddamn. Note:

• goddamn and "gorramn" ("Serenity, Part 1"; "Serenity, Part 2"; "The Train Job"; "Bushwhacked"; "Ariel"; "The Message"; "Objects in Space"; Serenity Movie)
• goddamn it / goddamnit / goddammit and "gorramn it" ("Jaynestown," "War Stories," "Trash") / "gorramnit" ("Trash," Serenity Movie) / "gorrammit" (Serenity Movie)
• I'll be goddamned and "I'll be gorramned" ("Jaynestown")
• I don't give a good goddamn and "I don't give a good gorramn" ("War Stories," "Heart of Gold")

What do Sihnon, Jiangyin, Kowlan [Fed Base], Ita [Moon], and [Battle of] Du-Khang mean?

Planet Sihnon ("Serenity, Part 1," "Bushwhacked," "Heart of Gold")

The name of Sihnon, Inara's planet, comes from the English combining form Sino- for China/Chinese (from Latin Sinae from Greek Sinai: Chinese people). Joss Whedon confirmed this origin in Serenity: The Official Visual Companion, p. 12.

Planet Jiangyin ("Safe")

Jiangyin's name is presumably from the current Chinese city Jiangyin (江阴 [ Traditional: 江陰 ]; 2006 city population: 1,194,500) in China's Jiangsu province. It's on the Yangtze River's (jiang1) south bank (yin1) between Nanjing and Shanghai [Jiangyin City official site, in Mandarin].

Kowlan Fed Base ("Safe")

Kowlan is not Mandarin, but it's similar to the name of part of Greater Hong Kong: Kowloon (九龙 [ Traditional: 九龍 ] Cantonese Jyutping spelling: Gau2lung4; Mandarin: Jiu3long2; literally: nine dragons). There's a comic-book artist named Kevin Kowlan. Web searches also show Kowlan to be a Sri Lankan Tamil name and an Irish family name.

Ita Moon ("Out of Gas")

Ita may be named for the webmaster of The Phoenix Board, where "Out of Gas" writer Tim Minear posted at the time. A few hours after the episode aired on October 25, 2002, he at least didn't refute that prevailing idea (post #2991 of 10011, Firefly 1 [1.26 MB zip file] from The Phoenix Board archives).

The Battle of Du-Khang ("The Message")

Dukhang, a Tibetan word, is the main prayer/congregation hall of a Tibetan Buddhist lamasery (monastery) in Tibet, Bhutan, and Northern India. In "The Message" Mal, Zoe, and Tracey were in a Buddhist temple, so the Battle of Du-Khang was probably named after the structure.

How could one translate X into Mandarin?

Browncoat

棕色外套 Zong1se4-wai4tao4 (the color brown + overcoat/jacket) [from the Official Serenity Movie Site].

棕外套 Zong1-wai4tao4 (brown [word stem] + overcoat/jacket), modeled on the British Redcoats (红外套 [ Traditional: 紅外套 ] Hong2wai4tao4) [courtesy of fan "Shiny"'s wife].

棕大衣 Zong1-da4yi1 (brown [word stem] + overcoat), modeled on Mal's long coat [from me and others once the se4, color, was thought unnecessary].

Captain Tightpants

紧身裤子船长 [ Traditional: 緊身褲子船長 ] Jin3shen1-ku4zi5 Chuan2zhang3 (tight-pants + [ship's] captain).

Serenity [ship name]

宁静号 [ Traditional: 寧靜號 ] Ning2jing4-hao4 (serenity + name)

Badger [the animal]

狗獾 gou3huan1 (dog + badger [word stem])

What's the difference between the two written Chinese "Serenities"?

平静 [ Traditional: 平靜 ] ping2jing4

calm/quiet [sea], tranquil/still [lake], a calm [before a storm], peace [inner peace], peaceful [person, death], placid, undisturbed, serene, serenity, tranquility (Firefly TV series)

宁静 [ Traditional: 寧靜 ] ning2jing4

peaceful, tranquil, tranquility, quiet [night], serene/undisturbed [life], still (Serenity Movie)

PLUS:

• 祇 qi2: [Ancient Chinese] peace and happiness (Firefly TV series crew sweatshirt)
• 静 [ Traditional: 靜 ] jing4: [might be abbreviation for ning2jing4 (above)] calm, still, quiet, peaceful, tranquil, serene (Serenity Movie, stickers on inside of Serenity)
• 安寧 [ Simplified: 安宁 ] an1ning2: tranquil, peace, peaceful, calm, composed, quiet and peaceful (Serenity: The Official Visual Companion cover [the ning2 was cut off of the official U.S. posters])
• 平安 ping2an1: peace, peaceful, quiet and stable, safe (Serenity Official Site (USA) wallpapers, menu, and background)

[Usage nuances from Qian Suwen (Ed.), English-Chinese Pinyin Dictionary, 最新实用英汉拼音词典 [Zui4xin1 Shi2yong4 Ying1-Han4 Pin1yin1 Ci2dian3] (Beijing: New World Press, 1998).]

What's the difference between the two written Chinese "Blue Suns"?

靑日 [ 靑 is old-fashioned form of Traditional/Simplified: 青 ] qing1 ri4

qing1 green [color of nature], greenish, blue [sky, water], greenish black, blue-green (cyan); ri4 day, [regional and old-fashioned use] sun ("Serenity, Part 1"; "Bushwhacked"; "Shindig"; "Ariel")

篮日 [ Traditional: 藍日 ] lan2 ri4

lan2 blue, indigo plant; ri4 day, [regional and old-fashioned use] sun ("The Message")

What are the Chinese characters on Jayne's T-shirts?

By story:

• "Serenity, Part 1": NONE
• "Serenity, Part 2": 水 shui3: water
• "The Train Job": 勇 yong3: "soldier"
• "Bushwhacked": 靑日 qing1 ri4: "Blue Sun"
• "Shindig": 勇 yong3: "soldier"
• "Safe": [not visible but presumably 慈善服务团体 ci2shan4 fu2wu4 tuan2ti3: philanthropic service organization]
• "Safe": 战斗的小精灵 zhan4dou4 de5 xiao3jing1ling2: [The] Fighting Elves
• "Our Mrs. Reynolds": NONE
• "Jaynestown": 玩闹 wan2nao4: troublemaker
• "Out of Gas": 战斗的小精灵 zhan4dou4 de5 xiao3jing1ling2: [The] Fighting Elves
• "Ariel": 靑日 qing1 ri4: "Blue Sun"
• "Ariel": 勇 yong3: "soldier"
• "War Stories": 战斗的小精灵 zhan4dou4 de5 xiao3jing1ling2: [The] Fighting Elves
• "War Stories": 勇 yong3: "soldier"
• "Trash": 呆若木鸡 dai1ruo4mu4ji1: dumb as a wooden chicken
• "The Message": 玩闹 wan2nao4: troublemaker
• "Heart of Gold": 完美猫 wan2mei3 mao1: perfect cat
• "Objects in Space": NONE
• Serenity Movie: 慈善服务团体 ci2shan4 fu2wu4 tuan2ti3: philanthropic service organization
• Serenity Movie: 玩闹 wan2nao4: troublemaker
• Serenity Movie: 死 si3: dead

By design:

• 水 shui3: water ("Serenity, Part 2")
• 勇 yong3: "soldier" ("The Train Job," "Shindig," "Ariel," "War Stories")
• 靑日 qing1 ri4: "Blue Sun" ("Bushwhacked," "Ariel"), [ 靑 is old-fashioned form of Traditional/Simplified 青 ]
• 战斗的小精灵 zhan4dou4 de5 xiao3jing1ling2: [The] Fighting Elves ("Safe," "Out of Gas," "War Stories")
• 玩闹 wan2nao4: troublemaker ("Jaynestown," "The Message," Serenity Movie)
• 呆若木鸡 dai1ruo4mu4ji1: dumb as a wooden chicken ("Trash")
• 完美猫 wan2mei3 mao1: perfect cat ("Heart of Gold")
• 慈善服务团体 ci2shan4 fu2wu4 tuan2ti3: philanthropic service organization ("Safe" [not visible but presumably this], Serenity Movie)
• 死 si3: dead (Serenity Movie)

What are the Chinese characters on Kaylee's olive-colored (teddy bear and heart) coveralls/jumpsuit in Firefly's "Serenity, Parts 1 and 2"?

See Maggie's Costume Site for images.

Left Leg (on pocket):

• 平 ping2: calm, peaceful
• 出 [ upside-down ] chu1: go out, exceed
• 幸 xing4: good luck, good fortune

If that IS 出 chu1, it doesn't make sense here by itself. Perhaps it's from 出入平安 chu1ru4 ping2an1: may you have peacefulness/sound health in your comings and goings.

Left Leg (below pocket and teddy bear):

• 爱 [ Traditional: 愛 ] ai4: love

Right Leg (below heart and pocket):

• 喜 xi3: happiness

Were there any errors with the written Chinese?

Yes, there were.

• 警 [ written backwards on sheriff shoulder patches: ]; jing3: police ("The Train Job")
• 電 [ written backwards on trash bin: ]; dian4: electricity ("Trash")
• 易碎 [ written backwards on crate sticker: ; odd word for postal uniform ]; yi4sui4: fragile ("The Message")
• 收发室 [ characters vertical, sign hung sideways in hospital: ]; shou1fa1shi4: mailroom ("Ariel")
• 手不敢加價 [ characters horizontal, written sideways up woman's face: ]; shou3 bu4 gan3 jia1jia4: the hand dares not hike the price ("Serenity, Part 1")
• 水 [ written sideways: ]; shui3: water ("Serenity, Part 2")
• 冬虫夏草 [ abbreviated handwritten style; written bottom to top, possibly intentional; top character's final vertical stroke doesn't cross the horizontal stroke and is almost hooked, next character has extra stroke: ]; dong1chong2-xia4cao3: Chinese caterpillar fungus ("Shindig")
• 丸临 [ gibberish, probably intentional ]; wan2 lin2: pill at the time of (Serenity Movie)
• 伐丙 [ gibberish, probably intentional ]; fa2 bing3: attack third [in a series] (Serenity Movie)
• 丐 [ odd word for storage locker door jamb ]; gai4: [literary] beg (Serenity Movie)
• [all the streaming Chinese characters on River's data screen in flashback and dream] [ gibberish, probably intentional ] (Serenity Movie)
• [all the Chinese characters on cortex screen buttons] [ gibberish, probably intentional ] (Serenity Movie)

Was there Japanese writing in Firefly?

There was a little.

• 宮本五貞樂 [PROBABLY JAPANESE] Miyamoto Goteiraku [restaurant name]: Miyamoto [Japanese surname] Five Virtuous Pleasures ("Shindig")
• いけ花と造花・楽坂・田口屋生花店 Ikebana to Zouka; Rakuzaka; Taguchiya Ikebanaten [shop name]: Ikebana and Artificial Flowers; Rakuzaka [a name]; Taguchiya [Japanese surname] Ikebana Shop ("Trash")

Was there Japanese writing in the movie Serenity?

Only technically. There were some Japanese katakana (syllabic phonetic) characters, but they never seemed to represent any words.

• チクソ・セリラ・クマン chikuso, serira, kuman: [ gibberish on storage lockers in galley; note: cellar is セラー seraa ]
• [all the streaming katakana characters on River's data screen in flashback and dream] [ gibberish, probably intentional ]

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Scripts and Translations

Scripts

Official Serenity Shooting Script

in Serenity: The Official Visual Companion - With an Introduction and the Motion Picture Screenplay by Joss Whedon (Titan Books, 2005); script includes almost all of the original English and the Chinese, but not in pinyin romanization

Official Firefly Shooting Scripts Volume 1 and Volume 2

in Firefly: The Official Companion - Volume 1 (Titan Books, 2006) and Firefly: The Official Companion - Volume 2 (Titan Books, 2007); scripts include almost all of the original English and the Chinese, but not in pinyin romanization

Translations

Finding Serenity: Anti-heroes, Lost Shepherds and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon's "Firefly"

print anthology edited by "Shindig" writer Jane Espenson with Glenn Yeffeth (BenBella Books, 2005), includes "Unofficial Glossary of Firefly Chinese" and "Chinese Words in the 'Verse," both by me, Ying

From the back cover:
"From what was wrong with the pilot to what was right with the Reavers, from the use of Chinese to how correspondence between Joss and network executives might have gone, from a philosopher's perspective on "Objects in Space" to a sex therapist's analysis of Inara, Finding Serenity is filled with writing as exciting, funny and enthralling as the show itself." [ISBN: 1932100431]

Serenity translations

by Chrysocome on the Serenity Oz boards

Serenity and some Mandarin translations

by tmhsiao in a LiveJournal entry

Serenity: Those Left Behind #1, Serenity: Those Left Behind #2, Serenity: Those Left Behind #3 Comics translations

by KernelM, with comments from others to these LiveJournal entries

Firefly Chinese Translations board

by various fans on Haken's Fireflyfans.net

Chinese translations from Firefly

by Steve and compiled by Emungere on the latter's Consequence Free: Slash and Yaoi

BrownCoats.com - Language - Chinese

the "lite" version of the Pinyinary compiled by me, Ying, on BrownCoats.com

Firefly-Serenity Funsite

has filk songs (song parodies) and crosswords with Chinese by me, Ying; also has Firefly-Serenity Promotion section

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Dictionaries and Lessons

Dictionaries

Zhongwen.com: Chinese Characters and Culture

by Rick Harbaugh; image-based; search by English, pinyin Mandarin Chinese (syllables or words), character radical/strokes, or character total strokes; links to Cantonese character pronunciation

TigerNT Dictionaries

by Erik Peterson (C-E) and H. Xin (E-C); text-based; search by English, pinyin Mandarin Chinese (syllables or words), or characters

Lin Yutang's Chinese-English Dictionary of Modern Usage

by the late Lin Yutang and The Chinese University of Hong Kong; text-based, Chinese Traditional/Big 5 text encoding; search by English, pinyin Mandarin Chinese (syllables only, but lots of words on the pages), or character radical/strokes

Chinese Character Dictionary

by Thomas Chin et al.; image-based; search by English, romanized Chinese (pinyin Mandarin, jyutping romanization and other Cantonese, Hakka), Japanese, Korean, Unicode, and more (all syllables), or character radical/strokes

CantoDict

[focus on Cantonese] by Adam Sheik et al.; text-based; search by English, romanized Chinese (jyutping Cantonese or pinyin Mandarin; syllables or words), or Chinese characters (syllables or words)

ABC Chinese-English Comprehensive Dictionary

edited by John DeFrancis (University of Hawai'i Press, 2003); ink-based; search by pinyin Mandarin Chinese or character radical/strokes

Pop Chinese: A Cheng & Tsui Handbook of Contemporary Colloquial Expressions

compiled by Yu Feng, Zhijie Jia, Jie Cai, Yaohua Shi, and Judith M. Amory (Cheng & Tsui Company, 2005); ink-based; search expressions by pinyin Mandarin Chinese

Lessons

The Signal - Chinese Page

on The Signal podcast (which also has a regular feature in season one on Mandarin phrases from Firefly) has some Mandarin phrases with pinyin, Chinese characters, and sound files by Xiao Ka

Mandarin Lessons

free Mandarin lessons on Chinese-Lessons, including sound files for all syllables and tones (also Cantonese lessons)

Conversational Chinese Online

free Mandarin lessons on Dr. Tianwei Xie's Learning Chinese Online resource site

eLanguageSchool.net Learn Chinese

free Mandarin lessons on eLanguageSchool.net's Chinese site (multimedia portion requires free registration)

Guide to Pronouncing Mandarin in Romanized Transcription

on David K. Jordan's site

"Most Frequently Used Words in Chinese": de5, yi1, shi4, bu4, le5

on ChinaSprout: Chinese Cultural & Educational Products

Convert pinyin tone numbers to tone marks

on Mark Swofford's Pinyin.info: A Guide to the Writing of Mandarin Chinese in Romanization resource site

Patrick Hassel Zein's Chinese and Linguistic Menu

Chinese language and culture on Patrick Hassel Zein's site

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