mmm poutine
January 26, 2009 11:16 AM Subscribe
Is there a Chinese translation for poutine?
Somebody must have invented a name for it other than translating cheese and gravy on fries.
Somebody must have invented a name for it other than translating cheese and gravy on fries.
Based on the Wikipedia link above, this is the actual translation for poutine:
乾酪澆肉汁馬鈴薯條
Using Clyde's cool dictionary link above, it works out to this:
1. 乾酪 = cheese
2. 澆 = covered (in molten liquid)
3. 肉汁 = gravy
4. 馬 = (no combination I entered seemed to work with 馬, but it means "horse" and is also sometimes used as "mounted") So, perhaps it is: cheese + covered in + gravy + mounted on + french fries (see below)
5. 薯條 = French fried potatoes
I have no idea how to pronounce it, though.
posted by KokuRyu at 11:55 AM on January 26, 2009
乾酪澆肉汁馬鈴薯條
Using Clyde's cool dictionary link above, it works out to this:
1. 乾酪 = cheese
2. 澆 = covered (in molten liquid)
3. 肉汁 = gravy
4. 馬 = (no combination I entered seemed to work with 馬, but it means "horse" and is also sometimes used as "mounted") So, perhaps it is: cheese + covered in + gravy + mounted on + french fries (see below)
5. 薯條 = French fried potatoes
I have no idea how to pronounce it, though.
posted by KokuRyu at 11:55 AM on January 26, 2009
The title of that article is 干酪浇肉汁土豆条, which Google translates as "pour gravy cheese fries."
posted by oaf at 12:04 PM on January 26, 2009
posted by oaf at 12:04 PM on January 26, 2009
Response by poster: That's a long name. any quebecers know if there's slang for poutine?
posted by captaincrouton at 12:28 PM on January 26, 2009
posted by captaincrouton at 12:28 PM on January 26, 2009
Outside of MaiDanLao and it's ilk I saw french fries only once, and it was at a restaurant right by my school that was used to foreigners, and it was an off the menu sort of thing. I never ever saw gravy in China, and I can almost guarantee you that there is no slang for Poutine in Chinese, and that the food itself is pretty much the antithesis of Chinese taste.
Generally new nouns in Chinese are translated in a very matter of fact way, as was illustrated above by the literal translations. For example something that you would expect to have a nickname, like a cellphone is just called a ShuoJi, which means literally talk machine. Something that the Chinese would have absolutely no interest in whatsoever is less likely to have a cute nickname.
It is just the way the language works, structurally speaking.
posted by BobbyDigital at 12:39 PM on January 26, 2009
Generally new nouns in Chinese are translated in a very matter of fact way, as was illustrated above by the literal translations. For example something that you would expect to have a nickname, like a cellphone is just called a ShuoJi, which means literally talk machine. Something that the Chinese would have absolutely no interest in whatsoever is less likely to have a cute nickname.
It is just the way the language works, structurally speaking.
posted by BobbyDigital at 12:39 PM on January 26, 2009
...like a cellphone is just called a ShuoJi, which means literally talk machine.
Actually, cellphone is called a 手机 (shŏujī) whose literal translation is hand machine, as in a hand-held machine.
posted by reformedjerk at 1:10 PM on January 26, 2009
Actually, cellphone is called a 手机 (shŏujī) whose literal translation is hand machine, as in a hand-held machine.
posted by reformedjerk at 1:10 PM on January 26, 2009
Response by poster: There are always regional differences and slang though right? In cantonese a cell phone is sow-tei (deen wah) which is hand held (electric talk aka telephone). Like some cantonese call Canadian Tire "guieh" (chicken) - Tie
I realize that not many chinese in china would have experienced the magical gut busting wonders that is poutine but surely those in quebec would have? The reason that this is of the utmost importance is that I was trying to explain poutine phenomenon to my collegues who are recent immigrants from china and one of them tried to look up poutine in google translator and failed miserably.
posted by captaincrouton at 2:04 PM on January 26, 2009
I realize that not many chinese in china would have experienced the magical gut busting wonders that is poutine but surely those in quebec would have? The reason that this is of the utmost importance is that I was trying to explain poutine phenomenon to my collegues who are recent immigrants from china and one of them tried to look up poutine in google translator and failed miserably.
posted by captaincrouton at 2:04 PM on January 26, 2009
What's the English for chow mein? Either it's "chow mein" (a rough approximation of the Cantonese term) or it's "fried noodles with vegetables and maybe chicken or seafood" which isn't exactly catchy, but is more descriptive. You're in the same boat with poutine.
posted by zadcat at 4:07 PM on January 26, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by zadcat at 4:07 PM on January 26, 2009 [1 favorite]
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posted by Johnny Assay at 11:31 AM on January 26, 2009