Ten thousand years
| Ten thousand years 萬岁 - 万岁 |
|
|---|---|
| Chinese name | |
| Long characters | 萬歲 |
| Abbreviation | 万岁 |
| Pinyin | wànsuì |
| Jyutping | maan 6 seoi 3 |
| Vietnamese name | |
| Quốc Ngữ | vạn doế |
| Hán tự | 萬歲 |
| Chữ nôm | ? ? - muôn năm |
| Korean name | |
| Hangeul | 만세 |
| Hanja | 萬歲 |
| RR | manse |
| Japanese name | |
| Kanji | 万 歳 |
| Kana | ば ん ざ い |
| Hepburn | banzai |
| Alternative spelling | |
| Kyūjitai | 萬 歳 |
Ten thousand years is a Chinese phrase that is used in many East Asian languages. The Chinese term wànsuì ( Chinese 萬歲 / 万岁 ). The Japanese reading Banzai has also become known outside of Asia.
The term is based on the numerical word wàn 萬 / 万 for 'ten thousand', which, like the Greek myriad, is a basic word and in addition to the numerical value can also mean 'countless', 'infinite' or 'eternal'. Suì 歲 / 岁 , on the other hand, means 'age', 'years of life' or '... to be years old'.
The phrase is used to express the desire for a long or eternal life. The addressee is typically the emperor or some other high value, such as the state or love. The general exclamation 'long live the emperor' in German is literally translated as huángdì wànsuì 皇帝 萬歲 / 皇帝 万岁 . But linguistically in Chinese the exclamation 'long live your majesty' is usually used bìxià wànsuì 陛下 萬歲 / 陛下 万岁 .
In Korea the term is spoken as manse . In the 20th century, the Korean resistance to Japan's colonial rule used the term in particular . 대한 독립 만세 Daehan Dongnip Manse can be translated as "Long live Korea's independence". In North Korea the term is used to wish the Supreme Leader a long life.
See also
- Banzai - used as a loan word in the Japanese language
- Sto lat - a similar phrase in the Polish language for "a hundred years of life".
Individual evidence
- ↑ term " Wansui -万岁- LEO: Translation Chinese German Dictionary". In: leo.org . Retrieved on 9 September 2018 (Chinese, German).
- ↑ Term “ wansui - 词语“ 万岁 ”的 解释 汉 典“. In: zdic.net. Retrieved September 9, 2018 (Chinese, English).