# Chinese Transliteration

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-transliteration/400011>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 13, 2007, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-transliteration/400011 "2007-04-13T20:44:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-transliteration/400011/1 "2007-04-13T20:44:25Z")

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Could someone please transliterate this Chinese Expression for me?

沉魚落雁

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**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-transliteration/400011/2 "2007-04-13T20:49:28Z")

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something like… “the fish sinks and the bird drops”… according to my chinese friends anyway. Doesn’t sound like a good thing to me.

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**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-transliteration/400011/3 "2007-04-13T20:54:48Z")

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Someone googled it and said that is somehow pertains to ‘a beautiful woman’, although what that has to do with what the characters apparently mean is anybody’s guess.

There has to be a backstory here that I haven’t heard yet…

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**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-transliteration/400011/4 "2007-04-13T20:59:01Z")

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There is a [Wiktionary article on 沉魚落雁](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E6%B2%89%E9%AD%9A%E8%90%BD%E9%9B%81). The transliteration is “chén yú luò yàn” (in Pinyin).

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**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-transliteration/400011/5 "2007-04-13T21:00:48Z")

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“This dish cheap but satisfying”

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**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-transliteration/400011/6 "2007-04-13T22:28:05Z")

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[QUOTE=Giles]  
The transliteration is “chén yú luò yàn” (in Pinyin).  
[/QUOTE]

Awesome, thanks. Could you give it to me in more simpler terms with maybe rhyming words though? Is it like Chin You Low Yawn? Or Cheen You (ryhmes with How) (ryhmes with Van)?

Thanks.

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**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-transliteration/400011/7 "2007-04-13T22:57:57Z")

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Here is a cool site that might help you some more.