# Chinese vocab question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 5, 2003, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-vocab-question/159360 "2003-03-05T22:54:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aubries](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/53a042/32.png) [@aubries](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aubries)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-vocab-question/159360/1 "2003-03-05T22:54:20Z")
Is there a Chinese word for the idea of “matchmaker?” If so, what is it (roman transliteration, please)? ---
**Author:** ![Rob\_V](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Rob\_V](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rob_V)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-vocab-question/159360/2 "2003-03-05T23:10:39Z")
My Taiwanese associate says the word would be “mae lun” and to pronounce it correctly, you have to say it like it is a question. That is, with an upward lilt. Otherwise, it means something else. I have no idea what you mean by Roman Transliteration, tho. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![aubries](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/53a042/32.png) [@aubries](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aubries)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-vocab-question/159360/3 "2003-03-05T23:27:45Z")
I just meant use the roman alphabet. Which you did. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-vocab-question/159360/4 "2003-03-06T02:37:01Z")
In pinyin, which is the standard romanization method in mainland China, the word for matchmaker is **méi ren**. The accent on the ‘e’ means that you should pronounce “mei” with a rising tone. “Ren” is flat. The Chinese ‘r’ is a lot like the English ‘r’ sound. My dictionary also gives the following words: **Bíng rén** **Méi pó** **Méi shuò** **Bíng rén** literarily means “ice person” and from what I gather is an expression derived from the name of a legendary(?) matchmaker. The “pó” in **Méi pó** means “granny” and so this word probably applies only to older women. **Méi shuò** is pronounced _baishaku_ in Japanese and is a somewhat more formal term, I don’t know if it’s the same in Mandarin. Since my (limited) knowledge of mandarin is almost entirely litterary, I’m not so sure of actual usage. ---
**Author:** ![Urban\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-vocab-question/159360/5 "2003-03-06T08:51:14Z")
There are several. In additional to the ones listed, there are: _yue4lao3_ - the name of a god who’s in charge of marriages. _hong2niang2_ - refers to women exclusively. ---
**Author:** ![Urban\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-vocab-question/159360/6 "2003-03-06T08:52:56Z")
P.S. The numerals refer to the tones: 1 - flat 2 - rising 3 - dropping then rising 4 - dipping 5 - light (not pronounced loudly) ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-vocab-question/159360/7 "2003-03-06T10:43:59Z")
Zhuo Mei (sorry, I don’t know the acutal accents). Zhuo = “Do”, Mei =“Marriage” Xiang Qing = “arranged marriage” (I think, if my hanyu is not off)