[A] Ayu's Chinese name

jimex289 · #1 1st January 2009, 09:34 PM

All right so maybe some of you are aware and some of you guys are not. I've noticed for a while now and it seems kind of strange to me. She's known as "Ayumi Hamasaki" or 浜崎あゆみ in Japan but in foreign Mandarin-speaking places, the characters are slightly different for obvious reasons: 滨崎步 and she's called "Binqibu", literally read Bin chi bu. I'm actually Chinese and I've always known her as Ayumi Hamasaki. I just don't see a need for them to call her something different verbally though it's probably the natural thing to do when you read the characters. For those Ayu fans in places like Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore, what do you guys refer to her as? She'll always be Ayumi Hamasaki to me wherever I go and even if I speak in Mandarin, that's how she'll be referred to lol. It makes her seem like a different person when you call her the other.

ストロボ・EdGE · #2 1st January 2009, 10:52 PM

Hm, that's interesting. Kinda like how the Japanese call Britney and Christina ブリちゃん(buri chan)　＆　アギちゃん(agi chan)、respectively。

Since I don't know crap about Chinese or Mandarin, it might be that Hamasaki Ayumi is hard to pronounce?

jbrat2219 · #3 1st January 2009, 11:19 PM

My name is completely different in Chinese. If someone were to call me by it, I would still answer. I thought the Chinese turned a lot of foreign words into Chinese pronunciations?

Kikaru · #4 2nd January 2009, 01:13 AM

Chinese here too ^_^ I always thought 步 is how you would write Ayumi in kanji, or something like that, and since "hamasaki" is in Kanji they just pronounce it that way?

I remember in China that people with foreign name gets assigned the Chinese name based on the closest sounding syllable, but since Ayu already has a kanji (which is basically the same as the Chinese characters I believe) last name, it makes sense to just change her first name...

Or something like that...in all honesty, I have no idea why they do that

sora2522 · #5 2nd January 2009, 01:35 AM

technically, her birth name is the kanji Ayumi. her stage name is the hiragana Ayumi

people (in taiwan at least) KNOW her as ayumi hamasaki, but since the kanji for the japanese name is the same as the chiense characters, they just call her by the chinese pronounciation. she isn't the only artist; other people like Namie Amuro (An Si Nai Mei Hui), Utada Hikaru (Yu Duo Tian Guang) share the same fate. it's probably just easier

plus, i'm pretty sure i've seen footage from ayu's taiwan concert of the first asia tour, and i've heard people call her 'ayu' before O.o...

f1rz3n_0028 · #6 2nd January 2009, 01:55 AM

I am Chinese too!!!　　　　　　^_^

They only pronounce it like this because her name is in kanji and so they just pronounce it as they would as if it was chinese.

Hiragana：浜崎あゆみ
Kanji：浜崎歩

jimex289 · #7 2nd January 2009, 02:29 AM

Hmm if you notice, the character for "Hama" is slightly different in Chinese character.

It went from 浜 to 滨.

I think I've seen it written both ways? I have no idea if they mean the same thing in Chinese as I am not familiar with the writing system. Her fans call her Ayu, yes. What I'm referring to is like...on the news and in the papers and even in TV CMs. Even my parents, when they saw my Ayu posters in my room, said: "That's Binqibu." I was like...lol wut? It seems people like my parents have absolutely no clue what her real native name is.

asmAyumi1992 · #8 2nd January 2009, 06:27 AM

Is it because of the writings is quite similar?

keikeiaznqueen · #9 2nd January 2009, 06:48 AM

Well, I don't actually think Ayu's "Hama" in Japanese kanji exists in the Chinese dictionary.

When I talk about Ayu in chinese to my parents or people who won't know her name in English or Japanese, I say her name in Cantonese which is "Bun Kei Bo"

But fans here refer to Ayu as "Ayu". Definitely. It's what we yell in concerts. XD

Meat Pao · #10 2nd January 2009, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimex289

Hmm if you notice, the character for "Hama" is slightly different in Chinese character.

It went from 浜 to 滨.

If I am not mistaken, the 滨 is Traditional Chinese and the 浜 is Simplified Chinese...

mikecavs11 · #11 2nd January 2009, 08:06 AM

ayumi's chinese name is 濱崎步 the Hama's a different character, i dont know why

i refer to her by all her names, in taiwan when i talk to people bout her i refer to her as 濱崎步 - Bin chi Bu,

i like to call her ayumi though

kiseki89 · #12 2nd January 2009, 08:20 AM

Bin chi bu? I dont think chinese called her that.

I call her Bin qi bu.
滨崎步 - simplified chinese (avex china)
濱崎步 - traditional chinese (avex taiwan)

me0wie · #13 2nd January 2009, 08:24 AM

i vaguely remember ayu introducing herself as 濱崎步 (bing qi bu) in her asia concerts...

mikecavs11 · #14 2nd January 2009, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiseki89

Bin chi bu? I dont think chinese called her that.

I call her Bin qi bu.
滨崎步 - simplified chinese (avex china)
濱崎步 - traditional chinese (avex taiwan)

yea its spelt like bin qi bu, but in english its pronounced bin chi bu

chi is a different sound, qi's just the pinyin

rainday · #15 2nd January 2009, 10:40 AM

I asked some of my Taiwanese friends and they said that while they usually refer to her as Ayu she's referred to as 滨崎步 on the news and stuff.

pommy48 · #16 3rd January 2009, 02:22 AM

she's always referred to 濱崎步 in taiwan and everywhere else in china
i refer to her as 濱崎步 when i'm in taiwan because i'm not sure people that aren't fans will know who ayumi hamasaki is

even in the commercials for her singles and albums, she's called 濱崎步

but since i don't live in taiwan...i only call her ayumi hamasaki out loud when i'm talking with my friends at school, but i still call her 濱崎步 to my chinese friends at school~

alternarist · #17 3rd January 2009, 10:07 AM

regardless how we call it,

ayumi hamasaki = 濱崎步 = 滨崎步 = ayumi hamasaki.

it's the same thing!! So regardless how we call it, as long as we know it's ayu. It shld be ok.

erika_ayu · #18 4th January 2009, 10:18 AM

lol im chinese too, binqibu is just to identify her when she appears in chinese media.
or else, she is always AYU to me!!~

SURREAL__RAINBOW · #19 5th January 2009, 07:40 AM

Binqibu!!! lmaoo

i have "japan-haters" chinese friends... and they say that her name sucks in Chinese...

it actually sounds awkward... weird name xDD

jimex289 · #20 5th January 2009, 10:21 AM

I don't really want to offend people here even though I'm Chinese myself, but I really do think it's a horrible name lol. It sounds like she's some kind of witch from a forest in a fantasy world or something lol. People who don't understand Mandarin as well (like me)...who the hell knows what they are thinking when they hear "Binqibu". The pronunciation has to be said in a certain way according to pinyin and the result is like a hard B sound. It's not a subtle "Binqibu" in those TV CMs; it's more like "BINQIBU". It doesn't roll off the tongue and sound as good as"Ayumi Hamasaki", which I think has less hard-sounding syllables.