[chadnezzrr]

Anybody around here good with Mandarin Chinese?

My brother/sister-in-law are adopting a boy from China ...
The adoption agency over there has already given him an English name (Peter), but they list his Chinese name as Han-yu...

Does "Han-Yu" translate specifically into anything in English?

Thanks for any help,

[betraaaus]

They have boys up for adopting? Amazing.

...Show me the Chinese characters and I might be able to help. Han and Yu can stand for so many words.

[Piemonedmow]

They have boys up for adopting? Amazing.

Actually, its fairly common in the US. I am an acquaintance of a couple that has adopted one and has a second in the process. Whatever the future cultural/psychological may be, you will never find a child that is more wanted and loved. I work with her grandmother and the little one visits my office all the time.

[FuXA8nQM]

actually, it appears to be not overly common to adopt a boy. most of the time, adoption involves girls.

as I understand it, my in-laws just put their names on a list and they happened to get paired up with a boy.

mingshi-- thanks for your help. I didn't think about having to have the original characters... unfortunately, I haven't seen them, but.. i might be able to track em down somewhere...
thanks!

[nakeseireo]

actually, it appears to be not overly common to adopt a boy. most of the time, adoption involves girls.

Thats what I was talking about. A couple of weeks ago, there was a 60 Minutes+ show that talked about the gender imbalance population in China (something like 116:100). Since there's one-child policy in China, and because most parents, esp in rural area, want boys to take on the family, leaving many baby girls on the street, etc., and hence being send overseas for adoption.

[globjgtyf]

Thats what I was talking about. A couple of weeks ago, there was a 60 Minutes+ show that talked about the gender imbalance population in China (something like 116:100). Since there's one-child policy in China, and because most parents, esp in rural area, want boys to take on the family, leaving many baby girls on the street, etc., and hence being send overseas for adoption.

Interesting, I must admit, I missed your point. The child I am thinking of is a beautiful girl, and she had a cleft palate that was repaired surgically at her adoptive parent's expense. I know they want a boy, but it is apparrently taking substantially more time.

[i6mbwwdh]

a lot of the chinese adopted kids have medical problems to varying degrees, as I understand it.

my soon to be adopted nephew has two club feet, and some similar-type condition with his thumbs, and some kind of hernia problem... other than that, he's fine.

btw.. i asked my sister-in-law for the chinese characters of his name... she didn't give them to me, but she apparently was looking for the same info from other chinese people she knew...
seems that the characters and pronunciation mean something akin to "Chinese(people)" and "universe" .. in the sense of "The Chinese will take over the universe!" (or some such thing)...

I have no idea. Doesn't appear that she's gonna send me the chinese characters so... oh well, thanks for the help

[gymnAnemoe]

I have a roommate from taiwan. Im going to have to call him in a couple of days anyway, so if you dont have your translation ill get it for you.

[DrKirkNoliss]

漢宇 is what you are looking for.

(for a moment that looks like "kanji"!!)

Now that you know the meaning, which part of the name do you want Chinese Universe to translated into?

A good old Hans or Henry should suffice. My brother's classmate have the same Chinese name, and he use Henry for English too.

[RicyReetred]

Ming... sorry, but I must not have been clear...

It's all rather silly, I think.

Han Yu was the name given to him by the government (? I think)...
When he wound up at the orphanage (operated by the British I think), they just gave him the English name "Peter" ... and I think my in-laws are going to just stick with that.

Thanks for the characters, though!