Need a little help in translating a name
Hi! I really need your help. Since I am currently trying to learn Vietnamese, my boyfriend gave me a challenge; to find out what his name means. Thing is, I can't seem to find a proper translation anywhere, and he won't tell me.
So what does "Hiệp Nguyễn" mean?
Thank you very much in advance! n_n
Nguyễn is a particularly common surname amongst Vietnamese people, accounting for as much as 40% of all Vietnamese (~36 million). As with about 98% of all surnames, it is of Chinese origin < 阮 Ruan2 (Mandarin) and Yun2 (Cantonese) - this character now serves only as a surname but originally meant a type of instrument called the lute. The name Hiệp is also of Chinese origin < 俠 Xia2 (Mandarin) and Haap6 (Cantonese) meaning 'chivalrous, honourable'. In Vietnamese it would be rendered as Nguyễn Hiệp (阮俠) [Ruan Xia, Yun Haap]. Surname comes first in Vietnamese and Chinese tradition.
Last edited by Qinshi; 05-24-2010 at 09:20 AM.
The word Hiệp has the following characters in Chinese: 侠俠协協峡峽拹挟挾柙洽狭狹陿. 俠(侠) is the most likely one.
Thank you so much!
His surname is actually another word, but I already know the meaning of that. His given names are both Hiệp and Nguyễn. n_n He told me to see both in connection, so getting the Chinese characters really helped. Again, thank you!
In Vietnamese, Hiep (Hiệp) has several meaning but in this case it means Hero/heroic, chivalrousOriginally Posted by Kaho
The first name of Vietnamese people is "equal" to the last name of the Westerner
Nguyen (Nguyễn) is the first name which is very common to Vietnamese people.
And the last name of Vietnamese people is "equal" to the first name of the WEsterner
In this case, Nguyen is the first name It means that Nguyen is equal to Bush, Kenedy, Clinton, Churchil or Washington in English
Hiep is the last name , it's equal to Harrison, William, Stephen, ... in English
Another meaning of Hiep:
Hiep= round
EX: a boxing match of 8 rounds
To even the score in the second half (football)
Hiệp = hợp
Ex: hiệp lực = hợp lưc = combine efforts/ joint efforts to do something
Hợp tác = co-operate
etc.... but it's not the meaning of your friend's name
another thing, your friend's name if written "orthodox", authentically, it must be Nguyen Hiep. However, many Vietnamese people living in Western country write their names in western style: last name becomes first name and vice-versa
example:
Nguyen Van Hiep (in VietNam) becomes Hiep, Nguyen van or Hiep Van Nguyen (in western countries)
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