宝可梦
bǎokěmèng
Pokemon in Chinese is 宝可梦 (bǎokěmèng).
宝可梦 is the brand name for the media franchise featuring creatures that people collect and train for battle. You may also encounter the term 口袋妖怪, which literally means 'pocket monster'.
Which one should you use?
Use 宝可梦 when referring to the official brand name or the specific intellectual property. In contrast, 神奇宝贝 is a more colloquial, legacy term used by older fans. Additionally, 口袋妖怪 literally means 'pocket monster'.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Taiwanese Mandarin, the preferred translation is 精靈寶可夢.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is bǎokěmèng.
Did you know?
- While 'Pokémon' is the official brand name, many older Chinese speakers still use the term 神奇宝贝, which translates to 'magical baby' or 'miracle baby'.
- The character 宝 in 宝可梦 means 'treasure' or 'precious', subtly adding a sense of value and rarity to the creatures that is not present in the original English name.
- In Taiwan, you will often see the phrase 精靈寶可夢, adding the word 精靈 which can mean 'elf', 'spirit', or 'sprite'.
Examples in context
- 你喜欢玩精灵宝可梦吗？Do you like playing Pokemon?
- 这个游戏是神奇宝贝的最新版本。This game is the latest version of Pokemon.
- 我在玩口袋妖怪。I'm playing Pokemon.
- 我喜欢玩宝可梦游戏。Wǒ xǐhuān wán Bǎokěmèng yóuxì.I like playing Pokemon games.
- 这部宝可梦电影非常出名。Zhè bù Bǎokěmèng diànyǐng fēicháng chūmíng.This Pokemon movie is very famous.
- 他在收集宝可梦卡牌。Tā zài shōují Bǎokěmèng kǎpái.He is collecting Pokemon cards.
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about their hobbies at school.
- 梓涵 Zihan俊杰，你看过宝可梦吗？Jùnjié, nǐ kànguò Bǎokěmèng ma?Junjie, have you watched Pokémon?
- 俊杰 Junjie我看过，我非常喜欢。Wǒ kànguò, wǒ fēicháng xǐhuān.I have, I like it very much.
- 梓涵 Zihan太好了，我也很喜欢它。Tài hǎole, wǒ yě hěn xǐhuān tā.That's great, I like it too.
- 俊杰 Junjie那我们以后一起讨论吧。Nà wǒmen yǐhòu yīqǐ tǎolùn ba.Let's talk about it together in the future.
