Names for Go in Other Languages

Path: LinguisticsJapanese   · Prev: JapaneseGoTerms   · Next: LiteralJapanese
    Keywords: Culture & History

The accepted international name of the game of go comes from the Japanese. However, each of the cultures in which go originally flourished has its own name for the game:

  • Japanese: go (碁) or igo (囲碁)
  • Chinese: weiqi (圍棋, simplified 围棋)
  • Korean: baduk (바둑)

In addition, Ing Chang-Ki proposed the seldom-used alternative spelling goe.

Calligraphic images of the characters for Igo, Wei'qi, and Baduk can be found [ext] here.

Some version of the Japanese name "Go" is used in many languages. E.g. English, German, French, Spanish, Polish, etc all have "Go". Many other languages use something very similar (Го, Γκο, Goo, Gó, gos, Cờ, etc). An easy way to see them is to view the links to other articles about Go in other languages at [ext] Wikipedia.

  • Russian: the term Облавные шашки (Oblavnye shashki) is sometimes used, which would translate as the encircling (or hunting) checkers.
  • Thai: หมากล้อม (mak-lom), meaning surrounding stones/board game.

Poetic names

  • Shou tan (Chinese) or Shudan (Japanese) -- hand talk 手談
  • Ranka -- rotted axe-handle 爛柯
  • Tendo -- heavenly way 天道 Tendō
  • Uro -- crows and herons 烏鷺
  • Hoen -- squares and circles 方円 Hōen

See also


Path: LinguisticsJapanese   · Prev: JapaneseGoTerms   · Next: LiteralJapanese
This is a copy of the living page "Names for Go in Other Languages" at Sensei's Library.
(OC) 2012 the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.
[Welcome to Sensei's Library!]
StartingPoints
ReferenceSection
About