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I feel "ten thousand years ko" is an awkward, albeit technically plausible, translation for man-nen ko. The "man" does indeed stand for ten-thousand, but the meaning of the idiom certainly does not carry the concept of exactly 10,000 years, but "a very long time" instead.
Some English idioms to the same effect would be "once in a blue moon" or "not in a million years" or "never in a thousand years". Out of these, the best match would seem to be "thousand years", though I have to admit that "blue moon ko" would have a nice ring to it.
So I suggest that the English term be changed (and the page renamed) to "thousand year ko".
-Bass, 2010-01-17
I'm sure many people would agree with you. In fact, thousand year ko is already an alias for the page, and the section "terminology" at the bottom mentions the alternative.
I am happy with the correct translation of the loanword (10.000 year ko).
I think you meant to say "the direct translation".
A correct translation is one that translates the meaning, and preferably even the nuances of the original phrase. For example, the Finnish idiom "tuhatta ja sataa" translates directly into "at the speed of one thousand and one hundred", but the meaning is "very fast", with an undertone of "recklessly fast", which happens to coincide with the English idiom "at breakneck speed".
Out of these, the direct translation is a mistake, as the reader may get confused by the apparent exactness of the figure while the missing units do nothing to clarify. "Very fast" is much better, since it is clear and to the point. "Recklessly fast" is actually quite good, as it conveys the meaning as well as the speakers opinion of it. Yet, only the final one would qualify as a correct translation; it adds back the casual tone of voice (and a similar aftertaste of platitude) that was lost in the earlier ones.
On this scale, I'd rate "ten thousand year ko" somewhere between the "1100" and the "very fast".
Bill: I do not think that the "correct" translation, as you define it, is possible. Perhaps the closest term would be "Eternity Ko", but that does not appear in the English go literature, as far as I know. Both Ten Thousand Year Ko and Thousand Year Ko do. Besides, none of the terms, even in the oriental languages, convey meaning. They suggest that the ko is fought forever, or that the players wait forever to play the ko. Neither is correct. The ko should usually be fought. The term is just a label.