The Official Name Explanations Thread

[ScottyFamalam]

Instead of making a new thread every time I discuss a character's name, I'll keep it all in one thread from now on.

Who am I discussing this time? The purple pussy.

Katakana: ビルス
Hepburn: Birusu
Toei: Beerus (at one point Beers and Bills)
Bandai: Beerus
Shuiesha: Beerus
Viz: Beerus
Funimation: Beerus

Spoiler

As you may know, the character's name was originally supposed to be a pun on the English word "virus", which is usually spelled as ウイルス (uirusu) in katakana, based on the Latin pronunciation. Sometimes, they approximate it as ビールス (bīrusu), based on the German pronunciation, and バイラス (bairasu), based on the American English pronunciation). For the character ビルス (Birusu), they based it on the German pronunciation. If you translate ビルス (Birusu) as a pun on "virus", then you would get "Birus"; that's what the character's name was supposed to be in English.

However, when Toriyama saw his name during the making of Battle of Gods, he misunderstood and thought it was a pun on "beer", which is ビール (bīru) in katakana. As such, he named the movie's other new character ウイス (Uisu) as a pun on the English word "whiskey", which is ウィスキー (u~isukī) in katakana. Later Destruction Gods and their attendants were also named as puns on alcoholic beverages.

When the purple cat's name was first unveiled in late 2012, some fans guessed his name was a pun on "virus" and called him "Birus". Some people also called him "Bils", but most people spelled it as "Bills" and that's what most of the fandom knew him as when Battle of Gods was released in 2013. The "Bills" romanization even appeared on one official merchandise in Japan (that 3DS case you see up there) and iirc, Toei supplied that spelling to copyright holders in other countries.

A guidebook about the movie was released in 2013 romanizing his name as "Beers", but most people continued calling him "Bills" until 2014, when the videogame Battle of Z and the movie Battle of Gods both came out in America. Funimation opted to romanize his name as "Beerus" and the character's been known as that ever since. Pretty much all official merchandise in Japan go with "Beerus", too.

Despite that, however, it's technically incorrect to translate ビルス (Birusu) as "Beerus" as no part of the katakana is elongated. If the name was actually supposed to translate to "Beerus", then the katakana would be ビールス (bīrusu). The katakana ビルス (Birusu) by itself can only properly translate to "Birs", "Birrs", "Bils", "Bills", and of course, "Birus". Given that the character's name was conceived as a pun on "virus", "Birus" would be most correct. Toriyama misunderstood and thought ビルス (Birusu) was a pun on "beer", making all the other Destruction Gods and Angels named after alcohol, but it's not like Beerus's name itself was changed. "Birus" is an accurate translation of the katakana and although the inspiration for the name may have been changed to also be a pun on "beer", the fact remains that no part of the katakana is elongated, so translating it as anything with "Bee" is inaccurate.

You could make the case that "Birus" looks and sounds enough like "beers", too. You'd most properly pronounce the "bi" like the "bi" in the word "bid" and say "rus" or "russ". Translating the name as "Bils" or "Bills" would probably obscure the "beer" pun (and considering neither "beers" nor "virus" have "Ls" in them, safe to say his name isn't supposed to have an "L"), but I think "Birs" and would have preserved it well enough. "Would you like to drink some "Birs"?"

tl;dr His name is Birus or Birs, not Beerus or Bills.

 

[ScottyFamalam]

Today we'll be discussing

Spoiler

Katakana: バーダック
Hepburn: Bādakku
Shuiesha: Barduck (at one point Bardock)
Toei: Barduck (at one point Bardock)
Bandai: Barduck
Funimation: Bardock
Viz: Bardock (formerly Burdock)

The official romanization in Japan usually is "Barduck", but for the 2011 OVA and its promotional manga, it was spelled as "Bardock". That's what most people use due to the Funimation dub using it (actually, even back in the 1990s before Funimation started DBZ, most online fans were using "Bardock". I guess some merch spelled it like that? Or fans just assumed that the バー (Bā) was "Bar". Perhaps the "burdock" pun wasn't entirely obvious. I guess Funimation went with "Bardock" because most fans were already using it). Viz used to spell it as "Burdock", but they switched to "Bardock" for the DBS manga in 2020.

We know it's a pun on the vegetable burdock, which is バードック (Bādokku) in katakana. Whereas the vegetable name ends in ドック (dokku), the character's name ends in ダック (dakku).

Dock would be approximated as ドック (Dokku) in katakana. There is no ドック (Dokku) in the character's name, so "Bardock" is technically incorrect. ダック (dakku) properly translates to "dack" or "duck".

バー (Bā) can translate to "bar" but it's redundant to use that for the character's name when we know the source word is the vegetable. If you translate バー (Bā) as "bur" for the vegetable, then you should do so for the character as they both start with the same katakana.

So, the proper translation to バーダック(Bādakku) is "Burdack" or "Burduck".

tl;dr it's Burdack/Burduck, not Bardock or Burdock.

 

[ScottyFamalam]

Spoiler

Katakana: ケフラ
Hepburn: Kefura
Toei: Kefula (sometimes Kefla)
Bandai: Kefula (sometimes Kefla)
Funimation: Kefla
Viz: Kefla

The katakana is ケフラ (Kefura). The official romanization in Japan is usually Kefula. However, sometimes Toei and Bandai use Kefla, which was the name Toei suggested to Crunchyroll. Funimation and Viz adopted that name as well. Most people refer to the character as "Kefla", but some fans prefer to use Kafla so her name looks more like a combination of "Kale" (named straight-up after the vegetable) and "Caulifla". (pun on the vegetable "cauliflower"). What's the proper translation?

Well, contrary to what some people think, it's not "Kafla". The katakana for Caulifla is カリフラ (Karifura) and the katakana for Kale is ケール (Kēru). Note that Kale has an elongated katakana. The ケー (Kē) is an approximation of the "kay" part in "kale"'s pronunciation. ケフラ (Kefura) is not elongated; there is no ケー (Kē). As such, it doesn't translate to anything you'd pronounced as "Kay-fla", "Kei-fla" or the like. If her name was supposed to be pronounced like that, it would be ケーフラ (Kēfura) in katakana, but it's not.

Ironically, if the character's name was supposed to be spelled "Kafla" as some fans think, it wouldn't even be pronounced as "Kay-fla" or "Kei-fla". "Kafla" would properly be pronounced only as "kah-fla", "kaf-lah", "kah-fluh", "kaf-luh", etc. The only way to approximate that pronunciation in Japanese would be カフラ (Kafura). The katakana for the character isn't カフラ (Kafura) or ケーフラ (Kēfura). It's ケフラ (Kefura). That is properly romanized as just "Kefla" or "Kefra". Given that the name is partly based on "Caulifla", which is based on the vegetable "cauliflower", "Kefla" is the correct translation of her name. That sort of obscures the fact that the name is a combination of "Kale" and "Caulifla", but it's the only way that the katakana can be translated to English. Japanese doesn't have an alphabet; the language is based around syllables. Whatever you translate something from Japanese, you have to reflect the sounds. Even if it's a pun that was based on an English word to begin with.

Besides, the spelling "Kefla" still looks like some combination of "Kale" and "Caulifla", at the very least; the "K" comes from "Kale" and the "fla" comes from Caulifla. The "e" between the "K" and "f" may throw people off, but the pronunciation of "Kefla" still sounds like a combination of "Kale" and "Caulifla", which I think is more important than the spelling. If people want to spell the character's name as "Kafla", they're gonna have to change the pronunciation, which isn't proper. If you want "Kefla" to line up more with female Broly's name, then you should probably romanize ケール (Kēru) as "Keil" or "Keiyl". That spelling would obscure the inspiration being the vegetable "kale" somewhat, but that shouldn't matter as the pronunciation would be the same. Of course, some people may be confused about how to pronounce it, but whatever. You could also romanize ケール (Kēru) as "Kheyl", so ケフラ (Kefura) would be "Khefla". It is rather redundant, though, because the character was directly named after the vegetable. Her name is literally supposed to be "Kale" without any alteration.

Also, do note that "Kale" is an Americanization of the German "Köhl", which literally means "cabbage". Another vegetable called "Kohlrabi" gets its name from "Köhl". It's a type of cabbage, specifically a turnip cabbage. Kale itself is also a type of cabbage, specifically a leaf cabbage. A variant of "Köhl" is also "Kehl". The British pronunciation of "Kehl" is exactly like "Kale". So, maybe you could romanize ケール (Kēru) as "Kehl"? Sure, the vegetable kale is pretty much always spelled as "kale", but that's arbitrary in and of itself. After all, "Kale" itself is a type of cabbage comes from "Kohl", an Americanization of "Köhl", which literally means "cabbage". "Kehl" is a variant of "Köhl" and it can be pronounced just like "Kale". There's no real reason why the vegetable had to be spelled as "kale" when there are so many ways the name "Kale" can be spelled (Kael, Kayle, Keil, Kheyl, Kheyl, Kehl, Cale, Cael, Cayle, etc) and "Kale" itself an Americanization of a German word.

In any case, spelling Kale as "Kehl", "Keil", "Keiyl", "Kheyl", etc really isn't any worse than spelling Freeza as "Frieza". Or Bibbidi, Bobbidi, and Boo as "Bibidi", "Babidi", and "Buu".

Sidenote, I never liked how Kale was named straight-up after the vegetable; there's no real pun. Her name should have dropped the ー (chōonpu) and been ケル (Keru) , which would translate to "Kel". If her name was "Kel", then the "Kefla" name would have made more sense in English.

tl;dr it's Kefla, not Kafla.

 

[ScottyFamalam]

Spoiler

Katakana: キャベ
Hepburn: Kyabe
Toei: Cabbe
Bandai: Cabbe
Funimation: Cabba
Viz: Cabbe

The katakana is キャベ (Kyabe). The official romanization in Japan is "Cabbe". That's how Viz translated his name, but most people know the character as "Cabba" because that's what Funimation went with. What's the proper translation?

First, the character's name is a pun on the vegetable cabbage, which would most properly be approximated as キャベジ (kyabeji) in katakana, but it's normally approximated as キャベツ (kyabetsu) for whatever reason. The character's name drops the last syllable, giving us キャベ (Kyabe). Basically, it's pronounced like "cabbage" but with the last syllable dropped. Many people assume that means it should be "Cabba" in English, but is that really true?

To be fair, not everyone pronounces "cabbage" the same way. Some pronounce the "bage" part with more of an "ah" sound, resulting in "cab-baj" or "cab-bahj". Others pronounce it with a "beh" sound, resulting in "cab-bej" or "ca-behj". The katakana for キャベジ (kyabeji), キャベツ (kyabetsu), and キャベ (Kyabe) all go by the "cab-bej/cab-behj" pronunciation. If they went by the "cab-baj/cab-bahj" pronunciation, they'd be キャバジ (kyabaji), キャバツ (kyabatsu), and キャバ (kyaba).

If the character's name was meant to be "Cabba", the katakana would be キャバ (Kyaba). Instead the katakana is キャベ (Kyabe). As said before, Japanese is revolves around syllables. Whenever you translate something from Japanese, you have to reflect the sounds. Take the word "quadrum".

Qu = ク= Ku.
A = ア = A.
D =ド = Do.
Ru = ラ = Ra.
M = ム = Mu.

It's クアドラム (kuadoramu) in katakana. Drop the ム (mu). It's now クアドラ (kuadora). Would you translate that as "Quadru"? No, you wouldn't. You would translate クアドラ (kuadora) as "Quadra". "Quadru" would be クアドル (kuadoru). You can't pronounce "Quadru" like "Quadra"; that's linguistically impossible because you can't pronounce "dru" like "dra". Maybe you can translate クアドラ (kuadora) as "Quadruh", with an added "h" at the end, but "Quadru" doesn't work.

Even simpler, take the word "drum".

D =ド = Do.
Ru = ラ = Ra.
M = ム = Mu.

ドラム (doramu). Drop the ム (mu). You get ドラ (dora). Would you translate that as "Dru"? No. ドラ (dora) would be translated as "dra" or "druh". Never "dru"; you can't pronounce "dru" by itself like "dra" or "druh". "Dru" would be ドル (doru) or ドルー (dorū) in katakana.

That's why translating ケフラ (Kyabe) as "Cabba" doesn't work. You can't pronounce "ba" like "ラ" (be). As I said before, the Japanese language revolves around sounds. When you romanize hiragana and katakana, you have to be able to convert your romanization back to the same hiragana/katakana. That's what would make an accurate romanization. Anyone on Kanzenshuu who tells you otherwise is delusional.

Anyway, although "Cabbe" isn't inaccurate, most people would probably pronounce the "be" like the word "be" or "bee". "Cabbeh" would make the intended pronunciation clearest. There's no issue with that spelling at all; anyone aware of the vegetable theme Saiyan names have going on would be able to tell it's a pun on "cabbage".

tl;dr It's Cabbe or Cabbeh, not Cabba.

 

[ScottyFamalam]

Spoiler

Katakana: ベジータ
Hepburn: Bejīta
Shuiesha: Vegeta
Toei: Vegeta
Bandai: Vegeta
Funimation: Vegeta

The katakana is ベジータ (Bejīta). It's widely been romanized as "Vegeta" in both Japan and America since the character first debuted in 1989. Also, I'm not certain, but I think his name was officially romanized as "Vegita" at some point in Japan. At the very least, that was a common spelling for his name among fans in the 90s, before Funimation started airing in 1996.

Anyway, even though "Vegeta" is the widely accepted spelling for his name, it's technically incorrect. His name is a pun on the English word "vegetable", which is ベジタブル (bejitaboru) in katakana. The katakana for the character is ベジータ (Bejīta). Note that the ジ (ji) is elongated by the ー (chōonpu). There isn't a ー (chōonpu) anywhere in ベジタブル (bejitaboru). You pronounce the word "vegetable" like "vej + tah/teh/tuh + bel/bul" or "vah/veh/vuh + geh/jeh + tah/teh/tuh + bel/bul". You're supposed to pronounce the character's name like "Vah/veh/vuh + jee + tah/teh/tuh". There is no "jee" sound in "Vegeta"; it would properly be pronounced only as "vej + tah/teh/tuh" or "vah/veh/vuh + geh/jeh + tah/teh/tuh". No native English speaker who hasn't seen DBZ before would pronounce "Vegeta" like the character's name.

"Vegeeta" is the proper way of spelling the character's name. It's a spot-on translation of the katakana ベジータ (Bejīta); the "gee" perfectly represents the ータ (jī) as you'd pronounce it "like "jee" (and the word "geez" like "jeez"). Yeah, there would be people who'd assume that it's actually pronounced like "gee" (as in "geese"), but the point is that you can pronounce "gee" like "jee" and it's perfectly reasonable to do so. Pronouncing "ge" like "jee" is a stretch. It's not proper.

For the record, ゴジータ (Gojīta) properly translates to "Gogeeta", not "Gogeta".

tl;dr His name is Vegeeta, not Vegeta.

 

[ScottyFamalam]

Spoiler

Katakana: ベジット
Hepburn: Bejitto
Toei: Vegetto (sometimes Vegito)
Bandai: Vegetto (sometimes Vegito)
Funimation: Vegito (sometimes Vegetto)
Viz: Vegerot

The katakana is ベジット(Bejitto). The official romanization in Japan is "Vegetto", but it's been "Vegito" a few times. Funimation usually romanizes it as "Vegito", but I believe they spelled it as "Vegetto" for Dragon Ball Z Kai in 2017-2018. Viz changed the name altogether to "Vegerot". Most fans spell his name as "Vegetto". What's the proper translation?

It's supposed to be a combination of ベジータ (Bejīta) and カカロット (Kakarotto). As I said before, the proper translation of ベジータ (Bejīta) is "Vegeeta". The proper translation of カカロット (Kakarotto) is "Cacarot" or "Kakarot" because it's a pun of the vegetable carrot, which is approximated as キャロット (kyarotto) in katakana; replace the キャ (kya) with カカ (kaka) and you'll get カカロット (kakarotto), which translates to either "Cacarot" or "Kakarot". Doesn't matter which spelling you use. Although "Cacarot" better reflects the fact it's a pun of the vegetable "carrot", that spelling brings to mind "caca", which means "shit". So, I'd rather just use "Kakarot".

Anyway, note that unlike ベジータ (Bejīta), there is no ー (chōonpu) in ベジット (Bejitto). ベジータ (Bejīta) properly translates to "Vegeeta" as I said before. ベジット (Bejitto) properly translates to "Veget". A lot of fans take issue with "Veget" because it looks like a typo of "Vegeta" and doesn't look anything like "Kakarot". The latter is an understandable criticism considering someone named "Kakarot" is one of the two fusees, but not many people realize the correct romanization of ベジータ (Bejīta) is "Vegeeta", not "Vegeta". Does "Veget" really look like a typo of "Vegeeta"? It lacks an "e" and the"a".

Also, the way you'd pronounce "Veget" would be "vahjt/vejt/vuhjt" or "vah/veh/vuh + "jat/jet/jit/jut". Clearly different pronunciations from how you'd pronounce "Vegeeta", which is "Vah/veh/vuh + jee + tah/teh/tuh". Anyway, if you romanize カカロット (Kakarotto) as "Cacarott" or "Kakarott" (with two "t"s), you can romanize ベジット (Bejitto) as "Vegett", so it looks even less like "Vegeeta" and a bit like Gokuu's Saiyan name. "Vegeeta" + "Cacarott/Kakarott" = "Vegett". It works well enough as a fusion name.

tl;dr His name is Veget, not Vegetto, Vegito, Vegerot, etc. I'd go with "Vegett", though, with two "T"s (no "O").

 

[ScottyFamalam]

Spoiler

Katakana: ビーデル
Hepburn: Bīderu
Shuiesha: Videl ("Beedel" in the original manga)
Toei: Videl (formerly "Bidel")
Bandai: Videl
Funimation: Videl
Viz: Videl

It's a pun on "devil", which is デビル (debiru) in katakana. Since the character's name in katakana is ビーデル (Bīderu) and not ビデル (bideru), her name properly translates to "Veedel". I think y'all understand how ー (chōonpu) works by now. Toriyama spelled her name as "Beedel" on a few pages in the manga, but that was obviously Engrish. As was Toei spelling it as "Bidel" in the anime. I think Bandai may have romanized it as "Bideru" one point, too.

tl;dr Her name is Veedel, not Videl, Beedel, Bidel, Bideru, etc.

 

[ScottyFamalam]

Spoiler

Katakana: ターレス
Hepburn: Tāresu
Toei/Bandai: Tulece (once Turlece)
Funimation: Turles

In katakana, his name is ターレス (tāresu). His name is a pun on the English word "lettuce", which is レタス (retasu) in katakana. Swap the katakana around, add the long sound symbol ー (chōonpu), and you get ターレス (tāresu). The official romanization for his name in Japan is "Tulece", although at one point it was "Turlece", which is what some fans use. More fans romanize his name as "Tullece", which is what Funimation used for their official subtitles courtesy of Steve Simmons, but most people go with "Turles" due to Funimation using that. So, what's the most accurate translation? Let's start by breaking down the katakana.

ター (tā): It's an elongated タ (ta). In Japanese, you would say it like "taa". Normally, when a ー (chōonpu) is added to a katakana symbol ending with an "a", you would translate it as something ending in "ar", "er", or "ur".

Spoiler

ア (a)
バ (ba)
ダ (da)
ガ (ga)
ハ (ha)
カ (ka)
マ (ma)
ナ (na)
パ (pa)
ラ (ra)
サ (sa)
タ (ta)
ワ (wa)
ヤ (ya)
ザ (za)

become

アー (ā)
バー (bā)
ダー (dā)
ガー (gā)
ハー (hā)
カー (kā)
マー (mā)
ナー (nā)
パー (pā)
ラー (rā)
サー (sā)
ター (tā)
ワー (wā)
ヤー (yā)
ザー (zā)

and those would translate to

ar (or aar), aer, aur
bar, ber, bur
dar, der, dur
gar, ger, gur
har, her, hur
kar, ker, kur (or car, cer, cur, etc since the letter "c" is approximated as "k" in Japanese)
mar, mer, mur
nar, ner, nur
par, per, pur
rar, rer, rur (or lar, ler, lur, etc since the letter "l" is approximated as "r" in Japanese)
sar, ser, sur (or thar, ther, thur, etc since "th" is approximated as "sa" in Japanese)
tar, ter, tur
war, wer, wur
yar, yer, yur
zar, zer, zur

Granted, it's not absolutely necessary to keep elongated syllables when you convert English to katakana and vice-versa, but it's most proper to do so. A ー (chōonpu) after an "a" sound generally translates into an "ar", "er, or "ur". ター (tā) generally translates to "tar", "ter", or "tur".

Maybe you could translate ター (tā) as "taa" but that's not really English. Just try to name an English word containing "taa". You can't. And not everyone would elongate "taa" when they say it; many people would just say "ta". You could translate ター (tā) into "tah", but a lot of people would just pronounce that as "ta". You could also go with "tuh", but a lot of people wouldn't know or remember to elongate it. Some people would pronounce "tuh" as "too", too.

It would be simpler to just go with "tar", "ter", or "tur" just to be safe; no matter how you say those, you're always gonna be voicing an elongated syllable. The source word is "lettuce", "tur" would be the most logical here. The "r" sound/letter does obscure the "lettuce" pun, though.

The next symbol is レ (re). In the word "lettuce", "le" converted to that.

The last symbol is ス (su). In the word "lettuce, "ce" converted to that.

Does this mean レス (resu) translates to "lece"? Should you translate ターレス (tāresu) as "Turlece"? Well, no. People who aren't weebs will pronounce "lece" as "lee-see", "leh-see", "lee-seh", "leh-seh", or "leese" (like the word "lease"). They won't pronounce it as "less" like you're supposed to here. The fact is, that's just not how "lece" is pronounced. "Tulece", "Tullece", "Turlece", etc - none of these are proper translations. Weebs hate on "Turles" for obscuring the "lettuce" pun, but not only is that spelling a valid translation of the katakana, but it also makes the pronunciation clearer. That's probably why Funimation went with that spelling. But then again, most people would probably pronounce "Turles" like "turls". "Turless" would have made the pronunciation clearest, although that spelling looks rather feminine. Maybe "Turlace", then? But people probably would pronounce the "lace" like in "shoelace".

So, what would the most ideal translation of ターレス (tāresu) be, one that accurately translates the katakana, makes the pronunciation clear, and reflects the "lettuce" pun? Honestly, no matter what translation you go with, there's no way you can properly translate his name without obscuring the "lettuce" pun in the spelling. Perhaps it's best not to include any "r" letters or sounds to preserve the pun. In that case, I'd go with "Tahlace" or "Tahless". The spellings may not reflect the "lettuce" pun, but the pronunciations do. Some people may not be elongate the "tah", but enough probably would.

tl;dr You may as well just call him "Turles" like a normal person. I'd use "Turless", though. Go ahead and use "Tahlace" or "Tahless" if you're so fussy over preserving the "lettuce" pun.

 

[ScottyFamalam]

Spoiler

Katakana: ブルマ
Hepburn: Buruma
Shuiesha: Bulma (Toriyama spelled it as "Bloomers" once)
Toei: Bulma (sometimes "Buruma" and "Buluma")
Bandai: Bulma
Funimation: Bulma
Viz: Bulma

ブルマ (Buruma) is based on the English word "bloomers" as we all know. "Bloomers" is most properly ブルーマー (burūmā) in katakana.

b = ブ = bu
loo = ルー = rū
mers = マー = mā

The "loo" and "mers" are clearly elongated sounds in "bloomers". However, Japanese people often spell "bloomers" as ブルマー (burumā) or ブルマ (buruma). The latter is how Toriyama spelled the character most people refer to as "Bulma". ブルマ (buruma) would most properly translate to "bl'ma", "bll'ma", "b'lma", "b'lma", etc but it usually translates to "bloomers", despite the fact the katakana isn't elongated at all. Throughout the original manga, Toriyama spelled ブルマ (buruma) as "Bulma"; while that's technically not a "wrong" translation of the katakana by itself, the meaning of ブルマ (buruma) is "bloomers". If you translate ブルマ (buruma) as "Bl'ma", Bll'ma", "Bullma", "Bulma" (Toriyama's spelling), "Buruma" (how Japanese people often romanize it. Toyotaro once used this spelling for the DBS manga), "Buluma" (what Toei once went with), or "Bluma" (what Dragon Ball Online used), then non-weebs aren't gonna know what you're talking about because those are all nonsense in English. It's not like ブルマ (buruma) is a pun that Toriyama created; it's what Japanese people use regularly for "bloomers". Because when they say and spell it like that, they're talking about bloomers.

Granted, while "bloomers" is most properly ブルーマー (burūmā) in katakana, that mainly just refers to "bloomers" in general. The specific type of bloomers that the character is named after are the athletic ones formerly worn by girls in middle and high schools before being banned in the 1990s due to being seen as too risque. That fetishized type of bloomers is usually spelled as ブルマ (buruma) and ブルマー (burumā) in katakana. Despite the fact they're different spellings than ブルーマー (burūmā), though, the only way they're meant to be translated in English is "bloomers"; any other way you can translate them is gonna be gibberish. And even though Toriyama spelled ブルマ (buruma) as "Bulma" throughout the original manga, he later spelled it as "Bloomers" in an illustration from the late 2000s. This implies that her name is meant to be "Bloomers" and "Bulma" is basically Engrish. As said before, ブルーマー (burūmā) is how "bloomers" is supposed to be spelled in katakana. ブルマ (buruma) and ブルマー (burumā) are just corruptions to refer to a specific type of bloomers. You'd only translate them as "bloomers".

(sidenote, general bloomers are sometimes spelled as ブルーマ (burūma) in katakana, too, but it's not used very often for any type of bloomers)

Honestly, though, I'm not sure if I'd translate her name as "Bloomers" or something like "Bl'ma". Or just going with "Bulma" like Toriyama did. He consistently spelled her name like that throughout the manga and only spelled it as "Bloomers" once many years later. People say "Bulma" was Engrish, but ブルマ (buruma) was basically Engrish to begin with because it's an inaccurate approximation of "bloomers". At the end of the day, "Bulma" is a 1:1 conversion of ブルマ (buruma). If you translate ブルマ (buruma) as "bloomers", then you're technically changing what the name is. I believe when you approximate English to Japanese or a Japanese to English, the result has to actually line up with the original text. Otherwise, it's technically a mistranslation. ブルマ (buruma) is a mistranslation of English in and of itself, but you have to reflect that it's a mistranslation when you romanize it. But then again, the vegetable "parsley" is approximated as パセリ (paseri) in katakana when logically it should be パーセリー (pāserī) or at least パーセリ (pāseri). Pretty sure you shouldn't translate パセリ (paseri) as "pasley". Yeah, I'd just translate ブルマ (buruma) as "bloomers".


tl;dr Her name is USELESS ASS FUCKING BITCH.

 

[SSJ2]

Lol I still remember how pissed certain people would get if you called him Bills in the early days. Was too funny.

 

[ScottyFamalam]

Spoiler

Katakana: クリリン
Hepburn: Kuririn
Shuiesha: Klilyn ("Kuririn" and "Kulilin" in the original manga)
Toei: Klilyn
Bandai: Klilyn
Funimation: Krillin
Viz: Kuririn

The katakana is クリリン (Kuririn). Toriyama first romanized it as "Kuririn" in the manga and later "Kulilin". The official romanization in Japan is usually "Klilyn"; that's what Toei and Bandai use. Funimation went with "Krillin". Viz went with ""Kuririn".

Although Toriyama never explicitly explained his name, it can be inferred that it's a pun of くりくり (kurikuri), onomatopoeia for something "big and round" like a person's head. There are also illustrations of the character with the kanji 栗 (kuri), which means "chestnut". His daughter is also named "Marron", which is the French word for chestnut; in katakana, "marron" is マーロン (māron). His Toei filler girlfriend is also named マロン (Maron), an obvious pun on the French word.

The リン (rin) is taken from 少林 (shōrin), which is originally a Chinese term; in Pinyin, you'd romanize that as "shàolín" (Shaolin in Wade-Giles, which is how most people spell it in English). The character is clearly based on a Shaolin monk; he has a clean-shaven head, six dotted burn scars on his forehead, is wearing a Shaolin-esque uniform in his debut, and he trained at a temple called 多林寺 (ōrinji), which is a clear reference to the Shaolin temple, or 少林寺 (shōrinji) in Japanese. So, basically:

クリ (kuri) references chestnuts and having a big, round head.
リン (rin) references a Shaolin monk and is the Japanese approximation of "lin".

Some people say that there is an expression called くりくり坊主 (kurikuribōzu). However, I don't see any evidence for that; google くりくり坊主 and you'll see stuff about chestnut peelers. Although the character's name has clear chestnut connotations, there doesn't seem to be any expression called くりくり坊主 (kurikuribōzu) in Japan. Sidenote, 坊主 (bōzu) means "monk" and "bald person".

Anyway, クリ (kuri) is inherently Japanese, so you can leave that part of the name as is. But since ク (ku) is unstressed, you can drop the "u" and go with "Krilin" instead. リン (rin) is just the Japanese approximation of "lin" from Shaolin. You could also just go with "Krillin" like Funimation did; most people would agree that it rolls off the tongue better. It's also a valid translation of the katakana, too, so it's alright to use that spelling contrary to what any weebs say. Basically, the direct translation is "Kurilin", but you can go with "Krilin" or "Krillin" to make it roll off the tongue better.

tl;dr You may as well just call him "Krillin" like a normal person. I'd spell it as "Krilin", though, with one "L".

 

[ScottyFamalam]

Spoiler

Kanji: 天津飯
Hiragana: てんしんはん
Katakana: テンシンハン
Hepburn: Tenshinhan
Shuiesha: Tenshinhan
Toei: Tenshinhan (at one point, Tensinhan)
Bandai: Tenshinhan (at one point, Tensinhan)
Funimation: Tien Shinhan
Viz: Tenshinhan

His name is officially romanized as Tenshinhan all over Japan (but you can see the card that says "Tensinhan". Wonder if that's a typo). Funimation localized his name as Tien Shinhan. Viz kept it as Tenshinhan.

This character's name is kind of interesting. He's named after a Japanese meal called 天津飯 (tenshinhan), alternatively known as 天津丼 (tenshindon). Although it was made in Japan, the ingredients are from China, specifically the city of Tianjin. Note that Tianjin is the Chinese reading of 天津 (tenshin) using the Pinyin romanization. Using Postal, it's romanized as Tientsin. Using Wade-Giles, it's T'ien-chin. 飯 (han) is romanized as "fan" in Pinyin, Wade-Giles, and Postal.

Pinyin: Tianjinfan
Wade-Giles: T'ien-chin-fan
Postal: Tientsinfan.

Are a few ways you'd romanize the Chinese reading of his name.

Originally, Toriyama wrote the furigana above the kanji for his name in hiragana, which indicated that it was a natively Japanese term. However, he soon started writing the furigana in katakana, which is often used for foreign terms but can also be used for natively Japanese terms. When katakana is used for Japanese terms, it's for stylistic purposes, although it's unclear why Toriyama switched to writing the furigana for Tenshinhan in katakana.

Also, Toriyama originally put a space between the 天 (Ten) and 津飯 (shinhan) when he'd write Tenshinhan's name. That would imply that 天 (Ten) is his surname and 津飯 (shinhan) is his first name, but he started writing his name without a space. The reason for this is also unclear.

Funimation localizing his name as "Tien Shinhan" was unusual. For some reason, they go with the Postal romanization of 天 (Ten), but they leave 津飯 (shinhan) untranslated. There's no point in converting one part of his name to Postal and leaving the rest of it unchanged. If you call him Tien, then logically, you should say "Chinfan" instead of "Shinhan".

Anyway, though, this is a Japanese series, so you should go with the Japanese reading of his name as it's a natively Japanese word. If Toriyama actually wanted you to say the name in Chinese, he'd have written the furigana as ティエンチンファン (tienchinfan), but he didn't.

tl;dr His name is "Tenshinhan", not "Tien Shinhan".

 

[ScottyFamalam]

Spoiler

Kanji: 餃子
Katakana: チャオズ
Hepburn: Chaozu
Katakana: Chaozu
Shuiesha: Chaoz
Toei: Chaoz
Bandai: Chaoz
Funimation: Chiaotzu
Viz: Chaozu

The official romanization for his name in Japan is pretty much always Chaoz. Funimation went with Chiaotzu. Viz went with Chaozu.

Another kinda interesting name. He's named Chinese dumplings called 餃子. That's romanized in Pinyin as Jiǎozi. In Wade-Giles, it's romanized as Chiao-tzu. The Japanese reading for 餃子 is ぎょうざ (gyōza). Toriyama wrote the furigana above the kanji for the character's name as the katakana チャオズ (Chaozu), so he was going by the Chinese reading. チャオズ (Chaozu) is the Japanese approximation of the Chinese reading, specifically Wade-Giles's Chiao-tzu romanization. When the character first appears in the original manga, there's a joke where the tournament announcer calls him ぎょうざ (gyōza) only for the character to correct him. You may also recall Gokuu's name being pronounced as "Mago Gosora" in the first tournament arc. Dumb puns like this were Toriyama's thing.

Some weebs fight over his name and insist tat it should be "Chaozu". As said before, "Chaozu" is only a Japanese approximation of "Chiao-tzu". When characters say his name, they're saying it in Chinese. So, you'd romanize his name as either "Chiaotzu" (you could write as "Chiao-tzu", with the hyphen, if you want)". Since the katakana isn't an approximation of the Pinyin reading, there's no reason to romanize it as "Jiaozi". Personally, I'd go with "Chiaotz" or "Jiaoz". Some people romanize the Chinese food's name like that (and some people spell the Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu's name as "Sun Tz"). The "u" in "Chiaotzu" isn't stressed, so you can leave it out. Note how his name is officially romanized as "Chaoz" in Japan, leaving out the "u"; it's not stressed.

tl;dr You may as well just call him "Chiaotzu" like a normal person. "Chiaotz" is fine, though.

 

[ScottyFamalam]

Spoiler

Kanji: 桃白白
Katakana: タオパイパイ
Hepburn: Taopaipai
Shuiesha: Taopaipai
Toei: Taopaipai
Bandai: Taopaipai
Funimation: Mercenary Tao and General Tao
Viz: Taopaipai

The official romanization in Japan is "Taopaipai". Funimation localized his name as "Mercenary Tao" and "General Tao" (don't care to check which one came first). Viz kept it as "Taopaipai".

The kanji is 桃白白; the Japanese reading for it would be ももしろしろ (Momoshiroshiro). You'd romanize the Chinese reading as "Taopaipai" in Wade Giles and "Taobaibai" in Pinyin. Toriyama wrote the furigana above the kanji in the katakana タオパイパイ (Taopaipai), so he was going by the Chinese reading. Some people call the character "Taobaibai", but since Toriyama wrote the name as タオパイパイ (Taopaipai) and not タオバイバイ (Taobaibai), I'd say you should just call him "Taopaipai".

There's some confusion as to whether or not he has a surname. On one hand, Tenshinhan calls him ぱいぱいさん (Paipai-san) out of respect. That might imply "Paipai" is his surname, but his brother the Crane Hermit calls him "Paipai" without any suffix. If they're brothers, wouldn't they have the same surname? Why would he call his brother by his last name? Also, his name is written without a space, which may imply that he doesn't have a surname.

tl;dr His name is Taopaipai.

 

[ScottyFamalam]

Spoiler

Katakana: ヤジロベー
Hepburn: Yajirobē
Shueisha: Yajirobe (Toriyama spelled it as "Yajirove" in the original manga)
Toei: Yajirobe
Bandai: Yajirobe
Funimation: Yajirobe
Viz: Yajirobe

This one is pretty universally romanized as "Yajirobe", but Toriyama spelled it as "Yajirove" in the original manga. He's named after 弥次郎兵衛 (yajirobee), a Japanese balancing toy. People usually pronounce the "be" like the word "be" or "bee", but it should be pronounced as "bei". That's why I think his name should be romanized as "Yajirobei" instead.

tl;dr His name is Yajirobei, not "Yajirobe".

 

[ScottyFamalam]

Spoiler

Katakana: ヤムチャ
Hepburn: Yamucha
Shuiesha: Yamcha
Toei: Yamcha
Bandai: Yamcha
Funimation: Yamcha
Viz: Yamcha

It's romanized as "Yamcha" all across the map from what I've seen.

He's named after 飲茶, a Chinese (specifically Cantonese) breakfast tradition. Pinyin romanizes it as yǐn chá, Wade-Giles as yin ch'a. Since it's originally a Cantonese term, it's also worth mentioning Yale romanization is yám chàh and the Jyutping romanization is jam2 caa4 (these numbers indicate tones). Of course, most people refer to it as "Yum Cha". The character's name ヤムチャ (yamucha) is the Japanese approximation of that term.

I'm not quite sure what gave rise to the "Yum Cha" spelling. I would guess that it's just an anglicization of "yám chàh"? Well, the katakana is ヤムチャ (yamcuha) and it can translate to either "Yamcha" or "Yumcha". I guess either is fine.

tl;dr You may as well just call him "Yamcha". But "Yumcha" is also fine.

 

[ScottyFamalam]

Spoiler

Katakana: ウーロン
Hepburn: Ūron
Shuiesha: Oolong and Woolong
Toei: Oolong and Woolong
Bandai: Oolong and Woolong
Funimation: Oolong
Viz: Oolong

The official romanization in Japan seems to flip-flop between "Oolong" and "Woolong".

He's named after 烏龍, a Chinese tea. Romanized as wūlóng in Pinyin and wu1-lung2 in Wade-Giles. Most people refer to it as Oolong. The katakana ウーロン (Ūron) is an approximation of that term.

"Oolong" is a similar deal as "Yum Cha". I'm not sure why most people use that spelling to refer to the tea. Anyway, whatever you call him, make sure it's a valid translation of the katakana. "Oolong", "Woolong", and "Wulong" are all fine.

tl;dr You may as well just call him "Oolong". But "Woolong" and "Wulong" are also fine.

 

[ScottyFamalam]

Spoiler

Katakana: プアール
Hepburn: Pūaru
Shuiesha: Pooal (at one point, Pou-Al)
Toei: Pooal (sometimes Puer)
Bandai: Pooal (I think I saw a card that spelled it as "Puar", though)
Funimation: Puar
Viz: Pu'ar

The official romanization in Japan seems to mainly be "Pooal". I'm pretty sure I saw a card that went with "Puar", but I don't remember the set.

Another character named after Chinese tea. 普洱 is romanized as "pǔ'ěr" in Pinyin and "p‘u-êrh" in Wade-Giles. What should you call him? Well, he's named directly after the tea, so I guess "Puer", "Pu'er", or "Pu'erh" would be the most correct. But "Puar" is pronounced the same way and is a valid translation of the katakana.

tl;dr You may as well just call him "Puar". But "Puer", "Pu'er", and "Pu'erh" are fine.

 

[ScottyFamalam]

Spoiler

Katakana: ゴジータ
Hepburn: Gojīta
Toei: Gogeta (once Gozita)
Shuiesha: Gogeta
Bandai: Gogeta
Funimation: Gogeta

The official romanization has almost universally been "Gogeta". But Toei did once spell it as "Gozita" on a poster.

Anyway, it should be "Gogeeta" for the same reason "Vegeta" should be "Vegeeta".

tl;dr His name is "Gogeeta", not "Gogeta" or "Gozita".

 

[ScottyFamalam]

Katakana: ダーブラ
Hepburn: Dābura
Shuiesha: Darbura
Toei: Darbura
Bandai: Darbura
Funimation: Dabura (once "Doubler")
Viz: Dabra

The official romanization in Japan is pretty much always "Darbura". Funimation once called him "Doubler" on official CD track titles, but they went with "Dabura" for their dub of the show. Viz went with "Dabra".

His name is a pun on "Abracadabra". "Doubler" was always a mistranslation because if that were his name, then the katakana would have been ダブラー (Daburā). The katakana is ダーブラ (Dābura), so it should be "Darbra". ダー (Dā) would properly be translated as "Dah", "Dar", "Der", or "Dur". Since the pun is "abracadabra", it should be "Darbra".

tl;dr His name is "Darbra" or "Dahbra", not "Dabra", "Dabura", "Darbura", "Doubler", etc.