<p>Min dialects pronounce 福 as "hok", hence the spelling Hokkien (also spelled Fujian as per Mandarin pronunciation). The translation of Holmes as 福尔摩斯 is neither inaccurate nor ignorant. It has to do with which language/dialect the translator speaks, and in this case, a Min dialect, as pointed out by another user. When a name catches on, it becomes the one people will use. The historical fact that one Chinese dialect was chosen as "standard" Mandarin 國語 does not invalidate other dialects, nor does it render transliteration of names according to those dialects inaccurate. Another example would be the name Hong Kong, which is pronounced "Xiang Gang" in Mandarin. But I am sure the name Hong Kong will stay, and it would be a bit silly to say that the transliteration "Hong Kong" is inaccurate. </p>

<p>Adding some references here:</p>

<p><a href="https://www.quora.com/Why-was-Sherlock-Holmes-translated-to-F%C3%BA%C4%9Brm%C3%B3s%C4%AB-in-Chinese" rel="nofollow">https://www.quora.com/Why-was-Sherlock-Holmes-translated-to-F%C3%BA%C4%9Brm%C3%B3s%C4%AB-in-Chinese</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-24T02:55:35.243Z
The translation was not related to the different pronunciation of 福. Don't mislead.
Patroclus
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-24T14:10:05.357Z
@FrankJoe What is it related to, according to your research?
monalisa
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-24T18:12:41.237Z
The first two translators are not Hoklo people. This is a good guess but doesn't make sense. The answer is that there is no answer.
Patroclus
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-25T03:34:22.623Z
@monalisa, the info on quota is, well, misleading.

as early as 1905, the term "福爾摩斯" was used in newspapers, which was 3  years earlier than quora's answer, that 林紓's translation, in 1908.
水巷孑蠻
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-02T20:41:48.627Z
**Comments deleted.** Feel free to disagree with each other, but don't forget respect, please. Thank you for your cooperation.
Alenanno
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-22T20:01:20.877Z
2016-05-25T03:26:38.697Z
2016-05-25T03:26:38.697Z
monalisa
<p>"福尔摩斯" is not accurate for the pronunciation. That's right. But this is decided by the first two translators for the book in 1902, Ding Huang and Zaixin Zhang. They translated Sherlock Holmes to "休洛克福而摩司", which is really similar to "福尔摩斯". In 1903, "福尔摩斯" was used in a new translated version by Wenming Press. But the reason behind this is untrackable anymore.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-22T00:30:01.770Z
2016-05-22T00:30:01.770Z
Patroclus
<p>The term "福爾摩斯" was used in newspapers as a detective example (中國亦有福爾摩斯), as early as 1905.</p>

<p><a href="https://mmis.hkpl.gov.hk/coverpage/-/coverpage/view?_coverpage_WAR_mmisportalportlet_actual_q=%28%20verbatim_dc.collection%3A%28%22Old%5C%20HK%5C%20Newspapers%22%29%29%20AND+%28%20%28%20allTermsMandatory%3A%28true%29%20OR+all_dc.title%3A%28%E7%A6%8F%E7%88%BE%E6%91%A9%E6%96%AF%29%20OR+all_dc.creator%3A%28%E7%A6%8F%E7%88%BE%E6%91%A9%E6%96%AF%29%20OR+all_dc.contributor%3A%28%E7%A6%8F%E7%88%BE%E6%91%A9%E6%96%AF%29%20OR+all_dc.subject%3A%28%E7%A6%8F%E7%88%BE%E6%91%A9%E6%96%AF%29%20OR+fulltext%3A%28%E7%A6%8F%E7%88%BE%E6%91%A9%E6%96%AF%29%20OR+all_dc.description%3A%28%E7%A6%8F%E7%88%BE%E6%91%A9%E6%96%AF%29%29%29&amp;_coverpage_WAR_mmisportalportlet_sort_field=dc.publicationdate_bsort&amp;p_r_p_-1078056564_c=QF757YsWv5%2BakvA8rFW5EnsZQsGxDCXI&amp;_coverpage_WAR_mmisportalportlet_sort_order=asc&amp;_coverpage_WAR_mmisportalportlet_o=0&amp;_coverpage_WAR_mmisportalportlet_hsf=%E7%A6%8F%E7%88%BE%E6%91%A9%E6%96%AF" rel="nofollow noreferrer">香港華字日報, 1905-10-25</a></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Title: 香港華字日報, 1905-10-25 = The Chinese Mail<br>
  Bib ID: NPTCM19051025<br>
  Publisher: 香港 : 香港華字日報有限公司<br>
  Date Created/Published: 1905-10-25<br>
  Page: 7th</p>
  
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/hu5sU.gif" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/hu5sU.gif" alt="newspaper"></a></p>
</blockquote>

<p>An article talked about this topic:</p>

<p><a href="http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/supplement/columnist/art/20060205/5630349" rel="nofollow noreferrer">福爾摩斯譯名及其他</a></p>

<p>i edited this answer, with sound files of "福", in min nan (閩南話) and cantonese (廣東話). one may compare these with the 1st syllable of english pronunciation of "holmes", have fun </p>

<p>in min nan (閩南話), according to <a href="http://twblg.dict.edu.tw/holodict_new/default.jsp" rel="nofollow noreferrer">教育部臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典</a>:</p>

<p>福　<a href="http://twblg.dict.edu.tw/holodict_new/result_detail.jsp?n_no=10695&amp;curpage=1&amp;sample=%E7%A6%8F&amp;radiobutton=1&amp;querytarget=1&amp;limit=20&amp;pagenum=2&amp;rowcount=25" rel="nofollow noreferrer">hok</a>　<a href="http://twblg.dict.edu.tw/holodict_new/audio/10695.mp3" rel="nofollow noreferrer">mp3 file</a></p>

<p>in cantonese (廣東話), according to <a href="http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">漢語多功能字庫</a>, using sydney lau scheme:</p>

<p>福　<a href="http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=%E7%A6%8F" rel="nofollow noreferrer">fuk1</a>　<a href="http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/sound/fuk1.Mp3" rel="nofollow noreferrer">mp3 file</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-23T07:43:11.353Z
@stan, how can you download the gif file, i tried so long, with various browser and OS; would you tell me, please :)
水巷孑蠻
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-23T09:33:44.820Z
Any browser with development tools on any OS could work. Since the transferred data are dealt with in Flash, it's not easy to find the url in the source code. However, all traffic is recorded by the "Network" tool of the browser, even if the data are encrypted. So, as one large pic should take over several hundred KB or several MB in the traffic, we can easily find them.
Stan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-22T10:52:00.910Z
2016-05-25T10:57:09.547Z
2016-05-25T10:57:09.547Z
水巷孑蠻
<p>The last name of the detective Sherlock Holmes is translated as "<a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%AD%87%E6%B4%9B%E5%85%8B%C2%B7%E7%A6%8F%E5%B0%94%E6%91%A9%E6%96%AF" rel="noreferrer">福尔摩斯</a>"(Fuermosi) in Chinese, which seems to be strange, since the Chinese pronunciation is nowhere close to the English one, beginning with the "F" sound instead of the "H" sound. Since the word "福" doesn't vary significantly in pronunciation across dialects, it probably is not a dialectal issue. </p>

<p>Furthermore, the "ho" phoneme is definitely present in Chinese, and translating it as "侯尔摩斯" would be significantly closer in pronunciation to the original. </p>

<p>Is there a reason this strange translation was carried out in the first place, and was furthermore maintained over the years? </p>

<p>I was myself confused by this translation, when I saw the book in a Chinese library and could not initially place any detective story starting with "Four" or the equivalent, and only realised the true translation after browsing through the book. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-22T00:52:22.997Z
Japanese with ホームズ Hoomuzu seems more accurate
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-22T19:07:25.027Z
@user6065 In Japanese, there is no "fo" syllable, only "ho", so the situation is not comparable.
imrek
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-22T23:19:59.107Z
in fact what prompted some users to look at Japanese (wondering about any connection with Japanese transliteration) is that there is "fu" instead of "hu"
user6065
<translation><literature>
Why is Sherlock Holmes translated as "福尔摩斯" (Fuermosi)?
# Why is Sherlock Holmes translated as "福尔摩斯" (Fuermosi)?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-05-22)

The last name of the detective Sherlock Holmes is translated as "[福尔摩斯](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%AD%87%E6%B4%9B%E5%85%8B%C2%B7%E7%A6%8F%E5%B0%94%E6%91%A9%E6%96%AF)"(Fuermosi) in Chinese, which seems to be strange, since the Chinese pronunciation is nowhere close to the English one, beginning with the "F" sound instead of the "H" sound. Since the word "福" doesn't vary significantly in pronunciation across dialects, it probably is not a dialectal issue.

Furthermore, the "ho" phoneme is definitely present in Chinese, and translating it as "侯尔摩斯" would be significantly closer in pronunciation to the original.

Is there a reason this strange translation was carried out in the first place, and was furthermore maintained over the years?

I was myself confused by this translation, when I saw the book in a Chinese library and could not initially place any detective story starting with "Four" or the equivalent, and only realised the true translation after browsing through the book.

**Tags:** translation, literature

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Japanese with ホームズ Hoomuzu seems more accurate  
> **username_2**: @username_1 In Japanese, there is no "fo" syllable, only "ho", so the situation is not comparable.  
> **username_1**: in fact what prompted some users to look at Japanese (wondering about any connection with Japanese transliteration) is that there is "fu" instead of "hu"  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2016-05-22. Score: 10 | Accepted answer

The term "福爾摩斯" was used in newspapers as a detective example (中國亦有福爾摩斯), as early as 1905.

[香港華字日報, 1905-10-25](https://mmis.hkpl.gov.hk/coverpage/-/coverpage/view?_coverpage_WAR_mmisportalportlet_actual_q=%28%20verbatim_dc.collection%3A%28%22Old%5C%20HK%5C%20Newspapers%22%29%29%20AND+%28%20%28%20allTermsMandatory%3A%28true%29%20OR+all_dc.title%3A%28%E7%A6%8F%E7%88%BE%E6%91%A9%E6%96%AF%29%20OR+all_dc.creator%3A%28%E7%A6%8F%E7%88%BE%E6%91%A9%E6%96%AF%29%20OR+all_dc.contributor%3A%28%E7%A6%8F%E7%88%BE%E6%91%A9%E6%96%AF%29%20OR+all_dc.subject%3A%28%E7%A6%8F%E7%88%BE%E6%91%A9%E6%96%AF%29%20OR+fulltext%3A%28%E7%A6%8F%E7%88%BE%E6%91%A9%E6%96%AF%29%20OR+all_dc.description%3A%28%E7%A6%8F%E7%88%BE%E6%91%A9%E6%96%AF%29%29%29&_coverpage_WAR_mmisportalportlet_sort_field=dc.publicationdate_bsort&p_r_p_-1078056564_c=QF757YsWv5%2BakvA8rFW5EnsZQsGxDCXI&_coverpage_WAR_mmisportalportlet_sort_order=asc&_coverpage_WAR_mmisportalportlet_o=0&_coverpage_WAR_mmisportalportlet_hsf=%E7%A6%8F%E7%88%BE%E6%91%A9%E6%96%AF)

> Title: 香港華字日報, 1905-10-25 = The Chinese Mail  
> Bib ID: NPTCM19051025  
> Publisher: 香港 : 香港華字日報有限公司  
> Date Created/Published: 1905-10-25  
> Page: 7th
>
> [![newspaper](https://i.sstatic.net/hu5sU.gif)](https://i.sstatic.net/hu5sU.gif)

An article talked about this topic:

[福爾摩斯譯名及其他](http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/supplement/columnist/art/20060205/5630349)

i edited this answer, with sound files of "福", in min nan (閩南話) and cantonese (廣東話). one may compare these with the 1st syllable of english pronunciation of "holmes", have fun

in min nan (閩南話), according to [教育部臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典](http://twblg.dict.edu.tw/holodict_new/default.jsp):

福　[hok](http://twblg.dict.edu.tw/holodict_new/result_detail.jsp?n_no=10695&curpage=1&sample=%E7%A6%8F&radiobutton=1&querytarget=1&limit=20&pagenum=2&rowcount=25)　[mp3 file](http://twblg.dict.edu.tw/holodict_new/audio/10695.mp3)

in cantonese (廣東話), according to [漢語多功能字庫](http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/), using sydney lau scheme:

福　[fuk1](http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=%E7%A6%8F)　[mp3 file](http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/sound/fuk1.Mp3)

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: @stan, how can you download the gif file, i tried so long, with various browser and OS; would you tell me, please :)  
> **username_7**: Any browser with development tools on any OS could work. Since the transferred data are dealt with in Flash, it's not easy to find the url in the source code. However, all traffic is recorded by the "Network" tool of the browser, even if the data are encrypted. So, as one large pic should take over several hundred KB or several MB in the traffic, we can easily find them.  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2016-05-22. Score: 10

Min dialects pronounce 福 as "hok", hence the spelling Hokkien (also spelled Fujian as per Mandarin pronunciation). The translation of Holmes as 福尔摩斯 is neither inaccurate nor ignorant. It has to do with which language/dialect the translator speaks, and in this case, a Min dialect, as pointed out by another user. When a name catches on, it becomes the one people will use. The historical fact that one Chinese dialect was chosen as "standard" Mandarin 國語 does not invalidate other dialects, nor does it render transliteration of names according to those dialects inaccurate. Another example would be the name Hong Kong, which is pronounced "Xiang Gang" in Mandarin. But I am sure the name Hong Kong will stay, and it would be a bit silly to say that the transliteration "Hong Kong" is inaccurate.

Adding some references here:

<https://www.quora.com/Why-was-Sherlock-Holmes-translated-to-F%C3%BA%C4%9Brm%C3%B3s%C4%AB-in-Chinese>

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: The translation was not related to the different pronunciation of 福. Don't mislead.  
> **username_3**: @FrankJoe What is it related to, according to your research?  
> **username_4**: The first two translators are not Hoklo people. This is a good guess but doesn't make sense. The answer is that there is no answer.  
> **username_5**: @username_3, the info on quota is, well, misleading.  as early as 1905, the term "福爾摩斯" was used in newspapers, which was 3  years earlier than quora's answer, that 林紓's translation, in 1908.  
> **username_6**: **Comments deleted.** Feel free to disagree with each other, but don't forget respect, please. Thank you for your cooperation.  

---

### Answer by username_4 on 2016-05-22. Score: 3

"福尔摩斯" is not accurate for the pronunciation. That's right. But this is decided by the first two translators for the book in 1902, Ding Huang and Zaixin Zhang. They translated Sherlock Holmes to "休洛克福而摩司", which is really similar to "福尔摩斯". In 1903, "福尔摩斯" was used in a new translated version by Wenming Press. But the reason behind this is untrackable anymore.


---

