<p>魔术贴 is not a translation or transliteration of Velcro. It is a 'Chinese name' given to the product.</p>

<p>Terms like 魔术(Magic) or 神奇(wonder),  are commonly used in naming new and innovated products. </p>

<ul>
<li><p>What is so wonderful about the Wonder Bra? -- unlike normal bra, it wonderfully pushes your breasts up </p></li>
<li><p>What is so magical about 魔术贴? -- unlike normal sticker, it can be easily peered off like magic </p></li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-14T05:16:47.953Z
QUOTE:- "   unlike normal bra, it wonderfully pushes your breasts up"  Learn something new today :)
Wayne Cheah
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2020-06-14T05:27:13.773Z
@ Wayne Cheah Chinese often name foreign products in locally understood terms instead of  translation or transliteration. Do you know 荷蘭水 (Dutch water ) was the early name given to 'soda pop'  in Cantonese? Because back then Holland was a main trading partner of Canton, so 荷蘭水 would mean 'unlike normal water, it is water imported from Holland'. The term 荷蘭水蓋 (Holland water bottle cap) which is a slang for ' honor medal' is still in use today
Tang Ho
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2020-06-14T06:02:29.293Z
Heh, I was under the impression that the "magic" part meant that it was reusable, unlike normal tape.
dROOOze
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2020-06-14T06:14:20.243Z
normal tape can't be peered off easily
Tang Ho
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2020-06-14T11:50:13.947Z
@Tang Ho:- A Cantonese transliteration of a Western product that I can recall is Eau de Cologne, 古龍水, (gu2 lung4 seoi2), (Cologne water), which was all the rage during our mother's time. Well, as for 荷蘭水 (Dutch water ), we in SE Asia still, sometimes, call it that, though people are beginning to use the Mandarin term, 汽水
Wayne Cheah
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-14T12:17:09.977Z
@Wayne Cheah We do translate,  transliterate and renaming foreign products For example: Apple (蘋果) MicoSoft (微軟) are  translations; Mean while "Scotia Bank"  was transliterated as "斯高沙銀行" by Cantonese speakers and later renamed by the Bank itself to "豐業銀行"
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-14T05:09:12.267Z
2020-06-14T05:09:12.267Z
Tang Ho
<p>This is one of the most interesting translations i've encountered. 
The '... + 贴' pattern is understandable, but how did '魔术' (magic) get there?
The only other word I know that has been translated as '魔术 + ...' is 魔术方块 (rubic's cube), which I suppose makes more sense than trying to transliterate 'rubics'. I'm just curious as to the origin of this. </p>

<etymology><word>
How did 'velcro' get translated to 魔术贴 ('magic attachment??')
# How did 'velcro' get translated to 魔术贴 ('magic attachment??')

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-06-14)

This is one of the most interesting translations i've encountered.
The '... + 贴' pattern is understandable, but how did '魔术' (magic) get there?
The only other word I know that has been translated as '魔术 + ...' is 魔术方块 (rubic's cube), which I suppose makes more sense than trying to transliterate 'rubics'. I'm just curious as to the origin of this.

**Tags:** etymology, word


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-06-14. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

魔术贴 is not a translation or transliteration of Velcro. It is a 'Chinese name' given to the product.

Terms like 魔术(Magic) or 神奇(wonder), are commonly used in naming new and innovated products.

* What is so wonderful about the Wonder Bra? -- unlike normal bra, it wonderfully pushes your breasts up
* What is so magical about 魔术贴? -- unlike normal sticker, it can be easily peered off like magic

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: QUOTE:- "   unlike normal bra, it wonderfully pushes your breasts up"  Learn something new today :)  
> **username_1**: @ username_2 Chinese often name foreign products in locally understood terms instead of  translation or transliteration. Do you know 荷蘭水 (Dutch water ) was the early name given to 'soda pop'  in Cantonese? Because back then Holland was a main trading partner of Canton, so 荷蘭水 would mean 'unlike normal water, it is water imported from Holland'. The term 荷蘭水蓋 (Holland water bottle cap) which is a slang for ' honor medal' is still in use today  
> **username_3**: Heh, I was under the impression that the "magic" part meant that it was reusable, unlike normal tape.  
> **username_1**: normal tape can't be peered off easily  
> **username_2**: @username_1:- A Cantonese transliteration of a Western product that I can recall is Eau de Cologne, 古龍水, (gu2 lung4 seoi2), (Cologne water), which was all the rage during our mother's time. Well, as for 荷蘭水 (Dutch water ), we in SE Asia still, sometimes, call it that, though people are beginning to use the Mandarin term, 汽水  
> **username_1**: @username_2 We do translate,  transliterate and renaming foreign products For example: Apple (蘋果) MicoSoft (微軟) are  translations; Mean while "Scotia Bank"  was transliterated as "斯高沙銀行" by Cantonese speakers and later renamed by the Bank itself to "豐業銀行"  

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