(Posting, 'cause valles_uf linked this LJ entry to the Drunkard's Walk Forums (http://p087.ezboard.com/bdrunkardswalkforums) and asked for advice)
I think it should be Xia4 Yu3, actually. I can't, offhand, think of any Yu2 word that means 'rain'...whereas Yu3 is the most common phrase for it.
(Xia4 Yu3 also rolls off the tongue somewhat easier than Xia4 Yu2, a consideration in picking a name)
I'm not certain which character Xia4 references, tho. It does mean summer, I believe, but I'm drawing a blank on how the actual ideogram looks. Nevermind.
That said, as tjalorak (one of the DW forum guys) noted, Xia4 Yu3 sounds exactly like the phrase for 'Raining'. A different Xia4, but still.
That doesn't mean a parent wouldn't name their child that, tho, since "pun problems" aren't uncommon with Chinese names...my own name, Yilun, sounds precisely like the Mandarin phrase: "One Wheel". It doesn't mean that, 'course, but for a while some friends called me "Unicycle" (in English).
And I had a classmate named Shi Wang. English-speaking phallic jokes aside, that sounds exactly like "Lost Hope" or "Depressed". He was stuck with various emo nicknames for four years.
Xia4 Yu3... might sound a bit masculine, though, 'cause of the fourth tone on 'Xia'. Makes it a little harsh. Then again, given the words and meaning, that's definitely a girl's name. And naming a kid 'Summer Rain' is a wee bit odd to begin with, so that's prolly not a problem.
I should sit down and think about alternatives.
Can't really speak for Chinese names 2000 years ago, I know nuts about those. If I remember, I'll e-mail someone who studied that sorta thing. I had Chinese Literature-esque classes myself, but I usually spent 'em doodling in the margins, and failing the tests.
no subject
I think it should be Xia4 Yu3, actually. I can't, offhand, think of any Yu2 word that means 'rain'...whereas Yu3 is the most common phrase for it.
(Xia4 Yu3 also rolls off the tongue somewhat easier than Xia4 Yu2, a consideration in picking a name)
I'm not certain which character Xia4 references, tho. It does mean summer, I believe, but I'm drawing a blank on how the actual ideogram looks. Nevermind.
That said, as tjalorak (one of the DW forum guys) noted, Xia4 Yu3 sounds exactly like the phrase for 'Raining'. A different Xia4, but still.
That doesn't mean a parent wouldn't name their child that, tho, since "pun problems" aren't uncommon with Chinese names...my own name, Yilun, sounds precisely like the Mandarin phrase: "One Wheel". It doesn't mean that, 'course, but for a while some friends called me "Unicycle" (in English).
And I had a classmate named Shi Wang. English-speaking phallic jokes aside, that sounds exactly like "Lost Hope" or "Depressed". He was stuck with various emo nicknames for four years.
Xia4 Yu3... might sound a bit masculine, though, 'cause of the fourth tone on 'Xia'. Makes it a little harsh. Then again, given the words and meaning, that's definitely a girl's name. And naming a kid 'Summer Rain' is a wee bit odd to begin with, so that's prolly not a problem.
I should sit down and think about alternatives.
Can't really speak for Chinese names 2000 years ago, I know nuts about those. If I remember, I'll e-mail someone who studied that sorta thing. I had Chinese Literature-esque classes myself, but I usually spent 'em doodling in the margins, and failing the tests.