玛尔斯 (Mǎ'ěrsī) · Mars (Roman god of war)

Meanings

1 Mars (Roman god of war)
2 transliteration of Mars as a Western name
3 alternate Chinese name for the planet Mars

About Mars

Roman god of war, counterpart of the Greek 阿瑞斯 and in legend the father of Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. The month of March and the planet Mars, 火星 in Chinese, are named after him.

Characters

玛

mǎ

agate (phonetic 'Ma-')

尔

ěr

you; suffix (phonetic '-r-')

斯

sī

this (phonetic '-s')

Examples

HSK 6

玛尔斯对应希腊神话中的阿瑞斯。

Mǎ'ěrsī duìyìng Xīlà shénhuà zhōng de Āruìsī.

Mars corresponds to Ares in Greek mythology.

HSK 7-9

玛尔斯是罗马神话中的战神。

Mǎ'ěrsī shì Luómǎ shénhuà zhōng de zhànshén.

Mars is the god of war in Roman mythology.

Tips

culture

Ancient Chinese astronomers called the planet 荧惑, roughly 'the glimmer that baffles', for its shifting brightness and path, and read it as an omen of war, as Rome did. 火星 'fire star' comes from the 五行, which pair red with fire.

memory

Three syllables - 玛 'Ma-' + 尔 '-r-' + 斯 '-s' = Mars. The 玛 (agate) opens many female and mythological names (玛丽 Mary, 玛丽亚 Maria); the 尔斯 ending is a stock rendering of '-rs' finals.