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In Chinese, Minecraft is called “My World.” But take the English name apart, and there's no “world” in it at all. So where did the Chinese name come from? In 2009, a programmer in Sweden made this game. At first, it was called “Cave Game.”
Within days, he gave it a new name: mine, plus craft. Mine means to dig. You take a pickaxe and knock the blocks loose, one hit at a time. Craft means skill, making things by hand. Put together the wood and stone you dug up, and you can make tools and build a house.
So word for word, it's roughly “dig and build.” But in English, “mine” has another meaning too: belonging to me. One word, two meanings, stacked neatly on top of each other.
The game has more than one Chinese name. Some call it “Wheat Block,” and in Taiwan it's often called “Be a Creator God.” The one that spread the furthest is “My World.” It keeps the meaning of “mine” as in “my.” Then it adds a word the English name doesn't have: world. Why add “world”? Because every time you start a new game, it builds you a whole new world.
Mountains, seas, forests, and winding caves underground. This world is too big to walk across. In the computer version, walking from the very middle to the edge takes about thirty million blocks. What to build and where to go are all up to you. It really is “my” world.
In 2016, the Chinese game company NetEase won the exclusive right to run it in mainland China. Its official Chinese name is “My World.” So “My World” isn't a mistranslation. It doesn't translate the words; it translates how playing feels. Next time a foreign name and its Chinese name don't match, don't call it a mistake right away. Ask yourself: what did the people who named it want you to feel?
What other cleverly translated names have you seen? Tell me in the comments.
The English name means “dig and build.” The Chinese name keeps the other meaning of “mine” — “my” — and adds “world.” It translates how playing feels.
Put simply: “dig and build” is what you do; “my world” is how it feels to play.
The game has more than one Chinese name. Some call it “Wheat Block” (Maikuai); in Taiwan it’s often called “Be a Creator God.” The one that spread furthest is “My World.” In 2016, the Chinese game company NetEase won the exclusive right to run it in mainland China, and its official Chinese name is “My World.”
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