只有家人才叫的名字

陈浩，刚才你奶奶打电话，我好像听见她叫你"铁蛋"？那是你的名字吗？

Chen Hao, your grandma just called, and I think I heard her call you "Tiedan"? Is that your name?

那是我的乳名。我很小的时候，家里人就给我起了这个名字，除了奶奶，家里别的长辈也这样叫我。

That's my milk name. My family gave me this name when I was very small. Besides my grandma, other elders in my family call me that too.

乳名？这个词我没听过，是什么意思？

Milk name? I haven't heard this word before, what does it mean?

乳名是家人在孩子小的时候起的名字，跟外面用的名字不一样。我正式的名字是陈浩，可是家里人从小到大一直叫我铁蛋。

A milk name is a name family members give a child while they're small, different from the name used outside. My formal name is Chen Hao, but my family has called me Tiedan from childhood to now.

铁蛋？这个名字听起来不太好听啊，为什么要起这样的名字？

Tiedan? That name doesn't sound very nice, why would anyone give a name like this?

这是一种老习惯，也是一种迷信。以前的人觉得，如果孩子的名字太好听，坏运气就会注意到这个孩子，把他带走。

It's an old custom, also a kind of superstition. People in the past felt that if a child's name sounded too nice, bad luck would notice the child and take him away.

坏运气会因为名字好听就带走孩子？这个想法有点迷信，但是也挺有意思的。

Bad luck would take a child away just because the name sounds nice? That idea is a bit superstitious, but it's also pretty interesting.

是有点迷信，但是长辈们是真的相信这个。铁蛋这样的名字，听起来没有用，没有人会想要，坏运气也就不会觉得这个孩子值得带走。

It is a bit superstitious, but the elders really believed it. A name like Tiedan sounds worthless, nobody would want it, so bad luck wouldn't think this child was worth taking.

我明白了，起一个不好听的乳名，其实是长辈保护孩子的一种办法。

I see, giving an unlovely milk name is actually a way for the elders to protect the child.

对，你说得对。而且乳名只有最亲近的家人才用，外面的人都叫我陈浩，只有长辈和最亲近的人才叫我铁蛋。

Right, that's exactly it. And the milk name is only used by the closest family. People outside all call me Chen Hao, only elders and the people closest to me call me Tiedan.

所以乳名代表一种亲近，工作的名字和家里的名字，中间有一种不一样的感觉。

So the milk name represents a kind of closeness. The work name and the home name carry a different feeling between them.

对，陈浩是外面用的名字，铁蛋是家里用的名字，说明我们之间很亲近。你从小到大是不是只有一个名字？

Right, Chen Hao is the name used outside, Tiedan is the name used at home, it shows how close we are. Have you had only one name since you were small?

是的，我从小就只有一个名字，家人、朋友、同事都用这一个名字叫我，没有别的名字。

Yes, I've only had one name since I was small. Family, friends, colleagues all call me by this one name, there's no other name.

那你会不会觉得有点可惜？

Then do you feel that's a bit of a pity?

有一点。你有两个名字，一个是工作里用的，一个是家人才用的，这两个名字里有两种不一样的亲近，我挺羡慕的。

A little. You have two names, one used at work, one only your family uses, and those two names hold two different kinds of closeness. I'm quite envious.