Key:name:vi-Hani

This key specifies the feature's Vietnamese name in demotic Han characters (chữ Nôm), one of two historic writing systems used by Vietnamese, along with classical Chinese (name:lzh=*). Chữ Nôm names are of primarily historical interest but may sometimes be verifiable enough to map in OpenStreetMap. Names in the modern Latin alphabet (quốc ngữ) are far more important. More widespread tagging of chữ Nôm names would be appropriate for the OpenHistoricalMap project.

How to map

There is no requirement to pair name:vi=* with name:vi-Hani=*. Chữ Nôm has had no official status for centuries and has not been widely used since the 19th century. However, it continues to serve ceremonial or decorative purposes in some traditional settings, such as museums and places of worship. This key has also been used on places and landmarks whose chữ Nôm names are well-known, at least among those who study classical literature.

The number of characters (chữ) in name:vi-Hani=* should match the number of space-delimited words (từ) in name:vi=*.

Nôm characters look like Chinese characters and chữ Nôm text incorporates many Chinese characters verbatim. Despite this similarity, it is inappropriate to copy a modern Chinese name (name:zh=*) or classical Chinese name (name:lzh=*) into name:vi-Hani=*:

• Many words use Vietnamese-specific demotic characters. There is no general pattern that determines which words use demotic characters versus Chinese characters.
• The Vietnamese language follows a different word order than the Chinese language, so the characters in name:vi-Hani=* would typically appear in the opposite order as in name:lzh=*, keeping compound words together.
• Modern Chinese characters may be subject to a simplification process that took place long after chữ Nôm fell out of common use, so simplified Chinese characters would be an anachronism.

Maps in Vietnamese in Chinese characters

Note: this tag is mainly used in Vietnam and the maps below will show only those places where the names are translated into this language.

• Wikimedia Maps (wikimedia.org)
• Wikimedia Maps (toolforge.org)
• OpenStreetMap Americana

See also

• Multilingual names
• Names – about names in general