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Another question in the theme of chosen names in The Left Hand of Darkness.

One of the main characters is named "Genly Ai". It is specifically noted in a couple passages in the book that "Ai" is pronounced like the English pronoun "I".

(One instance is towards the end of the story where Genly notes that Harth was unable to say his last name as "I" even in mindspeach).

Were it not for these couple of references I found it quite vague to know how to pronounce "Ai". Also it just seems a strikingly short, unusual choice of a name. So my question is: does "Ai" have any significance or meaning?

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  • "...the aide stood aside for me to pass, announcing me, "Genry Ai"--my name is Genly, but Karhiders can't say L..." This might be the source of your confusion about his first name, since throughout the novel everyone else calls him "Genry."
    – DavidW
    Commented Sep 6, 2019 at 15:02

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"Ai" is an actual last (family) name; it's the roman alphabet representation of a Chinese family name ("艾"). As of the 2000 census, there are apparently 337 people with that last name in the U.S.

According to Wikipedia the word means "mugwort" but according to the other linked page it means "Love, fond of, like, spouse or loved one."

Since it's a real name, it was likely picked to be slightly exotic and indicative of a future Earth not dominated by U.S./European powers.

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  • I'm very sceptical of the "mugwort" thing. Sounds like a Google Translate result for the Chinese character.
    – Rand al'Thor ♦
    Commented Sep 6, 2019 at 15:01
  • @Randal'Thor I have no Chinese; I offered it only because I have no other information. FWIW, Google Translate gives only "Ai" as a translation.
    – DavidW
    Commented Sep 6, 2019 at 15:03
  • There is a Mandarin word usually translated as "love", and romanized as "ai" but it's written with a different character than the one you mentioned here.
    – The Photon
    Commented Sep 7, 2019 at 19:25
  • The "love" character is "爱".
    – The Photon
    Commented Sep 7, 2019 at 19:36

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