<p>In ancient Chinese, 太 means 'big', 'oldest/most senior', 'extreme'... The second meaning have largely fallen out of use today, but still survives in words such as 太郎 (the oldest son, mainly used in japanese),太子(the crown prince, usually the oldest son of the king),... </p>

<p>Here 太狼 is an intentional pun of 太郎, making the name 灰太狼 sound like a Japanese name 'grey taro'. Actually almost all characters' names in that show are word plays like this.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-05-13T08:48:47.803Z
2013-05-13T08:48:47.803Z
Mingjing Zhang
<p>In ancient Chinese, 太 means 'big', 'oldest/most senior', 'extreme'... The second meaning have largely fallen out of use today, but still survives in words such as 太郎 (the oldest son, mainly used in japanese),太子(the crown prince, usually the oldest son of the king),...</p>

<p>Here 太狼 is an intentional pun of 太郎, making the name 灰太狼 sound like a Japanese name 'grey taro'. Actually almost all characters' names in that show are word plays like this.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-21T02:48:40.087Z
2018-12-21T04:06:36.353Z
2018-12-21T04:06:36.353Z
Wening Guan
<p>灰狼 is enough to mean "Grey Wolf."</p>

<p>The 太 was added for emphasis. A loose translation might be "VERY Grey Wolf."</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-03T20:17:23.990Z
2013-02-03T20:17:23.990Z
Tom Au
<p>It is the name of the character, and names are arbitrary.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-04T01:44:04.570Z
2013-02-04T01:44:04.570Z
fefe
<p>Like others said, it is just a name and names can be arbitrary.</p>

<p>However, to many of the audience, there is another layer of meaning that I am hesitant to lay bare.</p>

<p>The pronunciation of 太狼 resembles a common Japanese name 太郎. Intentionally or not, this political metaphor helped the series to gain popularity and government support.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-05-15T04:24:26.953Z
I'm much less cynical about the resemblance to 太郎. Whilst it's true there's a lot of cultural venom towards Japan in China, not all jokes of this nature are as malicious as you imply. For instance, would you be this cynical about English jokes about the Scottish, or Irish? As Mingjing Zhang said, it's just a pun, with which this show is filled.
congusbongus
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-05-15T05:00:18.883Z
@CongXu On the contrary, I am not cynical about it at all, nor did I say the intention was malicious. It is merely my observation how other people (mostly parents of the audience) are receiving it. You're free to disagree or provide a different answer.
NS.X.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-04T02:00:26.873Z
2013-02-04T02:00:26.873Z
NS.X.
<blockquote>
  <p>灰太狼</p>
</blockquote>

<p>灰太狼 (A character in a TV show) is translated in English as "Grey Wolf".</p>

<p>What has happened to the 太, wouldn't 灰狼 be enough to mean "Grey Wolf"?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-03T22:45:28.343Z
(1) I believe you should treat that as a name.
John Siu
<meaning>
太: Meaning in 灰太狼
# 太: Meaning in 灰太狼

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-02-03)

> 灰太狼

灰太狼 (A character in a TV show) is translated in English as "Grey Wolf".

What has happened to the 太, wouldn't 灰狼 be enough to mean "Grey Wolf"?

**Tags:** meaning
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: (1) I believe you should treat that as a name.  

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## 5 answers

### Answer by username_6 on 2013-02-04. Score: 10 | Accepted answer

Like others said, it is just a name and names can be arbitrary.

However, to many of the audience, there is another layer of meaning that I am hesitant to lay bare.

The pronunciation of 太狼 resembles a common Japanese name 太郎. Intentionally or not, this political metaphor helped the series to gain popularity and government support.

> **Comments:**
> **username_7**: I'm much less cynical about the resemblance to 太郎. Whilst it's true there's a lot of cultural venom towards Japan in China, not all jokes of this nature are as malicious as you imply. For instance, would you be this cynical about English jokes about the Scottish, or Irish? As Mingjing Zhang said, it's just a pun, with which this show is filled.  
> **username_6**: @CongXu On the contrary, I am not cynical about it at all, nor did I say the intention was malicious. It is merely my observation how other people (mostly parents of the audience) are receiving it. You're free to disagree or provide a different answer.  

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### Answer by username_2 on 2013-05-13. Score: 4

In ancient Chinese, 太 means 'big', 'oldest/most senior', 'extreme'... The second meaning have largely fallen out of use today, but still survives in words such as 太郎 (the oldest son, mainly used in japanese),太子(the crown prince, usually the oldest son of the king),...

Here 太狼 is an intentional pun of 太郎, making the name 灰太狼 sound like a Japanese name 'grey taro'. Actually almost all characters' names in that show are word plays like this.


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### Answer by username_3 on 2018-12-21. Score: 1

In ancient Chinese, 太 means 'big', 'oldest/most senior', 'extreme'... The second meaning have largely fallen out of use today, but still survives in words such as 太郎 (the oldest son, mainly used in japanese),太子(the crown prince, usually the oldest son of the king),...

Here 太狼 is an intentional pun of 太郎, making the name 灰太狼 sound like a Japanese name 'grey taro'. Actually almost all characters' names in that show are word plays like this.


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### Answer by username_4 on 2013-02-03. Score: 0

灰狼 is enough to mean "Grey Wolf."

The 太 was added for emphasis. A loose translation might be "VERY Grey Wolf."


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### Answer by username_5 on 2013-02-04. Score: 0

It is the name of the character, and names are arbitrary.


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