<p>If you are serious, I don't think any word like 舞娘 or 尬舞 is a good choice. (Probably 舞娘 is from the song by Jolin Tsai.) 舞蹈家 is a title for professional and experienced dancers. I don't know if your friend could be called a 舞蹈家, so if yes, just go with 舞蹈家. But 舞者 would always be a good translation.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-19T14:54:06.037Z
2018-03-19T14:54:06.037Z
pjhades
<p>舞娘：a <strong>female</strong> dancer who is usually very <strong>beautiful</strong>. 
舞蹈家： a dancer who is a <strong>master</strong> or at least a professional dancer with well-known good reputations.
舞者：a dancer who may be professional or amateur.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-19T12:00:52.430Z
2018-03-19T12:00:52.430Z
Jackman Li
<p>舞者 I believe is a better translation. It is not gender specific.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-09T08:40:07.190Z
2018-07-09T08:40:07.190Z
user20037
<p>My suggestion is:</p>

<p>尬舞女 - literally: dance-off girl.</p>

<p>Traditional words for dancing and dancer are often associated with prostitution. Think: 歌舞(伎), etc.</p>

<p>舞蹈家 is fine as a profession, but it's a bit dry and boring.</p>

<p>尬舞 is very trendy and modern.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-19T13:15:56.723Z
iciba: 尬舞: Dance 

The two gangs break into a dance that eventually turns into a street fight.

两帮先是相互尬舞,最后则变成街头斗殴.1

大家来尬舞

get the party started
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-19T13:57:35.170Z
Most usage has little or nothing to do with street fights.
Mou某
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-20T07:30:46.780Z
The reason for the downvote...?
Blaszard
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-20T21:16:12.817Z
could you explain more about what 尬舞女 means and what people would think of someone with an item engraved with 尬舞女?
TweedBeetle
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-21T04:11:47.797Z
@TweedBeetle It carries a few different connotations so here's a few examples from youtube: [1] https://youtu.be/l6pQu82LYC4?t=2m55s [2] https://youtu.be/y2aAKn3BuoI [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7GgCAT4O7w [4] https://youtu.be/95PLfP89Has || 尬舞 ranges from these choreographed group dances to dance-offs.
Mou某
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-19T12:26:16.220Z
2018-03-19T12:26:16.220Z
Mou某
<p><strong>舞娘</strong> means a girl who dance for a living and kind of professional.like geisha
<strong>舞蹈家</strong> a master in some kind of dance.like Isadora Duncan.
<strong>舞者</strong> A general name of people who like dance.like street dancer.
<strong>in your case</strong>,i suggest you figure out what kind of dance does your friend master,then intoduce she as:<strong>跳street dance的</strong>(a <strong>street dance</strong> people)</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-06T02:40:49.047Z
2018-04-06T02:52:44.027Z
2018-04-06T02:52:44.027Z
promisedland
<p>I have many questions about the nature of the gift, style of engraving you're thinking about using, and whether your female friend has a passion for dancing / dances for a living / is taking dance lessons and aspires to be a dancer, etc., and also, why do you want to engrave "dancer" on this gift.  </p>

<p>The answers would help me to tailor a complete answer to your question. In other words, the answer to your question isn't straightforward.</p>

<p>The other answers here already gave you many different translations for "dancer", along with the connotations and usage. As you can see, "dancer" still carries a negative connotation in this day and age.  </p>

<p>If you're looking to encapsulate a passion for dance, why not simply engrave "舞" ? Dance. Just Dance.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-07T19:01:02.550Z
2018-05-07T19:01:02.550Z
judester
<p>My suggestion : Don't, non of those are appropriate to named in a present. </p>

<p>Let's me put it some way : will any fan kitsch enough to give Sylvie Guillem a gift that with "excellent dancer" engraved ?  </p>

<p>Please ask around and use proverb or metaphor for a dancer.  </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-12T06:22:27.283Z
"Dancer" is different from "Excellent dancer" in that you're not judging the excellence. On the other hand, what metaphor would you suggest?
Frenzy Li
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-08T17:58:23.040Z
2018-05-08T17:58:23.040Z
mootmoot
<p>I would like to have characters for "dancer" engraved on a present for a female friend of mine.</p>

<p>What would be the most appropriate?</p>

<ul>
<li>舞娘</li>
<li>舞蹈家</li>
<li>舞者</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-19T11:56:27.063Z
汉语小词典（１９７７）:舞蹈家，舞蹈演员 for more info plug these into bkrs: **舞蹈家**  #28762 专业从事舞蹈工作的人, dancer, ballerina, 她可以算一个舞蹈家。
She can be counted as a dancer. **舞蹈演员** ,通常只有训练有素的舞蹈演员才会劈叉。
Usually only a trained dancer can do the splits.
 
舞蹈演员随着音乐的节拍旋转。
The dancers are gyrating to the beat of the music.
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-19T12:09:31.957Z
@TweedBeetle is there a more specific type or kind of dancer you are thinking of? It's a pretty broad spectrum in Chinese. A lot of more traditional words for dancing and dancer are often associated with prostitution. 舞蹈家 is the word for a dancer as a profession.
Mou某
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-19T12:15:40.333Z
@user3306356 I was not aware of these associations. Thank you. I mean a contemporary dancer.
TweedBeetle
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-19T12:19:56.747Z
Caution: 舞娘 sometimes refers to 'sex', nowadays  only stripper(脱衣舞娘) use it.
sfy
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-20T07:52:21.343Z
舞娘 is a song's name of Jolin Tsai, I hardly heard of this word besides. 舞者 sounds a bit western, like 侍者, add a 者 after a verb, just like *-er* and *-or* suffix English. 舞者 and 侍者 are less used in China.
xenophōn
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-07T18:51:00.757Z
Perhaps this is due to traditional vs simplified Chinese, but I'd like to point out that Jolin Tsai's song is actually 舞孃.
judester
<translation><word-choice>
Proper translation of "dancer"?
# Proper translation of "dancer"?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-03-19)

I would like to have characters for "dancer" engraved on a present for a female friend of mine.

What would be the most appropriate?

* 舞娘
* 舞蹈家
* 舞者

**Tags:** translation, word-choice
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 汉语小词典（１９７７）:舞蹈家，舞蹈演员 for more info plug these into bkrs: **舞蹈家**  #28762 专业从事舞蹈工作的人, dancer, ballerina, 她可以算一个舞蹈家。 She can be counted as a dancer. **舞蹈演员** ,通常只有训练有素的舞蹈演员才会劈叉。 Usually only a trained dancer can do the splits.   舞蹈演员随着音乐的节拍旋转。 The dancers are gyrating to the beat of the music.  
> **username_2**: @TweedBeetle is there a more specific type or kind of dancer you are thinking of? It's a pretty broad spectrum in Chinese. A lot of more traditional words for dancing and dancer are often associated with prostitution. 舞蹈家 is the word for a dancer as a profession.  
> **username_0**: @user3306356 I was not aware of these associations. Thank you. I mean a contemporary dancer.  
> **username_3**: Caution: 舞娘 sometimes refers to 'sex', nowadays  only stripper(脱衣舞娘) use it.  
> **username_4**: 舞娘 is a song's name of Jolin Tsai, I hardly heard of this word besides. 舞者 sounds a bit western, like 侍者, add a 者 after a verb, just like *-er* and *-or* suffix English. 舞者 and 侍者 are less used in China.  
> **username_5**: Perhaps this is due to traditional vs simplified Chinese, but I'd like to point out that Jolin Tsai's song is actually 舞孃.  

---

## 7 answers

### Answer by username_6 on 2018-03-19. Score: 1

If you are serious, I don't think any word like 舞娘 or 尬舞 is a good choice. (Probably 舞娘 is from the song by Jolin Tsai.) 舞蹈家 is a title for professional and experienced dancers. I don't know if your friend could be called a 舞蹈家, so if yes, just go with 舞蹈家. But 舞者 would always be a good translation.


---

### Answer by username_7 on 2018-03-19. Score: 0

舞娘：a **female** dancer who is usually very **beautiful**.
舞蹈家： a dancer who is a **master** or at least a professional dancer with well-known good reputations.
舞者：a dancer who may be professional or amateur.


---

### Answer by username_8 on 2018-07-09. Score: 0

舞者 I believe is a better translation. It is not gender specific.


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-03-19. Score: 0

My suggestion is:

尬舞女 - literally: dance-off girl.

Traditional words for dancing and dancer are often associated with prostitution. Think: 歌舞(伎), etc.

舞蹈家 is fine as a profession, but it's a bit dry and boring.

尬舞 is very trendy and modern.

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: iciba: 尬舞: Dance   The two gangs break into a dance that eventually turns into a street fight.  两帮先是相互尬舞,最后则变成街头斗殴.1  大家来尬舞  get the party started  
> **username_2**: Most usage has little or nothing to do with street fights.  
> **username_9**: The reason for the downvote...?  
> **username_0**: could you explain more about what 尬舞女 means and what people would think of someone with an item engraved with 尬舞女?  
> **username_2**: @TweedBeetle It carries a few different connotations so here's a few examples from youtube: [1] https://youtu.be/l6pQu82LYC4?t=2m55s [2] https://youtu.be/y2aAKn3BuoI [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7GgCAT4O7w [4] https://youtu.be/95PLfP89Has || 尬舞 ranges from these choreographed group dances to dance-offs.  

---

### Answer by username_10 on 2018-04-06. Score: 0

**舞娘** means a girl who dance for a living and kind of professional.like geisha
**舞蹈家** a master in some kind of dance.like Isadora Duncan.
**舞者** A general name of people who like dance.like street dancer.
**in your case**,i suggest you figure out what kind of dance does your friend master,then intoduce she as:**跳street dance的**(a **street dance** people)


---

### Answer by username_5 on 2018-05-07. Score: 0

I have many questions about the nature of the gift, style of engraving you're thinking about using, and whether your female friend has a passion for dancing / dances for a living / is taking dance lessons and aspires to be a dancer, etc., and also, why do you want to engrave "dancer" on this gift.

The answers would help me to tailor a complete answer to your question. In other words, the answer to your question isn't straightforward.

The other answers here already gave you many different translations for "dancer", along with the connotations and usage. As you can see, "dancer" still carries a negative connotation in this day and age.

If you're looking to encapsulate a passion for dance, why not simply engrave "舞" ? Dance. Just Dance.


---

### Answer by username_11 on 2018-05-08. Score: -1

My suggestion : Don't, non of those are appropriate to named in a present.

Let's me put it some way : will any fan kitsch enough to give Sylvie Guillem a gift that with "excellent dancer" engraved ?

Please ask around and use proverb or metaphor for a dancer.

> **Comments:**
> **username_12**: "Dancer" is different from "Excellent dancer" in that you're not judging the excellence. On the other hand, what metaphor would you suggest?  

---

