Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto
in Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese
The three outer planets, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, were discovered much later than the five planets known in antiquity and bear names in Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese that are direct translations of the Western ones, namely:
English | Uranus | Neptune | Pluto |
Chinese characters | 天王星 | 海王星 | 冥王星 |
Chinese reading | Tiānwángxīng | Haǐwángxīng | Míngwángxīng |
Japanese reading | Tennōsei | Kaiōsei | Meiōsei |
Vietnamese | Sao Thiên Vương | Sao Hải Vương | Sao Diêm Vương |
Meaning | King of Heaven | King of the Sea | King of the Underworld |
Note that the roots used in the Vietnamese names for the planets are the same as for Chinese and Japanese, except for Pluto, where Vietnamese uses the word Diêm (equivalent to 閻 / 阎 / Ch yán, J en) instead of Minh (冥 Ch míng, J mei). The meaning is basically the same, referring to the underworld.
Incidentally, the names deriving from the Five Elements were not the earliest names for the planets in Chinese. Some earlier or alternative names were:
English | Mercury | Venus | Mars | Jupiter | Saturn |
Current name | 水 星 | 金星 | 火星 | 木 星 | 土星 |
Chinese characters | 辰星 | 太白星 | 熒惑 / 荧惑 | 歲星 / 岁星 | 鎮星 / 镇星 |
Chinese reading | Chénxīng | Taìbáixīng | Yínghuò | Suìxīng | Zhènxīng |
Japanese reading | Shinsei | Taihakusei | Keiwaku | Saisei | Chinsei |