KKC Theory Wiki

'Kote' May Be an Imperfect Translation and Not Literally Mean Disaster

plausible symbolism · popularity 171 · 1 source thread

Kilvin gave Kvothe the gist of an idiom, not a literal gloss, so 'Kote' could name something merely linked to disaster.

About: Kvothe

Also involves: Master Kilvin, Wilem, The Cthaeh, The Lackless Box

The theory§

This theory questions whether 'Kote' literally means 'disaster.' When a cheerful Kilvin asks Kvothe whether he knows the saying 'Chan Vaen edan Kote,' Kvothe gets as far as 'Seven years... I don't know Kote,' and Kilvin supplies 'Expect disaster every seven years'—without ever giving a word-for-word gloss of 'Kote' itself. The argument is that Kilvin conveyed the idiom's overall meaning, much as Kvothe elsewhere notes that the Siaru saying 'Tuan volgen oketh ama' renders literally as 'don't put a spoon in your eye over it,' so 'Kote' need not be 'disaster' but something merely associated with it—blood being one tentative guess, tying the name to Kvothe's bloodless Lackless heritage. Counter-readings are strong: that Kvothe already supplying 'seven years' shows the translation is close and literal, not idiomatic, and that Kilvin later swears 'Kist, crayle, en kote,' using 'kote' as a curse word, which fits 'disaster' far better than a neutral verb like 'expect.'

Evidence§

  • I always found the scene in which Kvothe learns the word Kote to be a pretty interesting one, specifically because Kilvin never translates the word for him directly.
    OP's core observation: Kilvin never gives a direct gloss of Kote. — u/djquack69
  • “Do you know the saying “Chan Vaen edan Kote?” … I tried to puzzle it out. “Seven years… I don’t know Kote.” … “Expect disaster every seven years”, he said.
    The source scene: Kvothe gets 'seven years' but not Kote; Kilvin supplies the meaning. — u/djquack69
  • I don’t think Kote could mean expect because of the context in which Kilvin uses it for a second time. … “Kist, crayle, en kote,” he swore furiously.
    Rules out 'expect': Kilvin later uses kote as a curse word. — u/djquack69
  • “Tuan volgen oketh ama.” … It meant ‘don’t let it make you crazy’ but it translated literally as: ‘don’t put a spoon in your eye over it’.
    Key analogy: Siaru idioms aren't literal, so Kilvin may have given gist not gloss. — u/djquack69
  • My theory is that when Kilvin translated the saying for Kvothe, he gave him the meaning of the phrase, he didn’t translate it literally. … it translates to something which is associated with disaster.
    The thesis: Kote names something merely linked to disaster, not disaster itself. — u/djquack69
  • my best (and slightly tin-foil) guess is that it means blood. … Kvothe is referred to as bloodless, changing his name to Kote could be a bitter way of accepting that he is actually a part of the Lackless bloodline.
    OP's tentative guess: Kote means blood, tying to bloodless Lackless heritage. — u/djquack69
  • He knows the words chan vaen mean seven years. Edan kote would be “Expect disaster”. … This implies it’s not a colloquial saying that means something different than the literal translation.
    CounterCounter: Kvothe already parsing the words shows it's a literal translation, not an idiom. — u/AirborneRunaway
  • The biggest issue I have with this is that Kvothe knows enough Siaru to get half the saying. If Kilvin translated the meaning and not the exact words, Kvothe wouldn’t have nearly gotten it as he did
    CounterCounter: Kvothe getting half the saying argues against an idiomatic, non-literal rendering. — u/Gatechap

Book refs: NOTW ch 67, NOTW ch 41, WMF ch 21

Tier reasoning§

single page; tier plausible holds, interpretation contested by commenters

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