Now that the game has been out for almost two months, Genshin Impact is starting to see its most devoted fans rise to the top of social media outlets. While popular series often generate waves of fan content, including creative writing, cosplay, and the like, games that inspire analytical or theoretical content, such as "lore dives," are a bit more uncommon.
Genshin Impact seems to be becoming one of the latter, as more and more fans take to social media with their in-depth analyses of the game's cryptic lore. Many gamers often explore details like the history of in-game items or characters, but one devoted fan wants to help Travelers speak like a Liyue local.
YouTuber k3tchup shared a handy video that breaks down the pronunciation of the many sites found in Genshin Impact's Liyue region. While the video forgoes more obvious sites, like the Stone Gate and Sea of Clouds, it comprehensively covers the entire selection of Chinese-language location names found in Liyue.
As per the video's creator, it offers a pronunciation guide that covers Liyue locations that both:
- Appear on the world map as of Version 1.1 of the game
- Retain their Chinese-language name
This means the guide covers areas ranging from Wuwang Hill to Qingce Village, as well as items like Jueyun Chili Peppers. Streamer k3tchup not only provides a full explanation of each word's pronunciation (syllable by syllable, and then word by word), but also shares an overview of the video's important timestamps, and further details for each word, in the comment pinned below the video.
Fans enjoying the video will likely also appreciate fun-facts about the Liyue region, as it seems all of its sites have been named thoughtfully. There are simpler references, such as Dihua Marsh's "dihua" referring to a type of reed-like plant (the likes of which can be found throughout the marsh), alongside more elaborate Easter eggs like the Guyun Stone Forest.
The Guyun Stone Forest, an isolated archipelago just east of Liyue, is aptly named considering that "Guyun" stems from the words for "lonely" and "cloud." Likewise, Liyue holds a symbolic name, with the "li" referring to "a shiny ore, or glass-like translucent material," and "yue" simply referring to the moon.
Aside from teaching gamers how to properly say the names of these in-game locations, the video guide sheds light on a unique way of diving into Genshin Impact lore. Needless to say, non-Chinese-speaking players hoping to shed light on newer items, locations, or characters now know that it may be worth taking a look at some of the language, as it seems to hold valuable clues.
Genshin Impact is available now on the App Store, Google Play, PC, and PS4, and is currently in development for Switch.