Questions about the origin and the history of Chinese characters or words.
4
votes
5answers
198 views
What was this online dictionary's name with ancient traditional and simplified characters and etymology?
I once found a Mandarin Chinese dictionary which for each character listed the ancient, the traditional and the simplified Chinese characters. For each it described its meaning and how it developed ...
11
votes
5answers
264 views
Number two in chinese: 二 vs 两
I always knew, from my studies of Japanese, that the number two is 二 (èr). I am not sure about the actual etymology, but looking at the character, it's understandable why it represents the number "2".
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7
votes
6answers
133 views
What etymology dictionaries are available?
What dictionaries (online, software-based or in paper form) explain the origins of a word and its evolution over time? E.g. how the character was once written, how the usage – and the meaning – ...
7
votes
2answers
1k views
What is the exact meaning of 吃豆腐, and where does the expression come from?
I'm not talking about eating tofu, but the expression that means something more like taking advantage of someone. What exactly does 吃豆腐 mean, and where does this expression come from?
5
votes
2answers
248 views
How did 外国人 become 老外?
From Baidu:
老外，是中国人对国外人的一种俗称，类似与老张、老王、老李之类的称呼。称呼中加“老”显得亲热，比如“老乡”“老表”，称呼你老外，就像称呼老张老李那样，大大咧咧，随便亲切。过去中国人对外国人的称呼都是用在第三人称上，只有“老外”可以用于第二人称。
To translate, it says laowai is a colloquial term for ...
9
votes
6answers
340 views
When is it appropriate to address a lady as 先生？
Chairman Mao addressed Soong Ching-ling as 宋庆龄先生. Yang Jiang was also addressed as 杨绛先生 by the public. My dad used to tell me to address some of his female colleagues as 先生 too.
I wonder why a lady ...
