Questions that concern the use of expressions, parts of speech, words, verbs, etc.
13
votes
1answer
177 views
What is the difference in use between 以及, 和 and 与?
I have a book with the following lesson titles:
中文以及中国
聚会和饮食
交通与环境
Why are these terms connected with 以及 / 和 / 与, why not always use 和 for example?
Are there any rules for proper use of these ...
5
votes
7answers
348 views
What is the difference between using 光 vs using 只?
What is the gramatical difference between 光 and 只?
光剩下2毛钱 does not have the same meaning/context as 只剩下2毛钱
It seems there is more emphasis to the part that comes after 光. When is the right time to ...
7
votes
2answers
150 views
Implications of “旧的不去，新的不来”
I found this idiom while looking for another idiom my friend told me about like 回去回来 or 回来回去. I'm wondering about the implications of 旧的不去，新的不来 though. Can this be used for people who hold onto broken ...
4
votes
5answers
212 views
In this sentence, what is the purpose of 的?
Consider this sentence:
你说的是什么？
I understand that 的 permits creating adjectives, like 我的 would be "my". But here, I can’t see how it works. What is its purpose?
9
votes
5answers
315 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 ...
7
votes
3answers
199 views
What's the actual difference between 文 and 语?
Both mean "language" with some other related meanings.
A friend of mine told me that while 文 refers more to the written language, 语 is more related to the spoken one.
Is this a difference and is it ...
5
votes
2answers
66 views
How common is the use of “瞧” and which region?
I've seen 瞧 used every now and then in written Chinese, but I've rarely heard it said in spoken Chinese except for the occasional mention of 瞧不起.
A couple of days ago I was watching Kung Fu Panda and ...
5
votes
3answers
137 views
Difference between 曾经 and 已经
In this question I was asking about 曾经 and one answer says it means 'already'.
What's the difference between 曾经 and 已经?
Do the two sentences below have the same meaning?
他曾经在北京学过两年汉语。
...
