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5 votes
2 answers
368 views

Is the right componet of 龍 related to 弱?

The right component of the small seal script 龍 seems to be the mirror image of the components of 弱. I know the older historical forms of 龍 do not share this similarity but I can't help but wonder if ...
0 votes
0 answers
29 views

Does Mandarin have any argots/cants like Pig Latin in English or Šatrovački in Serbian?

In English, Pig Latin is a way of speaking (or less commonly writing) to disguise the content in a simple way to make it difficult for outsiders or people not familiar with Pig Latin to understand ...
1 vote
3 answers
93 views

Can 一府两院 be replaced with 三院?

Xinhua News Agency report of March 8, 2024:报告显示,一年来,全国人大常委会共听取审议“一府两院”22个报告,... 府 is like a big residence house or mansion, for example, 荣国府; 院 is a courtyard, but it is also a very active noun that ...
5 votes
5 answers
650 views

Subordination in Chinese

Linguists claim that subordination is universal across the world languages. Subordination in English can be understood by looking into these examples: I know a person who has a dog I know a person who ...
2 votes
1 answer
38 views

How do you say "ragdoll physics" into Chinese?

When your avatar dies in a game, it will swingy (一摆一摆的). Like with games like Roblox, GMod, or Human Fall Flat; its physics is designed that way. In Wikipedia, "Ragdoll physics" is ...
0 votes
3 answers
99 views

Interpretation of Chun Xiao

This is a cross-post of this Quora space post. Chinese poem Chūn Xiǎo, by Mèng Hàorán: 春眠不觉晓, 处处闻啼鸟。 夜来风雨声, 花落知多少。 Pinyin: Chūn mián bù jué xiǎo, Chùchù wén tí niǎo. Yè lái fēng yǔ shēng, Huā luò zhī ...
0 votes
2 answers
37 views

What is the difference between 「欸」 and 「诶」?

The first time I notice the word 欸 is in a game (Genshin Impact) with 欸嘿. Then I find another word 诶, which is not that so common vs 欸. So what is the difference between them?
3 votes
2 answers
141 views

Is there a dictionary or database of Chinese morphemes and Chinese words with morphological information?

Linguistics textbooks on Chinese morphology identify the morpheme (词素/语素) and word (词) as linguistic entities. In addition, they propose a classification system for morphemes (词素/语素) as: 自由 eg. 地 牛 走 ...
0 votes
2 answers
66 views

Calligraphy and artist on painting - help translating

I bought this painting from a charity shop because I love the colours and composition. Although I'm Chinese, I can't read calligraphy easily and I can only work out a few words like 寒, 艳 and 天. Please ...
0 votes
2 answers
48 views

Understanding lyrics of song "游京"

Despite being a very lovely song, I'm having a little trouble understanding some of the lyrics to the song “游京.” In line (3), I understand individually the words 人, 杂乱, 戏, and 小丑, but I don't really ...
1 vote
4 answers
5k views

Difference between 哥 and 哥哥

Is there any difference between 哥 and 哥哥? Both are defined as “elder/older brother” in various online dictionaries.
0 votes
2 answers
121 views

What is the meaning of 製年德宣明大,,please tell me?

製年德宣明大 I got this post from Gucci/Vas. Is this a sentence or a code? Does this article have any meaningful meaning?
2 votes
3 answers
54 views

Both phrases mean “mutual respect”. What’s the difference?

What is the difference between saying 相互尊重 and 柤互尊重. I heard Chinese foreign minister use the latter phrase. But does 柤互 on its own mean anything, and why use this instead of the former phrase? 柤 ...
2 votes
1 answer
171 views

轉子 In the context of Danganronpa…?

I was playing Danganronpa v3, the version from Taiwan. Tenko says “因為到這裡來以後,就沒什麼機會活動筋骨 所以轉子剛剛去體育館稍微嫩餘一下! “. What does “轉子“ mean in this context? I know “大轉子“ means trochanter in the context of ...
0 votes
1 answer
61 views

Term for words with transposed character order?

Some pairs of Chinese words have the same characters, but in a different order. In English, I would describe such a pair as anagrams . What is the equivalent Chinese term for such pairs of words? ...
1 vote
1 answer
93 views

Classical meaning of 為 at the time of the Daodejing

I’m very curious 無為 should be translated. I recently heard that the usage of the word was “fake” at the time of writing the Daodejing
1 vote
0 answers
142 views

can anyone translate any of this seal script on an old bronze please

Ancient Chinese Small seal script translation.
0 votes
1 answer
109 views

Game where you adjoin 成语

I am thinking of writing a game where you adjoin 成语. The one where each proverb is four characters long and people play in a round robin fashion or against the computer (this seems the only way to ...
0 votes
2 answers
61 views

Help with the right version what the Chinese guy is saying

Recently during the lectures we've been listening to "China's Betting Big on Artificial Intelligence. Could the US lose the AI Race?" from YouTube. Certain video sections were in Chinese, ...
0 votes
2 answers
51 views

Is 这些书仍然是我最珍贵的财产之一 considered a faulty sentence because of 这些……是……之一?

This sentence can be found in a few places online (e.g. here): 这些书仍然是我最珍贵的财产之一。 These books are still among my most treasured possessions. YouDao says this sentence came from 《柯林斯英汉双解大词典》 although I ...
0 votes
1 answer
53 views

Effects of gendered speech or lack of it

This question is only partly related to the Chinese language, so if it is off-topic please feel free to remove. Since the 1980s, there has been a movement in the English-speaking world to replace ...
1 vote
1 answer
74 views

Translation/transliteration help request: 6 characters in seal script on a box holding a medal (Characters identified: 勛六等瑞寶章)

all -- among a box with some family heirlooms, I've found a lacquer box with a medallion inside. This was from a Russian family that left before 1917, and lived in China and then Japan before ...
4 votes
2 answers
159 views

鉛 Reading Phonology

Why does this word for Lead 鉛 seem to have two different pronounciations? In most Chinese Languages / Languages that borrowed this word ( Japanese / Korean ) they all read similar to the Middle ...
0 votes
2 answers
62 views

Opinion on Li Quingzhao poem calligraphy effort

I tried to write two lines of Li Quingzhao's poem in semi-cursive, I searched for the hanzis in other calligraphies and that's the first result. Is it readable? Do the hanzis make sense or I used too ...
1 vote
3 answers
137 views

谈的谈,说的说 - what is the subject?

小城故事 (Small Town Stories) by the incomparable Deng Lijun has the following lyrics: 谈的谈,说的说 小城故事真不错! I get the sense that the exact translation of 谈的谈 etc is not important compared to the next line, ...
1 vote
5 answers
134 views

How should I translate 载体 here?

This text is talking about 苗族人酷爱银饰。 When I look up 载体 I find things I don't really understand, like: vector, carrier. I find: 用来承载软体的媒介。 银饰早已不是单纯的装饰品,而是植根于苗族社会生活的文化载体。 I'd like to translate 文化载体 as ...
2 votes
1 answer
145 views

I need help identifying the characters on this artist’s seal (Characters identified: 南海)

I have this cool tshirt from the 1990’s and really want to know who is the artist. I actually lived in Guangdong for 4 years and have asked some friends but they cannot help. So… translation software ...
1 vote
2 answers
92 views

What is the etymology behind 角色?

personally it's easier for me to study words/phrases to understand the roots, but I have an interesting word that I can't figure out why it was derived from 角色 Corner and Color... how did that become ...
1 vote
5 answers
454 views

What does 老 indicate in 为啥他老在摇?

I saw question like this: 为啥他老在摇? I understand the sentence basically means "Why is he shaking?" what does the 老 add in this sentence? I think sometimes it can mean "always", like &...
0 votes
6 answers
100 views

Where's the error in the faulty sentence 有人认为,过年觉得没意思也许跟年味逐年冷淡有很大关系?

The HSK6 Standard Course workbook has the following "faulty sentence" exercise (chapter 14, page 115; photo of original; OCR by Yandex): A "糖瓜"是这里过年流行的美食。 B 有人认为,...
0 votes
2 answers
139 views

Should I use 她 or 它 for 中国? (and/or other countries)

If you're writing romantically, would 中国/中华 be 她 or 它?
2 votes
2 answers
76 views

Teochew dialect in Southern China

The singular Naomi Wu mentions that many of the traders in the Huaqiangbei (electronics) area of Shenzhen are "from the city of Chaozhou and so speak a common dialect". Chaozhou is a ...
0 votes
1 answer
55 views

Class greetings

I want to learn various greetings for the beginning of the class with my students. My class has expressed interest in Chinese. I'm looking for something like: Good morning, dear seventh-grade class. ...
0 votes
5 answers
289 views

Is 林心鹭 a good Chinese name?

I’ve been looking to find a Chinese name and I found somewhere on a website the name “心鹭”. I instantly loved it because herons are my favourite birds so it’s meaningful for me, but I’m not sure if it ...
0 votes
1 answer
133 views

What is the historical development of IPA for Chinese spoken language?

** This question is NOT for CSL students. The best way to learn a language is to directly follow a native speaker. A Chinese language teacher with the same native language background as the CSL ...
0 votes
2 answers
201 views

Spelling of Given Names in Taiwan - Pinyin or "plain"? (+/- interpolated "n")

Pinyin Info says of the given names listed "I refer to these as “Taiwanese” names, I give the Mandarin forms (since Hanyu Pinyin is a system for writing Mandarin), not names in Hoklo/Hokkien (the ...
0 votes
1 answer
74 views

Can Graduation be translated as 毕业 only?

最不发达国家指联合国指定的、尚未从最不发达国家的类型中毕业的任何国家 Least Developed Country means any country designated as such by the United Nations and which has not obtained graduation from the least developed country category ...
0 votes
1 answer
118 views

Teapot signature/symbol/character

Could anyone tell me what this symbol at the bottom of a teapot stands for? Thank you![This is a tea set I found in my mother’s house a few years ago]
2 votes
1 answer
96 views

How do you translate "budget" into Chinese from this context?

Budget can be translated as "预算", this translation sounds more like a verb for preestimate. While budgeted expenses can be translated as "预算费". However, I am unsure if either fits ...
1 vote
1 answer
64 views

Differentiating the translation of "Bilingual Education" and "Dual Language Education" into Chinese?

While I know, "Bilingual Education" can be translated as "双语教学" or "双语教育". (Note that "教育" and "教学" can be used interchangeable. With the former ...
1 vote
1 answer
181 views

What is written on these paintings and does it have any meaning?

Someone I know has a small business in buying/selling things. She asked if I know what the painting says as I know a limited amount of Japanese. while I couldn't read it even if it was Japanese, I ...
7 votes
3 answers
2k views

Why did so many Ks change into Js and Qs?

When looking at the history of name changes, one of the most common changes to city names seems to be the replacement of K with J and Q. For example, the spelling "Peking" has been changed ...
1 vote
1 answer
70 views

Mandarin music with clear speech tones

As discussed in other questions, in a lot of Mandarin music the spoken. tones get lost which make it hard to understand or use for learning. Is there any well-known Mandarin music or music artists ...
1 vote
4 answers
96 views

What is the intended error in the faulty sentence 她着装简洁,言谈高雅,第一次见面,我被她的美所深深吸引了?

This is a "faulty sentence" question from the HSK6 Standard Course workbook (chapter 8, page 63; photo of original; OCR by Yandex): A 有人为追求浪漫,在屋子里安装上许多彩灯。 B 从广义上讲,预危动物泛指珍贵、稀有的野生动物。 C 她着装简洁,...
1 vote
3 answers
161 views

Why is there 之 in 夫不觀之⋯乎?

Problem I stumbled upon this pattern 夫不觀之X乎? It seems to be an injunction to consider X, which I would try to phrase as: 何故不觀X? But, how does it come to mean this - if it does? The question ...
1 vote
2 answers
268 views

Why is Chick-fil-A called 達 堡 可 福?

This is the sign on Chick fil-A in Chinatown in Washington, DC. My guess for 可 福 (ke fu) is just that it's approximately phonetic to two sounds in "Chik-Fil-A" and has a pleasant meaning (&...
17 votes
4 answers
8k views

了解 vs 明白 vs 知道 - what is the difference, and when should I use each one?

了解, 明白, and 知道 seem to be fairly synonymous in Mandarin, but there does seem to be some subtle differences between them. What exactly is the difference? When should I use each one? Could you give me ...
0 votes
6 answers
130 views

Why is there a preference for the word order 看上去总是 over 总是看上去?

A HSK5 past exam (source) says: ……,海水越深,被散射和反射的蓝光就越多,所以,大海看上去总是蓝色的。 (The question seems adapted from here, which instead writes 大海看上去总是碧蓝碧蓝的.) I'm surprised by the placement of the 总是 here. If it ...
4 votes
2 answers
209 views

Could this kind of a component-based null cipher be possible in Chinese?

I'm writing a story set partially in historic China, and it involves a network of secret agents who seek to communicate over the mail in innocuous-looking letters. So I need a description of a pen-and-...
0 votes
1 answer
72 views

What is this name/reading?

could someone help with the reading of the text in the photo please. Thanks

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