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I am searching for contractions in classical Chinese. for example:
而已 ---contracts-to---> 耳.

Liebe Grüsse an die süsse Teresa!

1 Answer 1

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contraction_%28grammar%29#Chinese gives the following (just copied it in):

  • 諸 = 之乎 (In some rarer cases 諸 can also be contraction for 有之乎. 諸 can be used on its own with the meaning of "all, the class of", as in 諸侯 "the feudal lords.")
  • 焉 = 於之 (於之 is never used; only 焉.)
  • 旃 = 之焉 (Rare.)
  • 爰 = 于之 (Rare. The prepositions 於, 于, and 乎 are of different origin, but used interchangeably (except that 乎 can also be used as a final question particle).)
  • 然 = 如之
  • 云 = 曰之
  • 弗 = 不之
  • 勿 = 毋之 (弗 and 勿 were originally not contractions, but were reanalyzed as contractions in the Warring States period.)
  • 耳 = 而已
  • 盍 = 胡不 (胡 is a variant of 何.)
  • 與 = 也乎 (Also written 歟.)
  • 邪 = 也乎 (Also written 耶. Probably a dialectal variant of 與.)
  • 夫 = 不乎 (夫 has many other meanings.)
  • 奈何 = 若之何
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  • Hey @eugene_laserhair, do you mind accepting this answer if it is useful to you? :)
    – rramphal
    Sep 7, 2017 at 23:32

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