Questions tagged [difference]
For questions about differences or comparisons between two or more words, lexical nuances, characters, pronunciation, syntax, etc.
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What is the difference between 升, 陞 and 昇?
There are some characters in Chinese which give me severe headaches, especially those that have the same pronunciation and mean more or less the same thing.
I have learnt three characters which are ...
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Difference between 活 and 住?
I read that both 活 and 住 both refer to the verb "to live". Is there a difference between the two?
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What's the difference between 快 and 快要?
I started to learn Chinese like one month ago and I'm facing a first misunderstanding.
In my book it says that 快 can be used to say "soon" but 快要 is also used to express the same thing. Is there a ...
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Are 平常 and 通常 essentially interchangeable?
In a few of my entries on Lang-8.com, several of my Chinese friends have changed 平常 into 通常 and vice versa without providing additional explanation. It it just a matter of personal taste?
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Is there a difference in connotation between questions ending in 吗 vs. X 不 X
Is there any difference in connotation/region/modernity/etc. between questions ending in 吗 and affirmative/negative questions?
For example, does:
你很累吗？
connote something different than:
你累不累？
And ...
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Are there differences in writing between Chinese languages, such as Mandarin and Shanghainese
There are already many questions about the different spoken languages that can be called Chinese. This question on the other hand asks about the written one(s?).
Well, to start, is the written ...
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What's the difference between 词典, 辞典, and 字典?
I don't think they are necessarily different kinds of dictionaries, but is there a subtle distinction? Or maybe their etymologies?
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Difference between 佈 and 布
Can anyone help me clarify the difference between 佈 and 布? If I'm not mistaken, this is only relevant for traditional characters since 佈 has been simplified to 布. A dictionary lookup for 佈 shows that ...
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How to differentiate moods, characters, temperaments, etc?
It seems like there are way more words for these things than in English, and I am having a hard time figuring out the difference between them. Some adjectives can only be used to describe mood, while ...
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What is the difference between yǐqián (以前) and zhīqián (之前)?
I'd like to have some way to differentiate between yǐqián (以前) and zhīqián (之前), in order to help with memorising them both. Referring to Modern Mandarin Grammar (Claudia Ross, Routledge 2006), it ...
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What's the difference between 咁 (gam3) and 噉 (gam2)?
What does "gam" mean in these two contexts, and why is a different character used in each?
Note 咁 used in this sentence
我睇見你坐喺梳化椅處， 唔停咁同張太太，何太太，王小姐佢哋傾偈。
(ngo5 tai2 gin3 nei5 co5 hai2 so1 ...
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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 ...
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What's the difference between 星期X and 周X?
When accepting an answer, I noticed that the example used the word 周三 for Wednesday, but in my grammar, the days of the week are 星期一, 星期二, etc...
They seem both correct but, what's the difference? ...
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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 ...
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What is the difference between 总是 and 一直?
I've always (no pun intended) wondered what the difference is between the two words. I thought they both meant always, but I've never quite grasped in what context they should be used.
Could anyone ...
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What is the difference between 一只狗 and 一条狗?
I've been told by native speakers that the former refers to little dogs while the latter is for bigger dogs. I also have been told that the latter has a negative connotation. I'm wondering:
how ...
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What is the difference in use between 完 and 了?
If I understood correctly, both 完 and 了 can be used to indicate a completed action, so what is the difference in use? How do we properly use 完 in a sentence? Which contexts would be valid?
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What is the difference between 狗 and 犬?
狗 (gǒu) and 犬 (quǎn) both mean "dog" and both seem relatively common, but is there any difference between them? When should I use one and when should I use the other?
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What is the difference between 做 and 作?
做 and 作 are both translated as "to do" or "to make."
How can I tell when I should use one or the other?
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