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 几月几号 and 几号?
What is the difference between 几月几号 and 几号, when asking about the date?
Like 今天几月几号？ or 今天几号？
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吃 Vs. 喝 in this sentence: 既然敬酒不吃那就吃罚酒
So I watched a movie, in this sentence why did they use 吃 rather than 喝?
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Why 给我钱 and not 把钱给我?
I read and listen a lot of people say “给我钱”. I had no problem with that for quite a long time until I learned about 把. I started to wonder why people said 给我钱 and not 把钱给我 when there’s disposal to the ...
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When can 要 replace 需要?
In an answer to the post 要 to indicate "will [verb]" vs "need", it is argued that
要；yào；want to, need to, going to
is actually the short form of either
需要；xūyào；to need, to want
...
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What is the difference between 租, 租用, 租出, and 租赁, all meaning "to rent"?
租 租用 租出 租赁 DIFFERENCE
How to really say rent or hire in Chinese? The other day I found a sentence with 租用 I have not seen before; I always found 租出 or 租 instead. What is the difference between them?...
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Difference between 以前 and 前 to indicate past time?
I wanted to express in Mandarin:
Three months ago I started yoga classes.
I thought about whether to use 前 or 以前 to express "ago":
三个月以前我开始了上瑜伽课。
Sān gè yuè yǐqián wǒ kāishǐ le shàng ...
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What's the difference between classifiers and measure words?
The terms classifier and measure word are often used interchangeably, with the latter being (reportedly) more common in language courses.
They both translate to 量词 (literally "measure word") ...
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Why in Chinese Bible (和合本), "you" was translated as "你" instead of "您"?
For example, in 詩 篇 Psalms:
102:1 〔 困 苦 人 發 昏 的 時 候 、 在 耶 和 華 面 前 吐 露 苦 情 的 禱 告 。 〕 耶 和 華 阿 、 求 你 聽 我 的 禱 告 、 容 我 的 呼 求 達 到 你 面 前 。
102:2 我 在 急 難 的 日 子 、 求 你 向 我 側 耳 、 不 要 向 我 掩 面 ． 我 呼 求 ...
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Difference between "believe" 认为 and 相信?
This question is related to:
Is there any difference between 想, 觉得 and 以为?
What are the difference between e.g. 想, 觉得 and 认为 when expressing opinion?
In there, they mentioned both 认为 rènwèi and 相信 ...
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Understanding 照相 and 照片
I am having some confusion about 照相 and 照片. In my Chinese lesson they introduced them:
照片
Zhào piàn
(noun) photo
照相
Zhào xiàng
(verb) to take a picture
They also showed this example:
我照了几百张照片。
I ...
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霹雳与雷霆有什么分别？(What's the difference between 霹雳 and 雷霆?)
except for their other uses, such as 霹雳舞(breakdance) and their respective 成语, are they considered synonyms? they're both translated as
霹雳: thunderbolt
雷霆: thunderbolt
空中雷霆一响，就把孩子吓哭了 = The thunderbolt ...
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在一篇关于墨尔本疫情的文章里，作家为什么先写“爆发”再写“暴发”？
在下面的文章里，我们可以看到“爆发”和“暴发”，这两个近义词。这两个词都形容墨尔本里新冠病毒的新增确诊病例，迅速地上升。
据新西兰先驱报报道，据称，澳大利亚墨尔本新冠肺炎隔离酒店内负责观察守卫入境游客和归国人员的警卫，被指控与客人发生性关系，导致维多利亚州爆发新的疫情。
……
维多利亚州州长丹尼尔·安德鲁斯承认，酒店员工中有“少量”违规行为，他说这可能是导致疫情暴发的原因。
尴尬！...
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To make friends: 交朋友 vs 认识朋友?
I have come across some sentences where both 认识朋友 and 交朋友 were translated as to make friends (even though typically 认识 is translated in English as to know). Is there a difference between them?
...
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Is 各式各样 Taiwanese version of 各种各样?
I know that 各式各样 = 各种各样, but is one Taiwanese version of the other one? What I mean is: is one more frequently used in China and the other is more frequently in Taiwan?
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what is the difference between 覆盆子 and 树莓?
As the title says what is the difference between 覆盆子 and 树莓? It feels like 覆盆子 is more formal / "fancier" than 树莓？ Or is it just traditional characters vs simplified?
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Difference between 告白 and 表白 as verbs
I don't understand the difference between the two, don't they both mean "to explain"? When would one be used over the other?
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What is 吗 doing in 你有什么事吗？
In a Chinese lesson, I came across these sentences:
你有什么事吗？
Nǐ yǒu shénme shì mɑ?
你有什么事？
Nǐ yǒu shénme shì?
And both were translated as:
What's the matter?
I don't understand 1. Without 吗, I ...
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Difference between 我一句汉语也没听懂 and 我一句汉语也听不懂
（1）刚来中国时，我一句汉语也没听懂。
（2）刚来中国时，我一句汉语也听不懂。
For me:
(1) states the situation that "I cannot understand Chinese sayings" without pointing out any reasons
(2) uses potential complement "听不懂&...
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Difference between 问 and 让 "to ask"
How do 问 and 让 differ in meaning and in what sort of situations would you use either of them?
In chinese.yabla.com there are a lot of different verbs with the meaning 'to ask'.
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Does Chinese distinguish in/on/to the south?
Does 在伦敦的南面/南边 is a mixture of in/on/to the south of London?
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Trust/Believe : “信任” vs “相信”
How is the usage of 信任 and 相信 different ？ According to my understanding the scope of 信任 is more than the scope of 相信 . For example if we are talking about a person or a few people , we might say 我相信你 ...
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Don't both 關心 and 在意 mean the same thing?
I recently learned a sentence: 大家都和關心也很在意這件事
However, don't both 關心 and 在意 mean the same thing -- to care about? Is there a difference?
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What did you think? 你觉得呢 vs 你觉得啥
What is the difference between the following translations?
你觉得呢？
你觉得啥？
你觉得怎么样 ?
Do they all roughly mean the same thing? Which one is most appropriate for spoken, written, and texting?
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What's the difference between 懲處 and 懲罰？
I recently learned two similar words that seem to mean "to punish." What's the difference?
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Why 了 in 走+time+就到了？
I came across the following sentence:
她的家很近，走五分钟就到了。
Tā de jiā hěn jìn, zǒu wǔ fēnzhōnɡ jiù dào le.
Her house is very close, only need to walk for five minutes to arrive.
Question: Why is there a ...
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Meaning of 的 in 真的?
Question:
Is the 的 in 真的 a modal 的 [see resources.allsetlearning.com]?
How does 的 change 真? Does it bring some emphasis?
I guess the purpose of 的 in 真的 is the same as in 好的 or 有的? See Is each 的 in 有的 ...
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What is the difference between 乾 and 幹?
I know that dry is "乾燥", but according to Google Translate:
dried apples = 蘋果乾
dried apricots = 杏乾
dried mangosteens = 山竹果乾
dried durians = 榴蓮幹
dried yeast = 幹酵母
dried chickpeas = 幹鷹嘴豆
dried ...
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Comparison question with implicit 再 zài?
I just started learning chinese and I came across this dialogue from a lesson:
A: Pínɡuǒzěnme mài ? 苹果怎么卖? How much are the apples?
B: Sìkuài. 四块. 4 Yuan.
A: Yǒudiǎnr ɡuì. Kěyǐpiányi yìdiǎnr mɑ? 有点儿贵。...
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How to distinguish between homophone words 再 and 在 zài
I wonder how one can distinguish in an oral conversation between homophone words: 再 and 在, as both have the same pronunciation zài.
For example, in the sentence
Wǒ zài kàn diànyǐng.
how one can ...
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Is it possible to know what 都 means in "Subj + 都 + Predicate + 了"?
In my lessons, I came across two different meanings for the adverb 都 dōu:
"Already" with the structure: Subj. + 都 + Predicate + 了, where 了 stands for completion of the predicate (see ...
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⿺走巳 or ⿺走己: Can 起 be written in two different ways?
Whilst typing the character 起 on my Mac, I notice that the character appears differently, illustrated in the picture below.
On some programs, the character appears with an extra stroke, on others it ...
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播出，廣播，轉播 ：哪裡不一樣？
So I'm studying the translation for broadcasting and three terms (well, excluding one, which I'll mention at the end) are given to me by a textbook. They are 播出, 廣播 and 轉播.
For the life of me I ...
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Which one is more commonly used in Chinese speaking communities: 年轻 or 年青?
One of the elective projects on the study of Chinese culture given in my high school is as follows:
探讨中国传统文化如何助当今年青人走出困局。
I thought this was a typo so I asked our teacher to correct it to 年轻. But ...
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What’s the difference between 善于 vs 擅长
What’s the difference between 善于 vs 擅长? I know they both mean “being good at” but can they be used interchangeably? When should you use one over the other and why?
For example, how should I say: “I ...
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Difference between 那 vs 呢 and when to use it [closed]
What is the difference between 那 vs 呢 and where should I use it?
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Why 明 for tomorrow and next year but 下 for next month?
I would like to understand why you can say 明天 and 明年 but not 明月, or why you can't say 下天 and 下年 but you say 下月. From the dictionary, 明 and 下 both seem to mean "next".
Maybe the logic behind is "just ...
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What's the difference between 招来 and 引起?
招来 (zhāolái)
CC-EDICT definition: to attract / to incur
她的行动招来上司的批评。
Her actions drew criticism from her superior.
如果你在这件事上失败了，就会招来别人的非议。
You will bring the blame of others upon yourself if you fail ...
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What is the difference between 是 and 在?
I don't really understand the difference. Someone said zai is location, but it is used also in the sentence "Mum and Dad are drinking tea."
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What’s the difference between 起来 and 上?
Both 起来 and 上 after a verb should indicate the beginning and continuation of an action or a state. Are there differences in usage? If yes when should I use one instead of the other?
Examples with 上：
...
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What's the difference between 入(root) and 人 (men)
http://zhongwen.com/d/164/x74.htm
This character looks like 人 alot.
That website says that it's the character of roots descending into earth
I search for root in mgdb and can't find it.
I search ...
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What is the difference between 满足 and 满意?
I learned both of these words recently. I asked a Chinese friend what is the difference, and she told me they are "almost the same". I'm wondering how strong the "almost" is here. How interchangeable ...
user23661
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形式，样式 and 方式 - appearance, style, form, shape...?
In terms of the appearance of something, there a lot of HSK5 words that are very similar. Here are four and the definitions I've found thus far.
表面 - 1. surface (tangible, 方面 is intangible), 2. ...
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The difference between 陪 and 跟
The meaning of both 陪 and 跟 is "go with", so are there any differences between them?
我陪你去医院。
我跟你去医院。
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How to distinguish between 为 and 给 when both means "for"
Both 给 and 为 can mean "for." Both can be used with verbs to express an action done for anyone.
So how can I distinguish? Please make it clear.
Thank you so much.
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What's the difference between 注册 and 登记, both meaning "to register"?
Typically I click 注册 = "register" to sign up for a new service on my phone. However, 登记 also seems to mean "register" in a similar sense. Searching on Jukuu.com:
法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
...
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What's the difference between shǐ yòng 使用 and yòng 用？
Both mean to use. However, sometimes you need both and sometimes you can simply say yòng 用.
Examples:
謝謝你使用拼音 , thank you for using pinyin
謝謝你用鉛筆 , thank you for using a pencil
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Difference among 一些，一点，有些，有的
I want to ask about the difference among 一些，一点，有些，有的. I know
一些/一点/有些/有的 + Noun = a little + Noun (uncountable nouns, right?)
So are they interchangeable?
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Difference between 发愁，着急，担心，关心，操心，烦恼
In addition to this post: Is there a difference between 担心 (dānxīn) and 着急 (zháojí)?
HSK contains a lot of words which relate to being worried:
发愁，着急，担心，关心，操心，烦恼
- am trying to distinguish ...
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Communication - 交通，交流，联系，接触，沟通，交际，打交道
I am trying to make clear distinctions between the use of the following words. It would be great if you have any extra information which could help me!
交通 - 1) to be connected, n. transportation, ...
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Results! 结果 vs 成果 vs 果实 vs 成就 vs 成绩
So, this is quite the connundrum! This is how far I have got:
结果 - just means result, in a general sense
The following five words seem all to refer to success/achievement, and even after searching ...
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