Questions tagged [mainland-china]

Mainland China is the area under the control of People's Republic of China, excluding Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao. Use this tag for questions specifically related to language and culture in the PRC.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
0 votes
3 answers
86 views

What about the meaning "actually" for 所 mentioned in many dictionaries?

Many online dictionaries (dictionary.writtenchinese.com, yellowbridge.com, chine.in/mandarin/dictionnaire/, app.ninchanese.com/search, etc...) mention the meaning "actually" ("en ...
faure's user avatar
  • 540
1 vote
2 answers
122 views

The Chinese readings of 朴 (Korean surname)

The character 朴 is used in modern Mandarin in the following ways: pò 朴樹 'Chinese hackberry, Celtis sinensis', 厚朴 'Magnolia officinalis'. pǔ [simplified from 樸] 'simple, plain, rough, unpolished'. ...
Alexander Z.'s user avatar
1 vote
4 answers
92 views

Is the accent in the south that different?

I'm thinking of going to China for a year to finalize my chinese. Right now it's super basic, but I'm slowly getting through HSK4. I did a bit of research on costs and standard curriculum structure. ...
Zheng-rong Cai's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
265 views

Dictionary for different dialects

I am in search for a dictionary that have the most common Chinese words mapped with a one-to-one relationship for different dialects. To be specific, I am looking for a entries mapped for Taiwan (...
Axel's user avatar
  • 59
2 votes
3 answers
1k views

Exactly how bad is it to call a family member by their given name?

I hear it is taboo to call any family member by their given name, especially if you are speaking to an older relative. Or if not taboo, then at the very least it is extremely rude. Do people ever call ...
jcwn's user avatar
  • 55
0 votes
1 answer
138 views

Does anyone knows a 'Leo' surname transliterated from the 劉/刘 characters?

Grandfather from Macau, China came to the Philippines when he was only 13 years old. His name in my Dad's birth certificate is 'Leo Suening'. yDNA (paternal test) results points me to the Liu/劉/刘 ...
Suening's user avatar
  • 43
2 votes
2 answers
119 views

The Many Pronunciations of 法

Regarding the various pronunciations of 法字, how much of the below is accurate? 法 as in 法国: Mainland: Fǎ Taiwan: MoeDict has Fǎ, with Fà listed only as “旧音”, but my understanding is that most ...
Lionel Rowe's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
75 views

How do you translate "misalignment spacers"?

I'm looking for the word for "misalignment spacers", which are mechanical parts for use with Heim joints (鱼眼轴承). Anyone know what they're called in China? Here's a photo. Misalignment spacers are the ...
John M.'s user avatar
  • 113
3 votes
2 answers
597 views

how to translate this slogan '向前一小步,文明一大步' and the like in almost every public toilet in China

the other one is '靠近方便, 贴近文明', both of which have different versions of English translations, most of them, though, suck. they go like: One small step forward One giant leap toward civilization A ...
Jim River's user avatar
5 votes
4 answers
859 views

Is there a politically neutral Chinese term for Greater China that is acceptable to all Chinese speakers?

By "China," I am referring to the Mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan collectively, without regard to geopolitics. Is there a word that refers to this entire region that would not offend any ...
K Man's user avatar
  • 283
3 votes
2 answers
586 views

What's the difference between 主任 and 主管?

As per title, what's the difference between these 2 terms? My teacher said that in China, 主任 is considered as low position, and 主管 is higher. But looking at the translation 主任 means director, which ...
rcs's user avatar
  • 181
2 votes
1 answer
87 views

What is the meaning of the Chinese word translated to English as "sincerity"

Particularly, in the context of morality and citizenship. I am working on a project on China's proposed social credit system, and the term "sincerity" comes up frequently as a desired social good. ...
Miles Watson's user avatar
-1 votes
3 answers
123 views

Please some Help me translate this [closed]

I could not use Google translate because its an image. Your help will be appreciated.
RJ tarauny's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
110 views

Learning the Chinese Language [closed]

China is the thing at the moment. Everyone wants to learn Chinese language. Is it hard to be fluent in the Chinese language
benchmark Writers's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
3k views

2 word (Mainland) versus 3 word (Hong Kong) Chinese names

I simply want to know why Chinese names from Mainland China are only two words (they can be 2 or 3 syllables) when written in their romanised or pinyin form). Meanwhile almost all Hong Kong names I ...
udidosa's user avatar
  • 913
1 vote
2 answers
551 views

Why is Mainland China referred to as "大陸" (大陸)?

Question is pretty straight-forward, but why do Hong Kongers (don't know if others too) refer to Mainland China as daai6 luk6 ? any historical reason for this or etymology?
udidosa's user avatar
  • 913
3 votes
8 answers
8k views

How do I say 'excuse me'?

So, I just found myself in a spot of bother. I decided to go to learn how to make some Chinese knots, but everything there was Chinese, so I had to speak Chinese. I understood the instructions that ...
Featherball's user avatar
3 votes
4 answers
6k views

Size of vocabulary of highly educated Chinese person

I've read in various places on the internet that the average vocabulary of a Chinese person is around 5,000 words. How about highly educated Chinese people? E.g. those with PhD's or holding top ...
jdods's user avatar
  • 428
1 vote
2 answers
1k views

Mandarin in Hunan Province

In Hunan Province, how common in standard Mandarin? Or, more generally, where regional dialects are spoken, how common is Mandarin? If I were to pass HSK 3 and be fairly competent at that level, ...
jdods's user avatar
  • 428
2 votes
2 answers
2k views

Insults in Chinese [closed]

Please answer in simplified characters. I've studied Chinese for quite a few years but I still don't know how to insult anyone. I've got to bring it to them hard and fast, strong, relentless. I'm ...
Featherball's user avatar
0 votes
3 answers
3k views

How do the Chinese address letters?

Please answer in simplified Chinese. In English, we do this on the front of the envelope of a letter: For example: To master (x) or Sir (x) or Lady (x) Address In the inside we put: Dear (x). And: ...
Featherball's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
133 views

Techniques for improving listening comprehension under background noise conditions

I have noticed that there is a big gap between my listening comprehension under ideal conditions (f.e. listening to a chinese movie/TV show/ChinesePod at my computer) and real-life listening ...
Martin Klein's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
198 views

What's the significance of Tangut?

With the preparation of the Tangut script for Unicode there seems to be extra added attention on the language, recently. Tangut being a dead, sinitic language with a script all of its own. What is ...
Mou某's user avatar
  • 35.7k
3 votes
2 answers
3k views

Meaning and origin of 小確幸

小確幸 is a newly popular word in Taiwan. It supposedly comes from a Japanese novel. Is this right? If so, who was the author, and what was the book? Does anyone have any suggestions for a translation? (...
wpt's user avatar
  • 4,335
2 votes
2 answers
207 views

Resources for the Chinese section of the Gaokao?

The entrance examination for universities in mainland China includes a Chinese section. I'm looking for three things about this. 1) A source for questions that have been asked in previous years. For ...
wpt's user avatar
  • 4,335
4 votes
1 answer
708 views

Job requirements for typing Chinese

Many government positions in Taiwan have typing speed requirements. In Taipei city job announcements I've found which mention this requirement, the minimum runs from 40-60 characters a minute. This ...
wpt's user avatar
  • 4,335
3 votes
4 answers
495 views

Did 劵 and 券 become variants in PRC/simplified in 1995?

The topic of 劵 vs 券 came up a couple of months ago and I did some Internet research at the time. I turned up a document about an orthographic reform in China in 1995 which included, among many other ...
hippietrail's user avatar
  • 4,015
10 votes
5 answers
7k views

Which IMEs (input method editors) are actually most used in each of PRC, ROC, and Hong Kong?

Because there are many kinds of input method and many implementations of each kind of input method, it's not really practical to learn many. PRC, mainland China uses simplified Chinese characters, as ...
hippietrail's user avatar
  • 4,015
11 votes
1 answer
2k views

Analog of Hong Kong grade level for Chinese characters?

The Unihan database lists a kGradeLevel for each entry. This is the primary grade in the Hong Kong school system by which a student is expected to know the corresponding character. Is there a similar ...
Drux's user avatar
  • 484
1 vote
8 answers
382 views

Learning/remembering Chinese

I lived in China for a few months and picked up quite a bit of Mandarin. Now that I've moved back to the US, I have forgotten the Chinese I knew and spoke while there. Other than actually living where ...
becswood3's user avatar
11 votes
2 answers
1k views

Is there a comprehensive list of vocabulary differences between 台湾国语 and 大陆普通话?

I've found many articles about differences in certain sentence structures regarding 台湾国语 and 大陆普通话, but does anyone have a large list of commonly-used vocabulary that are different? I spend a lot of ...
Kurtz's user avatar
  • 389
5 votes
5 answers
32k views

What is the correct way to write 'niu bi', and how did it get its meaning in Chinese?

'niu bi' (牛逼? like the bees knees in English) is one of the more amusing expressions I learnt in my time in China. The literal meaning in English is quite colourful, so I won't describe it here, but I'...
Ciaocibai's user avatar
  • 4,596
2 votes
2 answers
2k views

What is the exact meaning and etymology of 拜年?

Since Chinese New Year is on the way (and thanks to Xiaohouzi's great suggestion), I've been thinking all about the new year. One term the sticks out is 拜年. I'm very curious to know the exact meaning,...
Ciaocibai's user avatar
  • 4,596
6 votes
3 answers
1k views

Is there a traditional Chinese New Year greeting?

I know people often say 新年快乐 to mean happy new year, but is there a traditional greeting used in Chinese to express your good wishes for the new year? If so, what, and how did it originate?
Ciaocibai's user avatar
  • 4,596
3 votes
1 answer
2k views

Is there a Chinese equivalent song of 'auld lang syne'?

In Western countries (or New Zealand at least), auld lang syne is a very common song over the the New Year holiday. Is there an equivalent song in Chinese that everyone instantly associates with ...
Ciaocibai's user avatar
  • 4,596
28 votes
6 answers
3k views

How polite is too polite?

I've noticed in China that people don't tend to use as many 'polite' words as we do in western languages, like 'please' or 'thank you'. I want to make it clear that I'm not complaining about this; I ...
Cocowalla's user avatar
  • 3,435