All Questions
11,330
questions
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What is the literal translation of this: 摊主是位上了年纪、身材瘦小的老人?
...，整齐漂亮的毛笔字能充分地显示出书摊主人的文化水平。摊主是位上了年纪、身材瘦小的老人，总是穿着一件灰色长衫，...
This is from the Standard Course Book of HSK5, chapter 20. I need your help in literal translating this: 摊主是位上了年纪、身材瘦小的老人。
So far, this is ...
- 17.4k
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1
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52
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How to input Chinese character partially?
I am looking for a method to input Chinese character partially. For example, the first three strokes of (木), or the last three strokes of (五).
I would like to write an article on Wang Zhao mandarin ...
- 126
1
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2
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20
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How to literally translate this: 看完连书带钱交给摊主?
租借小人书很便宜，在摊里看，每册1分钱，选好书坐下就看，看完连书带钱交给摊主；
This is from the Standard Course Book of HSK5, chapter 20.
How to literally translate this: 看完连书带钱交给摊主?
I know that 看完 here means reading finished or reading ...
- 3,660
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2
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101
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On the Chinese translation of some words "by" Christopher Columbus
In the famous biography of Christopher Columbus by Jakob Wassermann, we find in Chapter 3 the frequently cited passage:
Ich nenne mich Cristobal Colón, bin ein Seefahrer aus Genua und muß betteln, ...
- 17.4k
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1
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55
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How to translate "开口呼、齐齿呼、合口呼、撮口呼" to English?
How to translate "开口呼、齐齿呼、合口呼、撮口呼" to English?
开口呼、齐齿呼、合口呼、撮口呼 (四呼) are concepts of Chinese pronouonciation.
开口呼 - There is no glide before the nucleus vowel, such as "Ma4Ma4" (妈妈)....
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82
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Need help identifying this signature chop? wondering about meaning, age, history? (Characters identified: 彝齋)
I have this beautiful silk wall screen with lilies, and would love to know more about it. I cannot can't find any information. Can anyone help identify the chop stamp please? wondering about meaning, ...
- 22.2k
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1
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82
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When did 民權 enter the Chinese language?
I read Sun Yatsen‘s claim that 民權 as a noun had entered the Chinese language in the recent past (近代 usually denotes times after the opium war). He adds of course evidence that 孔子 and 孟子 expressed ...
- 1,504
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3
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210
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Placement of 了 in 停在了离小岛不太远的地方
The sentence is from Mandarin Companion's "Journey to the center of the Earth".
我们把船停在了离小岛不太远的地方，晚上我们还是在船上休息。
I know that the rules of 了 are tricky, but I dont understand what its doing ...
- 12.1k
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1
answer
41
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What's up with these bizarre noodle cooking instructions?
I recently purchased a pack of Yángjì Shānyě brand Nanchang noodles (阳际山野南昌拌粉). On one side of the package, under the straightforward label 食用指南, it has the following sequence of three labeled images:
...
- 126
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1
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56
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How is this special paper for calligraphic works called in Chinese? And what is it originally made of?
Just to check with experts, I know the terms 宣纸、米字格、田字格、薄纸等等 for special paper used for calligraphic works.
But how would you call a
paper as shown on the screenshot from Temu.
The description in Temu ...
- 126
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1
answer
310
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Is 认 related to 人?
The verb "to know" 认 (rèn) is the simplified form of 認 (言 → 讠 and 忍 → 人). I'm not very familiar with the history behind simplifying characters, but I'm aware many characters generally have a ...
- 37
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1
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65
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What are the Chinese words which are valid in Scrabble?
I've been playing a bit of Scrabble recently, and it seems there's a few Chinese words which are considered valid:
LI 里 (the unit of distance)
QI 气 ("vital energy")
QIN 琴 (musical ...
- 15.9k
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1
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48
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What do these Asian Characters and Stamp Means?
Can anyone tell me what this stamp and Asian content means? Who is the author? Thank you in advance.
Thanks so much! I appreciate your help.
- 77.2k
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2
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39
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Is 结尾 a (separable) verb?
Tatoeba has the sentence
这个故事仓促地结了尾。
wherein 结尾 is being used as a separable verb. Honestly, before seeing this sentence, I didn't even realize 结尾 could be used as a verb.
CC-CEDICT includes a verb ...
- 12.1k
1
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1
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86
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Does “XX是什么样的人？” refer mostly, and maybe only, to personality?
My family is made of Chinese natives while I am bilingual. My dad sometimes asks me questions like “你的老师是什么样的人？” before lightly chastising me that the askers of such questions usually want to know ...
- 12.1k
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3
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45
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Is this sentence correct 很多人需开始工作得帮家
I'm making a text for a test and I ended up with this sentence 很多人需开始工作得帮家. What I'm Trying to say is:
Many people need to start working to help their families
It's a complex phrase for my level and I'...
- 3,660
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2
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55
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Help understand this: 每本小人书都用牛皮纸加了层封皮，封皮上用毛笔写上书名
为了减少损坏程度，每本小人书都用牛皮纸加了层封皮，封皮上用毛笔写上书名，整齐漂亮的毛笔字能充分地显示出书摊主人的文化水平。
This is from the Standard Course Book of HSK5, chapter 20. I need your help in understanding this: 每本小人书都用牛皮纸加了层封皮，封皮上用毛笔写上书名,...
Actually ...
- 1,504
2
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1
answer
69
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what does 如今年至及笄 mean?
This is a part of a character story and while I can understand other things that are written, this part evades my grasp. In official translation it was translated as "15 years", but there ...
- 37
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1
answer
37
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Why do the news report use 某?
In English context, "a person who knows this", "an anonymous resource" or "a well-informed person",etc sometimes is used to cover the identity.
Yesterday I read a news ...
- 77.2k
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0
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25
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How to compare the syllable structures of Chinese with Hangul?
How to compare the syllable structures (or pronunciations) of Chinese (Standard or Pu3Tong1Hua4) with Hangul (Korea Language)?
In this article here, it says, "The number of the theoretically ...
- 3,660
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1
answer
52
views
How do I know whether or not a character can be used separately?
Note:
This question exists, which is asking a similar question—but the accepted answer is not what I'm looking for (nor do I think it actually answers my question), indicating that the OP's intent in ...
- 1,504
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7
answers
368
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How are the sentences 我第一次挑战这么高难度的手术 and 这么高难度的手术我第一次挑战 grammatical? Where are the verbs?
挑战 我 第一次 这么高难度的 手术
A HSK5 past exam question is given above; the task is to reorganize the sentence fragments into a grammatical sentence. My (incorrect) answer was:
第一次这么高难度的手术挑战我。
I was hoping ...
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1
answer
82
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Who do 五尺童子 and 而屠戮 refer to here?
Background
《中国积弱溯源论》 is a text by Liang Qichao, wherein he laments the social structure in China. After a couple of paragraphs, he makes the point that the perception of each social stratum’s duty is ...
- 2,770
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3
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406
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What does "現代修真" mean?
現代修真
Is a type/category of novel, but what does it mean in English?
現代
Is basically modern, but what would
修真
mean in this case?
If 修真 means "Cultivating True Virtue", it doesn't seem to ...
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4
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210
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Need help understanding: "人生要就不忍，不然就請你一忍到底。"
I'm working through this video and am having trouble understanding the sentence the speaker says at 9:31:
人生要就不忍，不然就請你一忍到底。
My best guess is this means "in life you don't want to have to restrain ...
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3
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84
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How to literally translate this: 会因为费用增加而让投资人不高兴?
大导演非常着急，一来，耽误了时间，日程就得重新安排；二来，会因为费用增加而让投资人不高兴，至于这部影片的投资人，...
This is from the Standard Course Book of HSK5, section 26.
How to literally translate this: 会因为费用增加而让投资人不高兴?
I have reached to the following ...
- 12.1k
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2
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371
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This is on the bottom of a bronze vase (Characters identified: 萬歷秊製)
Does anyone know what this means? Would love to know more about the period it was made. Is it an authentic piece or reproduction?
- 77.2k
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73
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What doe these three seals mean?
I just inherited this painting and wanted to know what it says. Any help is much appreciated! Thank you!
[1[: https://i.stack.imgur.com/ksLrN.jpg
enter image description here
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1
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382
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What are these two Cantonese words that mean "picky" ? They sound like 哦過 or 屙裹
I practice Cantonese with staff at a favorite Cantonese restaurant. A waiter joked that my daughter is a picky eater with 2 words that sound like 哦過, 哦裹, 屙過, 屙裹. He was uncertain how to write it, ...
- 77.2k
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3
answers
114
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Repetition of the first verb (separable verbs)
I am learning Chinese and I have a question about separable verbs. I understand that separable verbs are verbs that can be split by an object or a complement, such as 看书 (read a book) or 看见 (see). ...
- 3,660
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4
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80
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How to parse 各在鏡腿上綹兩把
This is from a Taiwanese short story.
對方終於掏出了那塊嶄白的手帕，和老花眼鏡，他擦拭著鏡片，先擦右邊，再擦左邊，擦完了又各在鏡腿上綹兩把：「這裡是學校的答覆，你可以看看。至於將來嘛，我們祝福你，鵬程萬里，啊——前途遠大。」
I’m having a hard time parsing the bold part. I first read 各 as ...
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1
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List of components with their meanings published by a reliable source
I want to learn more about the meaning of the radicals of simplified chinese characters, because I feel that by knowing what each radical means, I can have a better understanding of the meaning of the ...
- 960
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72
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What is the latest official document that describes simplification of radicals?
The document 《漢字簡化方案》 was published in 1956 by State Council of the People's Republic of China and it lists the simplification of some radicals in page 10 (see screenshot below). Here's the document ...
- 1,504
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5
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136
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Why "again" is expressed differently in the present and in the past. (又 and 再)
I've been studying for HSK3 and I was very intrigued in the reason why expressing "again" in different moments has to be done with different characters, I mean, I know their differences and ...
- 6,423
2
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2
answers
83
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Words equivalent to ideas surrounding transience? (Think: Wabi Sabi)
I'm looking for words that capture the idea of 'passing by', 'transience' or 'releasing' in Chinese. Perhaps even 'empty space' or something similar?
Wabi Sabi is obviously a Japanese phrase and uses ...
- 6,423
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3
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421
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Why did 鲁迅 write 贿路 and not 贿赂 ("bribe")?
如果你遇见有人被冤枉，被诬陷的，即使明知道他是好人，也万不可挺身而出，去给他解释或分辩，否则，你就会被人说是他的亲戚，或得了他的贿路……
If you encounter someone being wronged, even if you know they are a good person, you definitely shouldn't step forward and and ...
- 1,504
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202
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How do you understand her name "Bi-khim Hsiao"?
Her name in Chinese is "萧美琴" and in English is "Bi-khim Hsiao". How do you understand the translation?
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2
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420
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Difference between 幺 and 么
I saw words like 什幺 and 这幺 in the story I'm reading. I'm wondering if it's just a typo or do people actually spell it like that. If yes, what's the difference with 么?
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1
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Please Identify Painting Signature
I have bought these painting years ago but now I am doing some research to find out who is the artist and what is written in chinese calligraphy.
Kindly help me with.
Thanks
Sachin
CommunityBot
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4
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67
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If A伴随着B, then is it true that B伴随着A?
CC-CEDICT: 伴随 (bànsuí) to accompany / to follow / to occur together with / concomitant
I saw on Tateoba the sentence
闪电常常伴随着雷鸣。
Lightning is usually followed by thunder.
The English sentence ...
- 12.1k
1
vote
3
answers
114
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How to pronounce "得" in 我的生命因得與萬物漂浮進空間的蔚藍
我的生命因得與萬物漂浮進空間的蔚藍
This is a sentence from a poem by the Indian poet Tagore. I'm asking how is 得 pronounced here (dé or děi)? And what does 因得與 mean? I'm interpreting it as meaning "because I must ...
- 17.4k
1
vote
1
answer
204
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Seal script translation
enter image description hereI have two bronze seals in the form of tigers which I think may be Korean , the first with characters in what I think is Chinese small seal script the second in a normal ...
CommunityBot
- 1
1
vote
1
answer
103
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What are the English equivalents for 民宿, 农家乐 and 网红打卡点？
Searching the info of travel, I have seen the above words many times and known roughly what they meant.
I saw a sign in both English and Chinese put on the wall of the information center of a tourist ...
CommunityBot
- 1
2
votes
1
answer
253
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What is the significance of component 𢚩?
This component shows up as a component of both 隠 and 穏. What is the significance of this component?
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5
answers
151
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What is the meaning of 重重 in 尽管他们背着重重的行李?
他雇了20来个当地人为他带路和搬运行李。这批当地人个个都表现出色，尽管他们背着重重的行李，但他们的脚力过人，健步如飞。
This is from the Standard Course Book of HSK5, chapter 26. What is the meaning of 重重? How to make it make sense?
尽管(despite)他们(they)背着(...
1
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1
answer
221
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Python function for splitting pinyin into syllables
The question
I'd like to have a function in Python for splitting a given string containing pinyin into its syllables. The following two code blocks show how the function is intended to work.
Input
...
CommunityBot
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1
answer
37
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How to pronounce 一 in 他就一本本閱讀 and 他一有空就
How to pronounce 一 in 他就一本本閱讀 and 他一有空就? I can't differentiate between the first tone, second tone, and fourth tone in this context.
- 12.1k
4
votes
1
answer
354
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Other than 秘密，are there two-syllable words in Chinese where each syllable is a different character with the same pronunciation?
秘密 is a curious word because both characters are pronounced mì yet they are different from each other. Given that there are so many homophonous characters in Chinese, I'm curious if there's any other ...
- 1,540
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votes
2
answers
47
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Resource to find ductus of a symbol
Is theire any ressource (font, software) who give ductus for a given character with both the strokes order and the way each stroke should be drawn?
I search it to make my own writing paper depending ...
- 15.9k
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votes
2
answers
74
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How to say 温馨的家 in English, a warm family?
温馨 （wen1xin1）：温暖。指亲切体贴的氛围
When I search 温馨的家 in Baidu, I got many photos of houses in warm color. If search cozy home in Google, I got similar photos of houses.
If I search warm family, Google shows ...
- 17.4k