7
votes
Word for “planet”
Was there an earlier word/term/expression that just got “replaced” by 行星?
yes.
first of all, stars were named “恒星” or “經星” in ancient china
in 公羊傳 莊公七年
恒星者何・列星也
the annotation is “恆・常也・常以時列見”
in ...
- 15.1k
7
votes
Who created Chinese Characters? (for facts or historical records)
Chinese characters did not all appear at once, it took countless authors, and hundreds of years to accumulate all the characters, and these characters kept evolving into today's modern Chinese ...
- 77.1k
5
votes
Accepted
Why does 黄牛 mean scalper?
For the usage of Wu dialect in the Jiangnan area, if a person breaks an appointment, it can be said 他今天黄牛了.
In dialects of other places, the word 黄 also has the meaning of falling through. For example:...
- 66
5
votes
Accepted
When did Chinese switch from full numerical year numbers (e.g. 一千八百九十四) to per-digit year numbers (e.g. 一八九四)?
We see "full number" readings earlier, in the late 19th century, closer to those in the West; however, the "digit-by-digit" method was also found, being more associated with the ...
- 6,388
5
votes
Accepted
What is the etymology of the different sentence final particles?
吗 came from 无（無）meaning "not" and has always been used as a yes-no question particle throughout the history of the Chinese language (Sun, 1999). Its pronunciation in Old Chinese was ...
- 813
5
votes
How does 斡旋 mean "to mediate"?
The subject to be "mediated" is naturally "conflict"
To turn and revolve around (the conflicted parties) = to mediate (the conflict)
Example:
为中美贸易冲突斡旋 - Mediating the US-China ...
- 77.1k
5
votes
Accepted
船 composed of characters for vessel, 8, and person?
Unfortunately the glyph origin is not correct. It seems like the method you are using is more aligned into the "break every component down into parts you can recognize" way of memorizing ...
- 571
4
votes
Accepted
What’s the deal with the xing-type readings for 行?
TL;DR: vowel shift + possible colloquial-literary split.
行 has the reading 戸庚切 relevant to this meaning of "to walk", reconstructed as /ɦaɨjŋ/ by Pulleybank and /ɦˠæŋ/ by Zhengzhang. The ...
- 6,388
4
votes
What’s the deal with the xing-type readings for 行?
to start-- there is no official answer, because we don't actually know how middle chinese sounded. we have educated guesses, but its always good to keep in mind that at least some of the world's ...
- 1,586
4
votes
I am trying to understand 写
I looked it up in the Outlier Mini Traditional Characters dictionary (OTC) in Pleco. I also checked using Wiktionary.
For questions of etymology / character origin, you'll need to consider ...
- 1,530
4
votes
Accepted
Is there an etymological connection between 包 and 抱？
Regardless of whether you want to talk about "etymology" or "glyph origin", the first step is to find the earliest appearances of the character and try to gauge what kind of word ...
- 22.2k
4
votes
Is 泵 the only transliterated loanword with its own logogram in all of Chinese?
a related example may be 砼, but even more complicated in terms of the etymology and phonology.
泵 is wholly made up for the word pump, defined to sound like it, but the composition of the character is ...
- 91
4
votes
What's the logic and etymology behind 未免 = "rather", such as in 未免太贵了?
未 - not quite
免 - exempt
未免 --> not quite exempt (can't avoid being considered) = rather
Saying 未免 makes a statement less assertive
Example:
現在攻擊實在太冒險了 = It is certainly too risky to attack now (...
- 77.1k
4
votes
Word for “planet”
Before the Chinese knew what 行星 was, planets like Jupiter were just 星宿 or simply 星(star) to them.
Before the Chinese knew what Supernova was, they called it 客星 (guest star), and in modern times 客星 was ...
- 77.1k
4
votes
What was the glyph origin of 己? What was its original meaning?
Not a very satisfying answer, but it looks like there is no consensus as to the original meaning of「己」at the moment.
Outlier
It is not clear what the original meaning and form of 己 are. It was used ...
Mou某♦
- 35.7k
4
votes
Is the Cantonese word 冧巴 a loanword from English?
冧把/lam1 baa2/ is a loanword for "Number" In Hong Kong
If a term is used in Hong Kong, it would inevitably spear to Guangdong
冧把 is the noun for 號碼 or 號數. Wherever you can use the word "...
- 77.1k
4
votes
Why is it written 安详 and not 安祥?
One of the original meanings of 详 is being prudent or careful. Later its meaning was generalized to "behaving in a peaceful and steady way." When 详 is used standalone this meaning is not ...
- 1,254
3
votes
Accepted
Is there a connection between right (direction) and the 'stone' radical?
the character “右” & “石” just look similar in regular script, do not fixate on it.
both characters in oracle bone script, and bronze script are significantly different:
https://humanum.arts.cuhk....
- 15.1k
3
votes
What's the logic and etymology behind 未免 = "rather", such as in 未免太贵了?
The meanings of "rather" and "quite" are difficult enough to explain in English.
Translation of 未免 as "rather" is idiomatic.
"rather" is from Old English hraðe, ...
- 17.4k
3
votes
Why is it written 安详 and not 安祥?
安(calm)详(prudent) and not 安(calm)祥(luck).
安(calm)详(prudent), composed - 指神态平静、从容稳重。如“神态安详、面容安详、他安详地睡着了”.
吉(good)祥(luck) - "吉祥如意".
- 12.1k
2
votes
Accepted
Is 泵 the only transliterated loanword with its own logogram in all of Chinese?
I agree with your argument with 秀. The meaning of show can be seen as an extension of its original meanings, it's 会意字 and share the same sound. In my experience, before I was told its new meaning is ...
- 4,485
2
votes
I am trying to understand 写
There is absolutely nothing wrong with interest in etymology, I often find myself looking into such things like the source of terms. Please note that such things are often only theorized and will not ...
- 1,586
2
votes
I am trying to understand 写
写 is the simplified form of the character, and simplified characters often have no relation whatsoever to etymology. (This is why Chineseteacher_Henry's answer is wrong, the simplified form has ...
- 106
2
votes
What's the logic and etymology behind 未免 = "rather", such as in 未免太贵了?
未免 is a negation of negation, means most likely, which is a pretty strong confirmation. 未免 has the same meaning as 真是, and the two words can be used together if you like.
一个苹果卖十块钱，未免太贵了吧？
一个苹果卖十块钱，...
- 3,630
2
votes
Who created Chinese Characters? (for facts or historical records)
Cang Jie is just a mythical person.
Chinese characters started as pictograms which is pretty much like all other languages, and that took hundreds if not thousands of years. Then throughout the course ...
- 495
2
votes
Who created Chinese Characters? (for facts or historical records)
In my opinion, 通假字 is actually another character that is borrowed to mean a thing at the time when the character representing the meaning is not created.
While 异体字 is probably a derivation of the same ...
- 146
2
votes
Is it a coincidence that 吗 and 吧 sound like 妈 and 爸 respectively?
Interesting Question.
But I believe that the Chinese characters "吗" (ma) and "吧" (ba) are not directly related to "妈" (mā) and "爸" (bà).
They are particles used ...
- 89
2
votes
Is it a coincidence that 吗 and 吧 sound like 妈 and 爸 respectively?
No, they are not related. Even though 爸 and 妈 are the current formal way to say dad and mom, they were not so common in the history, and different dialects use different words. In classic Chinese, ...
- 361
2
votes
Why did 鲁迅 write 贿路 and not 贿赂 ("bribe")?
The article in question was published in 1933 in 申报月刊, but I can't locate a copy of that magazin. However, I was able to get a copy of 《南腔北调集》 published by 鲁迅先生纪念委员会 in 1941 through my university ...
- 1,254
1
vote
Why does 黄牛 mean scalper?
黄牛, or in general, 牛, is a kind of domestic animal that is good at carrying loads. This word is colloquially used for someone who buy-and-sale stuff for benefits, usually acting illegally and ...
- 3,630
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