7
votes
Accepted
Is there a politically neutral Chinese term for Greater China that is acceptable to all Chinese speakers?
maybe "大中華區". most multinational corporations used this term to describe the regions you mentioned.
such usage is correct, in context of nowadays, or recent decades. historically, taiwan was ...
6
votes
Accepted
What does 泉 mean in 道具泉, in the context of a handbill?
Obviously it was referring to the host 關灝泉 Kwan Ho Chuen(香港中文大學哲學系博士生)
In Hong Kong, people often nickname someone by his job. For example. 李先生 is a 經紀, people who mainly know him as a 經紀 might ...
5
votes
Accepted
What's the etymology and significance of yuenyeung (鴛鴦)?
鴛鴦 is actually the name of a bird; more specifically, the mandarin duck.
Here's an image:
(Look at how cute they are!)
In Chinese culture, the mandarin duck is a symbol of lovers, much like ...
5
votes
Accepted
Alternative name for Hong Kong 香港
香江
ABC Canto:
PLACE WORD
another name for Hong Kong; refers to especially to Victoria Harbor which resembles a river separating Hong Kong Island from the Kowloon Peninsula
是次畫展於香江舉辦
si6 ...
Mou某♦
- 36.3k
5
votes
Why does Cantonese sound vaguely British?
Mandarin has a strong R sound like American English “car”. But Cantonese doesn’t have an R sound.
The Cantonese vowel eoi sounds very similar to British English long O. But neither Mandarin Chinese ...
4
votes
How to interpret the oracle poem (諸葛武侯乩文)?
in the year 1933, a taoist style planchette writing (扶乩) was done at 蓬瀛仙館, in hong kong; for the purpose of asking divine revelation.
the poem contained two parts, part i:
天數茫茫不可知.鸞台暫說各生知
世界干戈終爆發....
4
votes
Historical Background in the Written Language (書面語) in Hong Kong
Prior to explain the situation in Hong Kong, here’re some presumptions; roughly:
Before 1919, the official written language is Literary Chinese; separately, individuals used their mother tongue for ...
3
votes
Slogan “澀得起,就係我”
澀 here refers to 苦澀 (bitter)
澀得起,就係我 means "Can afford to taste bitter, that's me"
(We know how much bitterness is appropriate in lemon tea)
A lot of popular food and drink contains ...
3
votes
Accepted
What is 貼地 and 離地
“貼地” is like “down to earth”, or “keep one's feet on the ground”
“離地” is the opposite, “with one's head in the clouds”
there’s a place called “kennedy town” (堅尼地城) in hong kong. for most people, the ...
3
votes
(Cantonese) How to say there are always two sides to a story?
凡事都有兩面。
There are always two sides to every story.
凡 = every
事 = issue (story)
都 = always
有 = has
兩 = two
面 = sides
3
votes
Accepted
Uncrowned bodies, and altruistic ideology
1.無冕皇帝 is a nickname for reporters in Hong Kong
2.冠冕 is a symbol of power, 無冕 might mean powerless in this context
无冕的身躯
无冕 could mean one or both below
Reporters' bodies (truth seekers' bodies),
...
3
votes
What is the phonetic notation used in hong kong plate?
there’re several romanisations of cantonese since 19th century, “ts” was used mainly before 1900s (“ch” was preferred afterward)
if, a place name in hong kong, that it’s romanisation is difference ...
2
votes
Is this Udemy course in Mandarin, are Mandarin and Chinese very related, and would Mandarin have any use in Hong Kong?
In two months only? I recommend the FSI (foreign service institute) Cantonese course. It was made by the US government, and follows a self-learning style. Also importantly, it's free. :)
Here are ...
2
votes
Is this Udemy course in Mandarin, are Mandarin and Chinese very related, and would Mandarin have any use in Hong Kong?
I checked the website. Yes, it teaches Mandarin.
Mandarin is the formal language used in Taiwan and mainland China (including Guangdong). Mandarin is written using simplified Chinese in mainland ...
2
votes
What's the etymology and significance of yuenyeung (鴛鴦)?
鸳鸯 (n) mandarin duck
鸳 is male; 鸯 is female
The term 鸳鸯 usually symbolizes 'lovers / couple' in Chinese culture.
But for your question, 鸳鸯 is used as an adjective to describe 'non-identical pair of ~'...
2
votes
"Disgusting" as the Chinese would say it
for the word "disgusting" A simple search can yield many results:
肉酸 http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/words/1431/
肉麻 http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/words/2054/
反胃 ...
2
votes
Accepted
Commonalities in Hong Kong place names
Wikipedia has a page entitled Place names of Hong Kong, which mentions:
Kok (角) - point (of land), horn, angle
Point is also a common term in English place names.
A good example of this can be ...
Mou某♦
- 36.3k
2
votes
Accepted
Why does Cantonese sound vaguely British?
Probably because HK was a British colony. I did notice that HK Cantonese sounds differently compared to Cantonese in Guangdong, China. Personally I only feel it's softer but I don't know if it is ...
2
votes
Accepted
What does this chant mean, in this context?
how dare you are, sahib; asking about a prohibited song publicly 😹
《皇后大道東》面世後不久便隨即被中國大陸列為禁歌,直至2000年香港局勢大致趨向穩定,《皇后大道東》才終於獲解禁。2019年6月19日,因香港發生反修例運動,再度被中國大陸列入禁歌名單當中。
https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/...
2
votes
What is the phonetic notation used in hong kong plate?
This goes back to 19th century Cantonese, as recorded e.g. in Wells' 1856 tome A tonic dictionary of the Chinese language in the Canton dialect, with particular emphasis on the phonology of the 西關 ...
2
votes
What is the phonetic notation used in hong kong plate?
You may wish to refer to the Hong Kong Government Cantonese Romanisation, which is still to this day used to transliterate place names and people's names (e.g., Tsz Ching is a very common name).
1
vote
Accepted
Slogan “澀得起,就係我”
Lemon usually tastes 酸澀 - tartness/acerbity, a sharp sour taste that is rough and bitter and tends to stick to your teeth and tongue.
This is a frequently employed tactic in advertising - use a ...
1
vote
Slogan “澀得起,就係我”
There's this blog post: 《澀得起》, which explains:
「澀得起」在廣東話的意思是,
即使很澀,你也會覺得好喝。
Perhaps as a translation we could opt for something like: tangy!
The writer of the blog post ends by saying:
再澀,也澀得起!
No ...
Mou某♦
- 36.3k
1
vote
Accepted
"Please hold the handrail during the whole journey" in Chinese/Cantonese? (As heard in Hong Kong airport trains)
In the video the Mandarin is:
請沿途緊握扶手
This Google webcache also says:
九巴的勸喻,貼在車廂扶手左右:「 上 車 後 請 沿 途 緊 握 扶 手 」,英 語「 Please hold the handrail during the whole journey. 」為 九 巴 的 愛 心 ,我 不 能 不 長 嘆,釋放善意。
...
Mou某♦
- 36.3k
1
vote
Differences in reading difficulty between Taiwan and Hong Kong newspapers?
A historical reason,maybe.
There's a lot of immigrants from the Chinese mainland in Taiwan, those immigrants speak Mandarin.
Hong Kong people speak Cantonese,same as Guangdong,which is different from ...
1
vote
Is there a politically neutral Chinese term for Greater China that is acceptable to all Chinese speakers?
NO, there is no one single term that would satisfy everyone.
Just take another country we all know, which is called:-
England, Great Britain, British Isles, United Kingdom......
1
vote
Is there a politically neutral Chinese term for Greater China that is acceptable to all Chinese speakers?
I agree that "大中華區" is quite common for this issue. There are other expressions such as 兩岸三地(中、台、港) or 兩岸四地(中、台、港、澳)
"大中華區" is a bit vague to me, because it might include Chinese speakers in ...
1
vote
Is there a politically neutral Chinese term for Greater China that is acceptable to all Chinese speakers?
中國大陸和台灣 / mainland China and Taiwan
Obviously Taiwan is not located inside mainland, so restricting China to mainland China may meet your purpose
1
vote
Can anyone translate this Seal Script into english for me?
Draft decipherment:
告鹿右X各 XXX以金
瓜孔豕X亞 受X止而弟
豆X月勒子 X水東君者
- Uncertain characters
X - can't read
Neither of the tattoos say something legible, in my opinion. The characters are for artistic flair.
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