Unanswered Questions
81 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
6
votes
1answer
290 views
Similarities between Japanese 四字熟語 and Chinese 成语?
I have been learning Japanese 四字熟語 as a passtime for sometime and I would like to know whether most of them can be used verbatim in Chinese or if there are Japanese-made yojijukugo which cannot be ...
5
votes
0answers
158 views
Number of phonemic vowels in Middle Chinese
How many phonemic vowels are there in Middle Chinese? I'm interested in this question because Shanghainese has 16 phonological vowel/12 phonemic vowels, and was wondering if it had innovated more ...
4
votes
0answers
181 views
Has there ever been an English translation of 《輶軒》“Fangyan”?
《輶軒使者絕代語釋別國方言》has a couple of different names including《方言》and《揚子方言》.
In English it mostly just gets called Fangyan.
The entire Chinese text has been put up on ctext.
As
the first Chinese ...
4
votes
5answers
657 views
What is the meaning of …不断向产业链的高端提升是发展趋势的要求?
I can't quite get the last part of this
专家：这个问题不能一刀切。对于东部的企业，因为起步较早，有一定产业规模和资金积累，所以调整产业结构，提高技术含量，不断向产业链的高端提升是发展趋势的要求。
Can I rewrite the last bit thus:
不断向产业链的高端提升是发展趋势的要求。= 发展趋势的要求是不断向产业链的高端的提升。
...
3
votes
4answers
160 views
What does 汉学家 really mean?
According to its face value, 汉学家 should mean someone who has made great accomplishments in the research of subjects in relation to the Han people, like John King Fairbank （费正清）or even the former US ...
3
votes
1answer
141 views
Retention of 其 as a modal particle in modern Chinese
There is a recent Chinese Stack Exchange question on the significance of 其 in 尤其, given the meaning of the word is largely contributed by 尤.
I am quite confident that some of the answers in the thread ...
2
votes
1answer
31 views
Segmenting Chinese words for the index of a book
I am trying to make a strict index of individual words for a large work of literature, using Chinese word segmentation, such as are found at the back of reference books. . e.g. "大星............ ...
2
votes
0answers
63 views
What romanization system is this? （“sin thai juan” for “心太軟”)
I came across this music video which features a pretty weird romanization system, I don't think I have seen before and I couldn't find any information on it (it is not listed on the list of ...
2
votes
1answer
38 views
Yue/Min/Wu/Gan/mandarin phonetic correspondance
I am looking for a table of the regular phonetic correspondances between the different chinese varieties (Yue, Wu, Gan, Min, Mandarin...). For instance I noted a g (Yue)/j(mandarin) correspondance (e....
2
votes
3answers
72 views
Need Chinese phrase that would mean “dedicated craftsman” for calligraphy piece
I am a ten-year student of Chinese calligraphy and am thinking of creating a calligraphy piece that would mean "dedicated craftsman". I have not been able to find such a phrase in idioms or ...
2
votes
0answers
63 views
What 新派-Cantonese Habits Are Considered Unorthodox By 老派 Speakers?
新派 topolect speakers are generally more affected by MSM. This often results in a lot of habits that are considered unorthodox by 老派 dialect speakers' standards.
I'm not overly familiar with Cantonese ...
2
votes
3answers
142 views
What does 大出天下 mean?
It is found in an exhibition of Qin Dynasty held in Xi'an city. The exact words are 秦国35代国君发奋图强，做好了“大出天下”的准备。I have checked the words online for the meaning, but finding no answer.But roughly I think ...
2
votes
1answer
66 views
What does 乐助 (yuè zhù) mean?
I think we've got some music biz jargon here:
【我们恋爱吧 第二季】EP12 @ ～20:09
The sentence:
我们的那个乐助说了
The person speaking often speaks of his band, so it is likely that 乐 is short for: 乐队. Of course, less ...
2
votes
0answers
166 views
Trying to translate signature and stamp for Chinese print (Characters identified: 戊午九月石年)
Trying to find the origin of this print and the translation of the signature and seal.
2
votes
0answers
124 views
Cantonese Joke About Dealing With Mandarin Elitists?
Came across this on Reddit/Jokes today
An Englishman is hiking in Scotland and he pauses to drink from a stream. A passing shepherd calls out "Dinnae drink frae that, it's all fulla coo piss an ...
