User congusbongus

10

31

votes

5

answers

3k

views

Why isn't 四 four lines? (the origin of 一二三四五六七八九)

Jan 13 '18 at 9:19 Community♦ 1

7

27

votes

4

answers

2k

views

Why is 足 both “foot” and “enough”?

characters etymology

Jul 9 '20 at 21:06 blackgreen 5,085

2

16

votes

8

answers

3k

views

家: why is a home a place for pigs?

glyph-origin

Apr 5 '20 at 1:29 dROOOze 19.8k

13

votes

6

answers

1k

views

快: why does “fast” also mean “happy”?

etymology glyph-origin

May 29 '19 at 13:52 gideon shiroki 1

5

12

votes

2

answers

2k

views

How much faster is it to write Simplified over Traditional?

traditional-vs-simplified

Feb 27 '15 at 5:30 user1228520 2,555

1

11

votes

5

answers

916

views

Why was the rice component added to 气 to form 氣?

characters etymology glyph-origin character-components

Sep 26 at 9:32 dROOOze 19.8k

3

11

votes

4

answers

4k

views

Reasons for Chinese changing from monosyllabic to disyllabic?

etymology history classical-chinese

Nov 19 '16 at 16:48 Community♦ 1

1

11

votes

2

answers

791

views

Which period in Chinese history produced the most chengyu?

history chengyu

Jan 2 '14 at 7:02 congusbongus 8,272

10

votes

4

answers

447

views

What's the relationship between 炮 and 砲?

etymology synonyms glyph-origin

Jan 26 '18 at 10:59 Hao FU 298

10

votes

4

answers

1k

views

Why is the 会 in 会计 pronounced kuài?

etymology

Mar 1 '16 at 5:29 Community♦ 1

1

10

votes

6

answers

329

views

案: why is a bench also a case?

etymology

Dec 25 '15 at 8:01 Community♦ 1

1

10

votes

2

answers

438

views

Is there a “Peking Opera dialect”?

mandarin topolect culture

Feb 27 '15 at 2:30 Community♦ 1

10

votes

3

answers

408

views

Origin of -的干活?

etymology history

Apr 28 '14 at 7:21 Community♦ 1

1

10

votes

1

answer

499

views

Why is “steak” 肉排?

etymology food loanwords

Feb 6 '14 at 18:16 hippietrail 3,745

8

votes

6

answers

3k

views

三长两短: what's long and what's short?

etymology chengyu

Dec 22 at 21:54 John Doe 261

1

8

votes

4

answers

1k

views

What does 反动 mean?

meaning

Nov 6 '14 at 7:11 Lester 21

1

8

votes

6

answers

1k

views

犬子: who's the dog?

meaning etymology phrase

Jul 23 '14 at 4:29 Community♦ 1

1

8

votes

2

answers

659

views

Etymology of 二百五?

etymology slang

Nov 22 '13 at 4:15 congusbongus 8,272

1

7

votes

7

answers

2k

views

What is the difference between 看不起 and 看不上?

usage difference equivalent-phrase

Dec 18 at 2:16 Y_q 11

7

votes

1

answer

105

views

Were 蒸 and 祯 homonyms?

pronunciation history middle-chinese

Jul 7 '15 at 10:54 Community♦ 1

1

7

votes

1

answer

428

views

Why is the 車 in Chinese chess pronounced jū?

mandarin pronunciation

Oct 31 '13 at 12:23 Wang Disi 164

7

votes

1

answer

270

views

Why is 汉子 measured in 条?

measure-word

Oct 9 '13 at 20:12 Community♦ 1

6

votes

4

answers

319

views

或: how did “region” become “either”?

characters etymology glyph-origin

Jul 26 '18 at 2:04 Nimrod 379

6

votes

1

answer

339

views

Why is “小小” pronounced as “xué xiǎo”?

pronunciation topolect

May 24 '14 at 12:08 Mou某♦ 33.2k

1

6

votes

3

answers

1k

views

Why does 拉倒 mean “forget about it”?

meaning etymology idioms

Mar 13 '14 at 3:46 Ave Maleficum 1,033

6

votes

5

answers

1k

views

Variants of 将在外，君命有所不受?

idioms chengyu

Mar 12 '14 at 9:14 Ave Maleficum 1,033

2

6

votes

2

answers

674

views

What does 餅乾 mean in Taiwan?

meaning vocabulary taiwan

Jan 27 '14 at 4:45 Community♦ 1

5

votes

1

answer

160

views

Why did people sometimes call Liu Bei “明将军”?

classical-chinese history names

Feb 29 '20 at 12:43 Community♦ 1

5

votes

2

answers

327

views

丼: why is “well” also “bowl of food”?

characters etymology glyph-origin

Jan 12 '18 at 6:48 Community♦ 1

1

5

votes

5

answers

3k

views

Chengyu with two numbers

chengyu

Feb 1 '17 at 3:04 Community♦ 1

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47 Questions

Why isn't 四 four lines? (the origin of 一二三四五六七八九)

Why is 足 both “foot” and “enough”?

家: why is a home a place for pigs?

快: why does “fast” also mean “happy”?

How much faster is it to write Simplified over Traditional?

Why was the rice component added to 气 to form 氣?

Reasons for Chinese changing from monosyllabic to disyllabic?

Which period in Chinese history produced the most chengyu?

What's the relationship between 炮 and 砲?

Why is the 会 in 会计 pronounced kuài?

案: why is a bench also a case?

Is there a “Peking Opera dialect”?

Origin of -的干活?

Why is “steak” 肉排?

三长两短: what's long and what's short?

What does 反动 mean?

犬子: who's the dog?

Etymology of 二百五?

What is the difference between 看不起 and 看不上?

Were 蒸 and 祯 homonyms?

Why is the 車 in Chinese chess pronounced jū?

Why is 汉子 measured in 条?

或: how did “region” become “either”?

Why is “小小” pronounced as “xué xiǎo”?

Why does 拉倒 mean “forget about it”?

Variants of 将在外，君命有所不受?

What does 餅乾 mean in Taiwan?

Why did people sometimes call Liu Bei “明将军”?

丼: why is “well” also “bowl of food”?

Chengyu with two numbers