User congusbongus

9

27

votes

5

answers

2k

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 songyuanyao 13.4k

6

25

votes

4

answers

2k

views

足: why is “foot” also “enough”?

characters etymology classical-chinese

Mar 25 '16 at 8:46 nee.wong 134

2

16

votes

8

answers

2k

views

家: why is a home a place for pigs?

glyph-origin

Apr 5 at 1:29 dROOOze 15.4k

6

13

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 2,475

11

votes

6

answers

1k

views

快: why does “fast” also mean “happy”?

etymology glyph-origin

May 29 '19 at 13:52 gideon shiroki 1

3

11

votes

4

answers

3k

views

Reasons for Chinese changing from monosyllabic to disyllabic?

etymology history classical-chinese

Nov 19 '16 at 16:48 Anthony Sariti 11

1

11

votes

2

answers

739

views

Which period in Chinese history produced the most chengyu?

history chengyu

Jan 2 '14 at 7:02 congusbongus 7,909

1

10

votes

4

answers

660

views

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

characters etymology glyph-origin radicals

Sep 24 '18 at 5:55 dROOOze 15.4k

10

votes

4

answers

390

views

What's the relationship between 炮 and 砲?

etymology synonyms glyph-origin

Jan 26 '18 at 10:59 Hao FU 288

10

votes

4

answers

939

views

Why is the 会 in 会计 pronounced kuài?

etymology

Mar 1 '16 at 5:29 Vibius 301

1

10

votes

6

answers

314

views

案: why is a bench also a case?

etymology

Dec 25 '15 at 8:01 thinwa 1,292

1

10

votes

2

answers

390

views

Is there a “Peking Opera dialect”?

mandarin topolect culture

Feb 27 '15 at 2:30 PdotWang 1,405

10

votes

3

answers

393

views

Origin of -的干活?

etymology history

Apr 28 '14 at 7:21 nasta 106

1

10

votes

1

answer

484

views

Why is “steak” 肉排?

etymology food loanwords

Feb 6 '14 at 18:16 hippietrail 3,503

8

votes

5

answers

2k

views

三长两短: what's long and what's short?

etymology chengyu

Jun 18 '17 at 14:41 Dren 1

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

576

views

Etymology of 二百五?

etymology slang

Nov 22 '13 at 4:15 congusbongus 7,909

1

7

votes

6

answers

1k

views

What is the difference between 看不起 and 看不上?

usage difference equivalent-phrase

Oct 26 '18 at 13:58 zyy 2,934

1

7

votes

1

answer

374

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

256

views

Why is 汉子 measured in 条?

classifiers

Oct 9 '13 at 20:12 Terry Li 1,734

6

votes

1

answer

93

views

Were 蒸 and 祯 homonyms?

pronunciation history middle-chinese

Jul 7 '15 at 10:54 wpt 4,160

6

votes

1

answer

325

views

Why is “小小” pronounced as “xué xiǎo”?

pronunciation topolect

May 24 '14 at 12:08 user3306356♦ 27.3k

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 1,012

5

votes

1

answer

139

views

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

classical-chinese history names

Feb 29 at 12:43 lly 312

5

votes

4

answers

290

views

或: how did “region” become “either”?

characters etymology glyph-origin

Jul 26 '18 at 2:04 Nimrod 349

5

votes

2

answers

298

views

丼: why is “well” also “bowl of food”?

characters etymology glyph-origin

Jan 12 '18 at 6:48 dROOOze 15.4k

5

votes

2

answers

158

views

What's the correct pronunciation for 骠骑?

pronunciation

Feb 26 '16 at 18:40 Sean C. 584

1

5

votes

2

answers

321

views

What are these “riddle jokes”?

idioms history

Jun 23 '14 at 1:58 caoglish 247

5

votes

3

answers

573

views

Etymology of 三寸不烂之舌

etymology

Apr 18 '14 at 13:00 Rui 116

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47 Questions

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

足: why is “foot” also “enough”?

家: why is a home a place for pigs?

How much faster is it to write Simplified over Traditional?

快: why does “fast” also mean “happy”?

Reasons for Chinese changing from monosyllabic to disyllabic?

Which period in Chinese history produced the most chengyu?

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

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?

Why is the 車 in Chinese chess pronounced jū?

Why is 汉子 measured in 条?

Were 蒸 and 祯 homonyms?

Why is “小小” pronounced as “xué xiǎo”?

Variants of 将在外，君命有所不受?

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

或: how did “region” become “either”?

丼: why is “well” also “bowl of food”?

What's the correct pronunciation for 骠骑?

What are these “riddle jokes”?

Etymology of 三寸不烂之舌