Questions about the Chinese language which are influenced by culture.
Questions tagged [culture]
186 questions
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Why is 十面埋伏 related to the number 10?
How does that count?
As we know, Chinese directions can be categorized as 六合八方, but none of them is related to the number 10?
Joseph S WU
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How to cope with classical references?
It seems like references to classical literature are unavoidable in virtually all materials enjoyed by native speakers - I was watching an episode of 蚁族的奋斗 where a group of young men are talking informally around the dinner table, and one of them…
Benjameno
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Is there a Chinese word for liberation?
When I studied Mandarin Chinese in the early 1990's my teacher told me that there is no word for "liberation" because it is not a concept in Chinese culture. She thought for a minute, tried a few Chinese possible words [ I have forgotten them] and…
Snack_Food_Termite
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What exactly does 媽个八子 mean?
Are those the correct characters? I understand it to be profanity but how bad is it? Worse than 你妈的 ? Any insight would be appreciated, just find this to be a funny expression that I haven't heard of before.
grayQuant
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小姐 and similar terms before the cultural revolution
I have listened to a lot of controversy about the modern usage of 小姐 and similar terms. Here I just want to know whether what I thought as a child reflected the usage prior to the cultural revolution. The suspicion that it may be so is based on (my…
Ludi
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Is there any rule for the abbreviation of the name of provinces or cities?
As I find out, there is an abbreviation for each province in China, for example, 北京 is 京, 广东is 粤, 上海 is 沪, 广州 is 穗 and so on, but in many cases these three cities are also known as 北上广 rather than 京沪穗。
Another example is that: A CBA basketball match…
NanningYouth
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Why do the news report use 某?
In English context, "a person who knows this", "an anonymous resource" or "a well-informed person",etc sometimes is used to cover the identity.
Yesterday I read a news story, in which a company is presented as某公司, but the subsequent sentence gives…
NanningYouth
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3
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Is 民主党派 NGO in China?
I happened to see a road sign, on which it is marked 广西区各民主党派机关 and I kept wondering why the political parties which are eight or nine in numbers have to put their regional headquarters together?
It is unbelivable if you would see the same in the US…
NanningYouth
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3
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"Kids these days"
This is a question more about culture than language specifically but I hope it is still appropriate here.
It's a common topic in current media commentary (in English) to complain about the problems with younger people. They don't want to work,…
Mitch
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What are the types of 剧 (theatrical work, opera, drama) in modern China?
When studying Chinese, the Chinese learner journal had a section to talk about the various kinds of 剧 (theatrical work, opera, drama), for example 北京剧, etc.
It almost seems to me like every city had its own kind of 剧. Is this so? If not, what are…
Jack Maddington
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Accepting compliments (without rejecting them)
I find it much more sincere to accept compliments and show how grateful I am rather than to belittle myself.
Therefore I would like to know some phrases in Chinese to accept compliments and show my gratitude rather than overhumbling myself. I do not…
user6034
2
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What does 讲好中国故事 really mean?
Reading the Chinese language mainstream media,I often encounter the words 讲好中国故事but do not really understand what that means.
Since when news media has begun to tell stories,that is, something unreal or fictional? Do readers of news media like to…
NanningYouth
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How to determine the right pronunciation of names?
The recent news shows that the name of a high-ranking official 谌贻琴 is pronounced Shen4 Yi2 Qin2, but as far as I know, a famous writer 谌容 and a famous badminton player 谌龙 are called Chen2 Rong2 and Chen2 Long2 respectively. An old saying in China…
NanningYouth
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What is the logic behind 《窦娥冤》?
This drama is also known as 感天动地窦娥冤,but there is nothing the heaven and earth do to save the life of this girl. She yells at them 叫声屈动地惊天。我将天地合埋怨，天也，做得个怕硬欺软，地也，你不分好歹难为地...
Another point that doesn't make sense is that her father as a senior official…
NanningYouth
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2
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How is 你是哪里人 properly answered?
Perhaps this question can be roughly translated into English as "Where is your home town?" or "Where are you from?" But now with the fast and more people movement within China, the question has become a confusing one. It is hard to determine where…
NanningYouth
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