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1500 questions
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What's the difference between 对不起, 对不住 and 不好意思
When I was in China, I heard people using 不好意思 to apologize casually.
I also heard the expression 对不住 in TV series and movies. Is there any differences?
OOEngineer
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What is the difference in use between 完 and 了?
If I understood correctly, both 完 and 了 can be used to indicate a completed action, so what is the difference in use? How do we properly use 完 in a sentence? Which contexts would be valid?
dr Hannibal Lecter
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麻油Q米血 on a menu in Taipei
For lunch today in Taipei I found a small street food place near my hostel.
On the menu was this item:
麻油Q米血
Here's a photo of the relevant part of the menu:
麻油 is sesame oil, 米 is rice, and 血 is blood. But what is Q?
I know English/Latin/Roman…
hippietrail
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When was punctuation introduced into Chinese?
I have seen some old Chinese books. The words flowed from top to bottom on the page and there was no punctuation.
How did readers know when the sentences began and ended?
Were any older forms of punctuation used then?
When was punctuation…
Village
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”委屈“ in English?
In Chinese, ”委屈“ has the meaning of being treated unfairly and consequently felt bad but didn't dare to complain.
"be upset" doesn't necessarily imply being treated unfairly.
"be wronged" doesn't seem to imply feeling bad but not dare to complain.…
Newbie
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14
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6 answers
Is "biang" a phonologically possible syllable in Mandarin Chinese?
One of the local specialty favourite dishes in Shaanxi province where I am now is Biángbiáng miàn.
Photo by hippietrail
The hanzi character for "biáng" is usually the focus of discusssions of this dish since it takes 58 strokes and is not supported…
hippietrail
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How to say "giving someone the benefit of the doubt" in Chinese?
This expression connotes that one is willing to not insist on accusing someone of a mistake despite most evidence pointing to that someone as being responsible. As in a legal proceeding where the jury feel there is a reasonable doubt the defendant…
tao
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14
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1 answer
What's the difference between 看起来 and 看上去?
I see them both used in the same way and both seem to get equal hits in Baidu.
Here are some sample sentences containing…
Steve
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2 answers
Where should I place the comma in large numbers?
If writing for an exclusively Chinese audience, would the number 五萬 be written as 5,0000 or 50,000?
To flesh out the question, we could consider:
五千 5000 or 5,000
五萬 5,0000 or 50,000
五十萬 50,0000 or 500,000
五百萬 500,0000 or…
user6546
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Do 和 and 及 refer to two different kinds of "ands?"
At one level, they both mean "and." At another level, 和 also means "peace," while 及 means "to extend." This suggests different usages.
Is one used to connect nouns, while the other is used to connect predicates, for example? And which one (both, or…
Tom Au
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Why are people writing 打井 (dǎjǐng) = "to dig a well" on this construction site wall?
Near campus, there are construction sites for apartments, and one of them has this writing on it:
Repeatedly written is 打井 (dǎjǐng) = "to dig a well", along with a phone number. It's possible that these are all advertising some kind of…
Becky 李蓓
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Resources for learning Cantonese
I'd like to learn Cantonese. Does anyone know some good resources (books, websites) that provide a thorough introduction into the language? I know that the pronunciation is a lot harder than in Mandarin, so the resource should contain audios as…
zero-divisor
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Any difference between 早安 and 早上好?
Is there any difference in meaning, formality, tone, or otherwise between the "good morning" greetings 早安 and 早上好? Or just regional preferences? (I'm thinking perhaps the former may be more common in Taiwan and the latter more common in Mainland…
Dan
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What is the difference between using 光 vs using 只?
What is the gramatical difference between 光 and 只?
光剩下2毛钱 does not have the same meaning/context as 只剩下2毛钱
It seems there is more emphasis to the part that comes after 光. When is the right time to use one over the other.
Krazer
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3 answers
How will translate "谁让你" into English?
How will translate "谁让你" into English? For example,
我不得不服从你的安排。 谁让你是我的老板呢？
Newbie
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