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1500 questions
12
votes
4 answers
What is the difference between 一只狗 and 一条狗?
I've been told by native speakers that the former refers to little dogs while the latter is for bigger dogs. I also have been told that the latter has a negative connotation. I'm wondering:
how negative is the meaning of 一条狗?
is one used by…
user103
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2 answers
Purpose of duplicating measure words?
I came across the following sentence in New Practical Chinese Reader 2, lesson 21, paraphrasing:
南方的花园
中国人常说：…
pg-robban
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12
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Is "你们好" (nǐmen hǎo) in actual use for greeting multiple people at once?
I just felt like typing "hello" in Chinese in a chat room (with no Chinese speakers in it but what the hey...)
Halfway through it struck me that there's "你们" (nǐhǎo) for hello, "你" (nǐ) meaning you, and what about "你们" (nǐmen) being more or less a…
hippietrail
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12
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How is adding oil going to beneficial to the situation? 加油
Is anyone able to explain the history behind this cheer?
At the face of it I'm unsure how this could be a cheer as 加 translate to add/plus/apply and 油 translates to oil/fat/grease you would think that 加油 would translate to Add oil
Most of my…
50-3
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12
votes
3 answers
When do the tones change?
Sometimes, in certain combinations of tones or words, the tones change. Where can I find a complete list of all tone changes that occur in Mandarin?
Village
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12
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4 answers
Why is this Chinese clock so strange?
In the classical 1932 American film Shanghai Express starring Marlene Dietrich, the story is going on in 1931 in China on the Beijing–Shanghai railroad, and several times in the course of the film in order to show what time it is, a very…
Yellow Sky
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12
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7 answers
What software can correct pronunciation?
What software is available which can record my voice and warn me about problems with my pronunciation and tones?
Village
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12
votes
4 answers
What software can detect the parts of speech of written text?
What software or online tools can detect the parts of speech in a piece of written text (e.g. to predict if a word is a verb, adjective, etc.)?
Village
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12
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Why does Mandarin Chinese have a smaller inventory of unique syllables?
From How languages compare with the number of different syllables from all words?, considering the 20,000 most frequent words in each language, Mandarin Chinese has 1274 different syllables (see also 3 and 4). Compared to other languages, such as…
Puco4
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Beginning of the week / end of the week
It is possible to say:
三月初 (the beginning of March)
三月底 (the end of March)
Example：
我三月底要回国
You can also refer to:
年初 and 年底
But is there something you can use to convey the beginning or end of the week, for example "I am going to my parents house…
going
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12
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2 answers
Is there any connection between the choice of characters for 九 and 丸?
I just learned the character 丸 and naturally noticed that it is similar to 九 with the additional 点.
Is there any interesting connection between these two characters or is it just a random coincidence ?
Kantura
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12
votes
2 answers
Which period in Chinese history produced the most chengyu?
There are tens of thousands of chengyu, many of them are historical in nature, whilst others are loaned from foreign sources such as Buddhism. Which period or dynasty in Chinese history produced the most though?
I suspect the earlier ones such as…
congusbongus
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votes
5 answers
Why was the rice component added to 气 to form 氣?
气 is an ancient character that has roots in an oracle bone pictogram, but according to this, the rice radical was added in the Tang dynasty to form 氣.
What were the reasons for this? What does 气, meaning gas, air or life force, have to do with…
congusbongus
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12
votes
4 answers
Reasons for Chinese changing from monosyllabic to disyllabic?
Classical and Middle Chinese are often considered monosyllabic languages - most words are single syllables. Modern Chinese however is considered disyllabic - most words are two syllables.
For example, take this excerpt about the Battle of Red…
congusbongus
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12
votes
3 answers
您 vs 你 for parents?
Having studied French, I'm aware of the subtle social intricacies of the formal vs. informal "you." I figured Chinese was at least similar, i.e., informal for people of your generation, people you know well, your parents, etc.; formal for people you…
nickcoxdotme
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