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1500 questions
12
votes
1 answer
Saying "you too"
What's the proper way to respond a sendoff like 祝周末愉快 while repeating the same wish to the sender?
In English, we might say something like "Thanks, you too."
Is there a shorter or more appropriate way to express 也祝周末愉快?
scip
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12
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3 answers
Why did China opt for 星期 over 曜日?
Korea and Japan seem to have a week system that looks like this:
Monday 月曜日
Tuesday 火曜日
Wednesday 水曜日
Thursday 木曜日
Friday 金曜日
Saturday 土曜日
Sunday 日曜日
China apparently used to be the same as well.
星期…
Mou某
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12
votes
3 answers
Indefinite article vs numeral: use of "一" (yī)
Sometimes, when the English has an indefinite article ("a", "an"), the Chinese translation has a numeral ("一", yī).
So, for example, "I want to buy a ticket" sounds like "I want to buy one ticket".
Sometimes the article in Chinese is just…
Starnuto di topo
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12
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1 answer
Rules for saying numbers
I just wondered what are the rules of saying numbers...
For example:
10 = 十
19 = 十九
100 = 一百
1,000 = 一千
10,000 = 一萬
but
119 = 一百一十九
then
110 = 一百一
1,100 = 一千一
11,000 = 一萬一
and then
10,110 = 一萬零一百一十
Is there any rule of thumb??
Georgeee
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12
votes
1 answer
Chinese for "vote-up", "vote-down" and "vote to close"
What are the correct Chinese words to use for the following:
Vote-up
Vote-down
Vote to close
I assume these will have been included in certain social platforms in China.
going
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12
votes
6 answers
What is the equivalent of "make sense" in Chinese?
I am trying to explain the phrase "make sense" to my cousin, who is learning English. The dictionary suggests "有意义", but I believe that "有意义" is "meaningful" and that "make sense" should be "讲得通", "说得通", or "符合逻辑".
Consider the following…
gonnastop
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12
votes
2 answers
What is the etymology of "商" in "商数"
"商数" is usually translated as "quotient" in both its mathematical and common usage forms (eg in "智商"/intelligence quotient, which is in fact an actual quotient.).
What is the etymology of "商", and why was it used to describe fractional numbers?
March Ho
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12
votes
1 answer
How come 東/东 has a second meaning 'owner/master' or 'host'?
Examples include 房东 or 财东 and 东道, respectively. What is the etymology behind this additional meaning?
imrek
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12
votes
3 answers
Thought Experiment: Twitter Character Limits
This is hopefully a fun question that is a little bit off the standard path. It's meant to elicit a light conversation but nevertheless one that illuminates fundamental characteristics of Chinese as a written language.
Question: Twitter, which was…
Tang Nawen
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12
votes
4 answers
Quotation Marks ("") and Angle Quotation Marks (《》)
Based on my recent observation, most people use "" to enclose a quote and use 《》 to enclose the name of a book (or a movie?). However, since I began my Chinese study, I have been learning to use 「」 as the quotation marks and ﹏﹏ as the mark to…
Thomas Hsieh
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12
votes
4 answers
Is there a difference between "几点" (jǐdiǎn) and "什么时候" (shénmeshíhou)?
Both "几点" and "什么时候" seem to mean "what time?".
Here are two examples that contain "几点" or "什么时候":
我们什么时候开会? (My interpretation: "When is the meeting?")
现在几点? (My interpretation: "What time is it?")
Also, is there a way I could have found the…
Matt Kleinsmith
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12
votes
2 answers
What's the difference between 咁 (gam3) and 噉 (gam2)?
What does "gam" mean in these two contexts, and why is a different character used in each?
Note 咁 used in this sentence
我睇見你坐喺梳化椅處, 唔停咁同張太太,何太太,王小姐佢哋傾偈。
(ngo5 tai2 gin3 nei5 co5 hai2 so1 faa2 ji2 syu3, m4 ting4 gam2 tung4 zoeng1 taai3 taai2, ho6…
Mike M. Lin
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12
votes
5 answers
What is a good form of address for a male friend who is too old to be 小, too young to be 老, and too humble to be called 大?
I have a male "friend", last name 柯 (kē) who is over 30. From ages 18-30 or so, he went by 小柯, but that seems less and less appropriate as he gets older. Always going by his full name seems overly long and formal, he doesn't like "大", and he's not…
2snacc
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12
votes
5 answers
What is a polite or neutral way to ask for someone to step out of your way?
In English I would say "excuse me". Some possibilities that come to mind are 请让,对不起,不好意思. I believe I have heard someone say "让!" before. Is that considered impolite?
Colin
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12
votes
3 answers
Is there an equivalent for the Cantonese phrase "M Goi"
The Cantonese phrase "M Goi" has many meanings:
"Excuse me"
"Thanks" (casual)
"Hey"
Does it have a 普通话 equivalent? And how can I write it in pinyin? Is it even possible?
Matthew Rudy 马泰
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