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1500 questions
11
votes
1 answer
How to say a negative number in Mandarin?
There are plenty of posts for rules on numbers, but I can't seem to figure out how one would say, for example, -5 (negative five). I know that negative number is 负数, so would it just be 负五？
MarkE
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11
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6 answers
Can I say 在..住? Why do we say 我住在..？
As far as I know in Chinese sentences we should use adverb after subject and before the verb. For example: 我在上网聊天儿。
So can I say 我(S)在北京(adverb)住(verb)？ Why do we say 我住在北京？
Nilsu Aksoy
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11
votes
2 answers
Similar pronunciations of tea/茶 across languages
The Cantonese (Yale cha4), Mandarin (pinyin chá) and Kan’yōon (cha) pronunciations of 茶 are similar to the Russian word чай (IPA t͡ɕaj) for tea. Do these have a common origin?
winerd
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11
votes
1 answer
Radicals in 等 - Why 士 instead of 土?
Why does this page list the radicals for 等 as 竹, 士, and 寸 when the word appears to use 土?
RossAlexander
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11
votes
1 answer
Did a king ask for a ball? How did 王 + 求 become 球?
The character 球 means ball and is composed of
王 meaning king and
求 meaning demand.
Where does this composition come from? Did a king ask for a ball?
winerd
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11
votes
1 answer
What is the correct pronunciation of 垃圾?
The word 垃圾 is sometimes pronounced laji, but other times I've seen it pronounced as lese, which pronunciation is deemed to be more correct? Are they both interchangeable?
Ken Li
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11
votes
3 answers
What's the difference between 了, 著 and 到 when used as verb complements?
I need help with sorting out the difference between 了, 著 and 到 when used as verb complements. I have learnt most of my Chinese in Taiwan and in my experience, Taiwanese people don't use 著 as a verb complement very often, except in some common…
Olle Linge
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11
votes
4 answers
What is the difference between 國語 and 普通話?
I am still a beginner, but after 1 year I'm still not sure about the difference. I've been talking with some citizens from China mainland on the Internet, when I mentioned that I'm learning 國語, I seemed to offend people, and it sparked some rows in…
Henry Kingston
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11
votes
13 answers
碗掉地下，Why not 地上？
Pleco has the example:
碗掉地下就碎了。
Why not 地上？ I have been corrected many times for similar sentences, with the explanation that 地下 means „subterranean“?
Ludi
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11
votes
3 answers
Adding tone marks to characters
I'm looking for a way of adding tone marks above characters. It's fairly easy to add Pinyin with tone marks, but I want to add only tone marks. I want to use this as a teaching tool, because even though most students don't have a big problem with…
Olle Linge
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11
votes
2 answers
What does “tm” mean?
I think it is an Internet slang, but found a few times on the web.
Example:
自大，在超市贵的东西都是写着纯国产 以前在语言学校的时候写作文 主题都是你认为日本哪里好 为什么喜欢日本 我tm是被逼来的 硬是编出来说日本人很有礼貌 日本的公共设施做得好 日本老师看着还一本满足 那副嘴脸真的很恶心。
What does “tm” mean? I searched on the web and found it means…
Blaszard
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11
votes
3 answers
Questions on a Hakka song and its particular Hakka dialect
Warning, General Background, Table of Contents
This is going to be a very long post, just like my work on this video was very long. This is why I am breaking it down into sections. It is also going to contain many questions, because I feel they are…
MickG
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11
votes
2 answers
Why is there the character 李 in 行李？
Pleco lists three meanings for the character 李：
plum tree
plum
a surname
None seem related to luggage!
Ludi
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11
votes
4 answers
Why does 首饰的饰 have the 饣radical?
According to my sources 饣 means "food" or "eat". Since when do people eat jewelry?
aelephant
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11
votes
1 answer
Pronunciation of 和 in Taiwan
This is something that I noticed in Taiwanese Mandarin TV series and films. It seems that they pronounce this character as hàn instead of the commonly accepted hé.
For example, 我和你 is pronounced wǒ hàn nǐ.
Normally you'd expect accent differences,…
deutschZuid
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