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1500 questions
9
votes
5 answers
Do all one-syllable words need to be followed by a 子 to make it colloquial?
Do all one-syllable words need to be followed by a 子 to make it colloquial? For example, 椅 becomes 椅子, 锤 becomes 锤子, 尺 becomes 尺子 and etc.
I thought about this because I came across a picture dictionary for Chinese words and I saw most of the single…
Nephilim
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How to estimate your score for an HSK practice exam?
I'm preparing for my first HSK exam in October - probably level 1 - so I completed a practice exam. I know the number of correct answers, but I don't how to convert these into a score.
From what I've read, it's not a simple matter of dividing the…
Sjors Provoost
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9
votes
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该 - How do you know when to use it? Nothing to do with 应该
In the sentence below, why do you need 该公司? Chinese is contextual, right? 公司 talked about previously is 苹果. Instead of 该公司, why not use 它? Or 这个公司?
也有一些分析师和投资者为苹果辩护，他们说，该公司 完全清楚自己在做什么，设定的价格也符合 该公司 的策略。
But there were some analysts and investors who…
Steve
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9
votes
1 answer
Difference between 觉得 and 认为
I know both 觉得 and 认为 can be used to mean "to think", like:
你认为这篇文章怎么样？
你觉得这篇文章怎么样？
But most people would translate 觉得 to "to feel". Does 觉得 express more of what someone thinks based on just feeling, are there any cases where these two words are…
Question Marks
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votes
3 answers
What Hanzi-Latin hybrid characters exist?
I was going through Babel Stone's PUA page when I came across, some, of the following characters. This one is Japanese:
Kanji-Latin hybrid = 慶 in the name of Keiō University (慶應大学)
This one is Korean:
Hanja-Hangul hybrid = 圖 do "map"…
Mou某
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9
votes
7 answers
Chinese words with non-Chinese letters / characters?
Some Chinese words mix Roman letters and Chinese characters. For example:
AA制, meaning to split the bill evenly (or "go dutch" as that's often called in English).
N次方根, meaning "nth root" (i.e., including square roots, cube roots, etc. as special…
Stumpy Joe Pete
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7 answers
What does 丫 mean? 丫是什么意思？
I'm currently watching a TV show called ”匆匆那年“, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0Tub19BTX4&list=PLn8V6LgDVrvJ3SAHEtI4i6hEL_ODIulko&index=7. I've only watched half an hour of the seventh episode, but I've already heard the word "丫" a few times.…
米凯乐
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9
votes
4 answers
Chinese Seal on silk painting - what does it mean?
I have inherited a beautiful Chinese silk artwork. I would like to know what age it is and what the script and seal mean. Much appreciated if anyone can help
THEMAGPIESAID
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9
votes
5 answers
How many distinct characters are there in a typical Chinese book?
This post gives some great statistics on Chinese character frequency, but I'm curious about the total number of distinct characters that appear in a "typical" book. By "typical" I mean something like a popular modern novel: say, "The Three-Body…
WillG
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1 answer
乘 vs 承 - are they related?
Just learnt a few verbs which use 乘 and 承 and was thinking that, not only do they look and sound mighty similar, but their ultimate meanings are both related to 'transfering' something. 乘 with vehicles from one place to another and 承 with…
Hashamyim
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votes
2 answers
Difference between “当…时”, “…的时候”, and “当…的时候”?
What is the difference between :
“当…时”
and
“…的时候”
and
“当…的时候”
when referring to "when" in Chinese?
I have tried to look for an answer but I couldn't find a clear one. When should you use each option?
Agnes
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What is "qiou"?
Apparently this character has been dubbed the character of the year (2018):
It's pronunciation is said to be:
qiou
but a lot of people claim it should just be pronounced the same as:
我
I can't find this character in the dictionary. What is it?…
Mou某
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9
votes
3 answers
Is 不 A 不 B a grammatical structure like 又 A 又 B?
I ran across 不知不觉 the other day. If I use MDBG to look up c:不*不* I see there are many idioms with that format. Can I use it with any verbs (?) or is it only part of fixed expressions?
Ben Jackson
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9
votes
6 answers
Can I use a rare character like 飂 in a name?
I am trying to find a new Chinese name for myself. Before, I simply used a transliteration of my western name. Now, as my Chinese progressed, I would like to find something that does not immediately reveal that I am a foreigner.
While leafing…
Lukas
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9
votes
5 answers
How to say "I wouldn't go so far as to say..." in Mandarin
I'm searching for a common way to say "I wouldn't go so far as to say that" in Mandarin. The only translation of this expression, that I found in a dictionary, is :
It's good, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's…
Eric
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