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1500 questions
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认识 vs 知道 based on glyph origins

I'm trying to understand what 识 means and why 认识 is different from 知道. As far as I was able to gather the information on 戠 is a depiction of an armed group of people which, while in battle, should be recognized and diffirentiated from other groups…
coobit
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What is the difference between 对不起, 请问, 不好意思, and 抱歉 to express "excuse me" or "sorry"?

I always wonder whether there is any difference between these four terms to say "excuse me" or "sorry". The difference between 对不起 and 不好意思 is explained in this question, but I'm not sure about the differences when you add more similar words into…
Blaszard
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Difference between 肯定 and 确定

Does anyone know the difference (if there is a difference) between 肯定 and 确定？ I seem to have trouble in knowing when to use each of them in certain contexts.
milk
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6 answers

What's the difference between 了解 and 理解？

I've asked some of my Chinese friends what the difference was. Most couldn't explain. Some said that you 了解 people but you 理解 things. What's the difference?
Son of the Wai-Pan
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Where to look for history and etymology of Chinese characters? For example 工

Is there a website where I can look for history and etymology of Chinese characters? For example 工. It can be a Chinese website (I am VERY new to Chinese). But better in English. Please also drop any useful links you regularly used when starting to…
ALeX inSide
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Difference between 是不是喝酒了? and 喝酒了没有？

What is the difference between 是不是吃了蛋糕？ and 吃蛋糕了没有？ or 是不是喝酒了? and 喝酒了没有？
Paul Praet
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"Actually" as a sentence-starter of speech filler

When casually speaking English I use the word "actually" a lot at the beginning of a sentance, or as part of the flow of my speech. e.g. Actually, next semester doesn't start for a month. Actually, I don't have any siblings. I would like to be…
jsj
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How to ask someone to take a photo?

Recently on vacation I wanted to ask a Chinese tourist if they would mind taking a photo of my wife and I - but I didn't know how, so just asked 你可以吗? (nǐ kěyǐ ma?) while pointing to my camera. How should I ask this in future?
Cocowalla
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What was this online dictionary's name with ancient traditional and simplified characters and glyph origins?

I once found a Mandarin Chinese dictionary which for each character listed the ancient, the traditional and the simplified Chinese characters. For each it described its meaning and how it developed into the current form. I cannot find it or anything…
user9948
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What is the story or reason of how 龙 came from 龍?

I'm just beginning to learn Mandarin and I have an excellent teacher. She tells me a lot of stories of how the characters came to be. Today we talked about the character for dragon, but she doesn't know how it changed so drastically from the…
Klik
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Difference: 些 and 有的

A while ago I learned that some was 些 or 一些, but now I've also learned that there is another way to say some, 有的. My teacher didn't go into the difference in class and I forgot to ask her afterwards. Is there a difference in meaning and/or usage or…
William
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What is 和 used for in 和西方人过圣诞节差不多，这是一个全家团聚的节日?

I know how to use 和 to link one or more nouns or noun phrases, but in this sentence I don't understand what purpose does it serve at the beginning of the sentence? 和西方人过圣诞节差不多，这是一个全家团聚的节日。 (This sentence is from a text about 春节)
dr Hannibal Lecter
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What's the difference between 词典, 辞典, and 字典?

I don't think they are necessarily different kinds of dictionaries, but is there a subtle distinction? Or maybe their etymologies?
gonnastop
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Is "一“ in 一线城市 first or second tone?

Quick question: Is "一“ in 一线城市 first or second tone? If it is first tone, is this because it is being used as a number? Cheers, Stephen
Stephen
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How to say "offer" (as in "job offer") in Chinese?

Such as "offer" in: 我有了CUHK的入学许可 = I got an offer from CUHK. 还没有一个地方要我 = I still don't have any offers. I think there is no such noun in Chinese. Is there?
zchenah
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