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What happened to the Old Chinese coda -p of 拉 in Cantonese?

Baxter's Middle Chinese reconstruction has 拉 as *lop, which surprised me given that the Cantonese reflex is laai1. Other characters with the rime -op such as 合, 答 and 雜 end up with the rime -ap or -aap in Cantonese, so what happened to 拉? I imagine…
jogloran
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Third tone sandhi: when (if ever) does 3 3 become 3 0 instead of 2 3?

All of the books and materials I've seen talk about the tone sandhi that changes two third tones to a second and a third, as in "你好." I had a question about the word: 寶寶 Some materials I've seen list this as "bao3 bao3". Based on the sandhi, I'd…
chapka
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Why does the radical for water and ice often look so weird

When I see the radical being used in 洗 and 凉 in some books or even sougou. They break it up into a broken radical that looks nothing like it. Is it one of those things that are related only to computers and I should just ignore the difference?
aury
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Can 知道 be used in the sense of "to know someone"?

While watching a video with Chinese subtitles on a Chinese website, I came across this dialogue: Approximate English gloss (leaving out unnecessary details): A: You're XXX, right? B: So you know who I am? The line said by B is (no punctuation in…
user5714
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6 answers

What are the differences between 男女, 公母, and 雄雌?

In what situations would you use one of the following instead of the others? 男女 nán nǚ 公母 gōng mǔ 雄雌 xióng cí Is it a matter of formality or is each term confined to a particular field (e.g. biology)?
Bjorn
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What are the rules of writing a 对联 (chinese couplet)?

I have looked at the Wikipedia article "Couplet (Chinese Poetry)", but I think it poses more questions than answers. So a 对联 (duì lián) is a "Chinese couplet": it is composed of two lines; each line must have the same number of characters; the…
Matthew Rudy 马泰
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What is the correct orientation of "ㄧ" in zhuyin fuhao?

In zhuyin fuhao (bopomofo), "ㄧ" is equal to "i" or "yi" in Hanyu pinyin. I have noticed, when displayed on my computer, even with very complete fonts, I see a vertical line (similar to "|"), but when I see a picture of this symbol (e.g. see here:…
Village
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What is the difference between these two words 叫做 and 叫作?

What is the difference between these two words 叫做 and 叫作? The dictionary definition is quite similar and when I use this term in conversation I am unaware of which character combination I am using.
Mike Butler
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Where is the correct place to use 您 when addressing others?

Almost every foreign text book I've seen mentions 您 as a polite or formal address to others, however I rarely hear it said and rarely see it written except when addressing customers and occasionally in toilets asking people to take a step…
going
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Regional variations on 三更半夜

A couple years ago, I was at a Chinese(-American) gathering and the topic of 成语 came up. One of them was 三更半夜. My family is from Hangzhou, and previously I had always known of it as 深更半夜. On the other hand, someone from the northeast noted that she…
Tony
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Why 意大利 and not e.g., 意国

I always wondered why all main European countries are spelled in chinese with a Hanzi that identifies them or some about their origins more the 国 morpheme, Italy has a uncontested importance in European history, nevertheless its name has been just…
donnadulcinea
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What's the title for addressing an unknown young person the same age as you?

For example, you are a 20 year old male/female. You are walking on the street, then you see a male stranger who seems to be the same age as your. He is in hurry, you see him drop his wallet. You pick up the wallet and want to give back the wallet to…
null
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Have any fonts been released that are based on slender gold?

I remember the first time I saw slender gold I had something like an 'am I dreaming?' moment. That's not how characters were supposed to look! The lines aren't supposed to cross, etc., etc. But wait, it actually looked better than characters were…
magnetar
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Are "身份证" and "身分证" totally interchangeable?

When wanting to learn the word for "ID card" I seem to find both "身份证" and "身分证". They both have the same pronunciation "shēnfèn zhèng". I don't think they differ by being traditional vs simplified? What exactly is the difference? Can I use either…
hippietrail
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Which term is used for "oyster" in Taiwan?

According to the English Wiktionary there are four Chinese terms equivalent to English "oyster": mǔlì : 牡蠣 / 牡蛎 hǎilìzi : 海蠣子 háo : 蚝 háozi : 蚝子 Is one of these standard or most common in Taiwan? What's the difference between them all?
hippietrail
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