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1500 questions
7
votes
2 answers
Does 兩點九 mean 2:09 or 2:45?
I heard somebody using 兩點九 and I thought he means 2:09. Actually, by 兩點九 he means 兩點九個字, or 2:45.
Does 兩點九 have two different meanings? Or does it always mean 2:45?
Zuriel
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7
votes
1 answer
Why is "小小" pronounced as "xué xiǎo"?
In the classic 相声《卖马》, near the beginning is a line that goes:
在下王老好的便是，就在这潞州天堂县开了一个*小小*的店房
but in that line, "小小" was pronounced as "xué xiǎo". Here's a clip: http://youtu.be/cB391VthT4Q?t=1m11s
Why is this pronunciation used? Is it a specific…
congusbongus
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7
votes
4 answers
How long will it take when people say 马上?
If someone say 马上, how long will it take?
2 min? 10 min?
马上，汉语词汇，拼音是mǎ shàng，意思是立即。作时间副词，表示时间很短的意思。
马上https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E9%A9%AC%E4%B8%8A/80352
Dikey
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7
votes
4 answers
Wo de ming zi SHI vs Wo de ming zi JIAO
I always thought that "wo de ming zi shi ..." is the only correct form but today I found (and also a quite a few hits on Google" "wo de ming zi jiao ...". Is the latter normally used and correct?
John V
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7
votes
1 answer
In what kind of scenarios are honorifics such as 大姐, 大哥, and 师傅 used, and when is it acceptable or polite to use them?
In Chinese films I've often heard characters refer to each other using some of these honorifics:
大姐 dàjiě (big sister; auntie)
大哥 dàgē (big brother)
师傅 shīfù (master)
In what kind of scenarios are such honorifics used, and when is it acceptable or…
Cocowalla
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7
votes
5 answers
How do I express "I don’t envy you" properly in Chinese?
It's basically translated to
我不羡慕你。
My Chinese colleague has a difficult task, and maybe have to work overtime. When I consoled him,
我不羡慕你 (I don’t envy you)。
He asked back,
为什么要羡慕我？
I realized it's not a proper expression in Chinese.
Administrator
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7
votes
4 answers
What does 高高矮矮 mean?
I encountered a sentence in a very sad story by Ba Jin:
十二年，多么长的日日夜夜！每次我回到家门口，眼前就出现一张笑脸，一个亲切的声音向我迎来，可是走进院子，却只见一些高高矮矮的没有花的绿树。
My question is, what 高高矮矮 means. It is the reduplication of 高矮, which usually appears to be a noun for „height“. Since…
Ludi
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7
votes
2 answers
How did 舆论 come to represent Public Opinion?
How did the word 舆论 come to represent the concept of Public Opinion? I know the meanings of the individual characters but I just don't quite see how the combination of these two meanings leads to the concept of Public Opinion.
舆 （Yú） : Palanquin …
Bjorn
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7
votes
1 answer
Number of phonemic vowels in Middle Chinese
How many phonemic vowels are there in Middle Chinese? I'm interested in this question because Shanghainese has 16 phonological vowel/12 phonemic vowels, and was wondering if it had innovated more distinctions or not. Middle Chinese has 8 tonal…
kwaalaateimaa
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7
votes
6 answers
Pronunciation of "因为"
因为 is usually pronounced as yīn wèi, but sometimes I hear it pronounced as yīn wéi which really brings out the meaning as reason (yīn) being (wéi).
Which pronunciation came about first? Do regional differences account for this phenomenon? Are the…
user160
7
votes
2 answers
Etymology of 太太
I just finished the movie "Raise the Red Lantern" 【大红灯笼高高挂】with my girlfriend, and she asked me about the etymology of "太太” as lady, wife, mistress, etc. Given the rather simple nature of the character and the individual definition of 太 having…
Jiā Lù kè
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7
votes
1 answer
Did the ancients really think mangoes were garlic like?
Flipping through Endymion Wilkinson's Chinese History: A New Manual I came across the following excerpt:
36 Food & Drink
36.7 Ming-Qing
Mangoes: fansuan 番蒜, mangguo 芒果 (Malay mangga?)
番蒜 is a very funny word to call mangoes. 番蒜 is basically made…
Mou某
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7
votes
3 answers
Intonation and stress for Chinese pronunciation
The new book 汉语国际教育用词语声调组合及轻重音格式实用手册 ("A Practical Manual of Tone Patterns and Formats of Stressed and Unstressed Syllables in Mandarin Words for the Application of Teaching Chinese to the Speakers of Other Languages") apparently discusses this,…
mic
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7
votes
2 answers
Similarities between Japanese 四字熟語 and Chinese 成语?
I have been learning Japanese 四字熟語 as a passtime for sometime and I would like to know whether most of them can be used verbatim in Chinese or if there are Japanese-made yojijukugo which cannot be used in Chinese.
I don't have a Chinese 成语…
永劫回帰
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7
votes
11 answers
What's wrong with this sentence 我终于快到中国了
It is from my correct-the-sentence exercise.
我终于快到中国了。
I asked a Chinese, he said that this sentence is understandable.
In my opinion, "终于" seems redundant. If not, the original sentence should be put in a particular context to be understood, e.g…
Jenny
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