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What is the difference between 看不起 and 看不上?
The two have very similar meanings and can both be used to mean "detest, despise, look down upon" but there seems to be a subtle difference.
According to these entries:
看不起 http://www.zdic.net/c/b/149/321190.htm
看不上…
congusbongus
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7
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4 answers
The mysterious role of 占 in 对占人口绝大多数的民众来说，还是觉得有钱应该省着花
I know that 占 means "to occupy/to take up".
But in this following sentence, I can not figure out what it adds to the meaning as a whole:
"对占人口绝大多数的民众来说，还是觉得有钱应该省着花"
If I take "zhan" away, would it make any difference? A Chinese friend told me it…
miree
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5 answers
Informed sources for videos of Chinese movies
I have gotten two videos of Chinese movies at Amazon and in fact both had Mandarin soundtracks with a choice of Chinese (simplified or traditional) or English subtitles. That is what I wanted. But in both cases I was buying blind. It seems…
Colin McLarty
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7
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2 answers
Regional variations of "柴米油盐酱醋茶"
When I was very small, my grandparents mentioned there are regional variations of the phrase 柴米油盐酱醋茶 which is widely known to the local population (instead of made up by nobody and only used by a small circle). The first 4 things are still 柴米油盐…
NS.X.
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7
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1 answer
Is 邏輯 a phono-semantic matching of the English word logic?
Wiktionary has the following entry for the etymology of 邏輯:
Phono-semantic matching of English logic.
However, the Chinese Wikipedia entry states the following:
當代中文一般採取音譯方式，將其譯為邏輯。
Which seems to imply there isn't sort of semantic hint in the…
wang_xiao_ming
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1 answer
察尔汗: Mongolian and Tibetan transcription into Chinese
Apologies that this is a bit off the main focus of the forum, but there aren't any Mongolian or Tibetan stacks yet.
There are dozens to hundreds of Chinese sites repeating each other that Qarhan (察尔汗)—an important playa in Qinghai that gets called a…
lly
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7
votes
5 answers
Difference of 余 and 我
余 and 我 both mean I. But I still can't understand the real difference. Also, I want an example sentence. When I use Google Translate and Bing Translator, the result is same.
Christian Irwan Hadi Wicaksana
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7
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7 answers
Why is it 出差去 and not 去出差?
I read this sentence :
前几天爸妈出差去了。
which translates to :
A few days ago, my parents went on a business trip.
in English.
This might sound stupid but why is it “出差去” and not “去出差” when it’s “go on a business trip”?
Or perhaps, both phrases are…
Agnes
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votes
2 answers
A word that means "earn" without the "money" connotation?
I'm trying to translate a phrase in English:
Trust must be earned.
A direct translation would look like this:
信任是要赚来的
However, the verb 赚 doesn't seem suitable in this context.
What may be a more suitable word? Specifically, a word that means…
Pacerier
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7
votes
2 answers
Why is "weight" = 体重 and why is "height" = 身高?
Recently, I registered to a running tracker app. The app required me to fill some personal information and two of them were my 体重 (weight) and 身高 (height).
I wonder why one uses 体 while the other one uses 身. Both can mean "body" but I just wonder…
Agnes
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7
votes
2 answers
What's the difference between ...的 and 所...的
I believe that both of these constructions create what is called a "subordinate clause". I know that 的 can be used to specify something like:
我喜欢的东西 (those things which I like),
很远的地方 (the place which is far), and
跟他谈恋爱的人 (the person who he is…
Daniel King
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7
votes
4 answers
What does it mean to end a sentence in 没?
In the following example:
你找到你爸爸了没
Does the 没 make it a question? And if so, how is it different from “你找不找到你爸爸了”
Josh Wyss
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7
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What 蛋 is referring to in "完蛋了"
完蛋了 means: Done for; ruined; finished; goose is cooked. It is the Mandarin counterpart of a Cantonese term "玩完" (game over)
I am curious about what 蛋 is referring to. Without any reference, I can only speculate
蛋 is a nickname for 'testicle'; 完蛋…
Tang Ho
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7
votes
9 answers
Meaning of "去你的头"
I just heard "去你的头" in a joke, and while it sounds like an approving "go ahead" OR "go with your head/what you think" I realized at the end of the joke it's kind of an equivalent of "go f*** yourself" in English. Can someone confirm this is what it…
user43633
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7
votes
9 answers
What does 土 mean in this sentence 这个名字有点土?
I heard this mentioned about someones name recently. Can someone explain the meaning and any connotations of "土" in the sentence:
这个名字有点土
going
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