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1500 questions
7
votes
4 answers
Where does the middle name go in a name that has been translated into Chinese?
Many westerners (like I) possess a three-part name in full.
given + middle + family [名·中间名·姓]
It's understood that―in China―middle names typically don't exist.
Usually, westerners only translate their legal "first" and “last” names as per the…
Corellian
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7
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What characters have been politically corrected before?
In the article "Mysogyny as reflected in Chinese characters", Victor Mair wrote:
In the early days of the PRC, the government changed some characters for the names of minority ethnic groups so that they no longer had "bug" (chóng 虫) or "dog"…
Mou某
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7
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1 answer
Bigrams ending in third tone where first syllable is second tone vs. third tone
This is regarding tone sandhi for consecutive third tones.
I notice CC-CEDICT has over 200 bigrams with tone pair 3-3 where there also exists a separate bigram 2-3.
One such example is:
白果 bai2 guo3
百果 bai3 guo3
Tone sandhi says that the second…
Mark
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7
votes
3 answers
Is there really no unicode for "扌"?
（扌+方）的释义--字海网（叶典网）
Getting 非unicode but it's kind of hard to believe.
Is there really no unicode for "扌"?
Mou某
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7
votes
4 answers
Meaning of 则是 in 而段剑则是神情严肃地站在聂离的身边
My vocabulary states that 则是 means: "then is". However I don't understand how to translate the following sentence:
而段剑则是神情严肃地站在聂离的身边。
I can translate it perfectly fine by omitting 则是, so not sure what does it add.
I was thinking, maybe it is a…
Lex
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7
votes
4 answers
How to emphasize a word in writing?
I guess in English maybe this would only be done by italics, I am not sure but here is a sample in English and my bad translation to Chinese, what is the best way to emphasis?
I know for example that in Chinese:
我太太 vs 我的太太
The first one says "my…
Mallow
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7
votes
7 answers
"是你太能說了"這句話什麼意思？
My friend complained that she aged five years in an instant and she posted some photos. I commented that she always has excellent skin and looks very young. Then she said:
是你太能說了
Does this mean something like, "you are such a skilled…
Ludi
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7
votes
1 answer
Do Cantonese 畀 and Mandarin 被 have any historical connection?
畀 and 被's modern pronunciations are quite similar.
Although 畀 can mean “give” like the Mandarin 给 it also can work like 被:
佢畀人睇見
他被人家看見
Do Cantonese 畀 and Mandarin 被 have any historical connection?
Mou某
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7
votes
2 answers
Bottom component of 青 and 䏍
When learning how to write, I had always assumed that the lower component of the left component 䏍 of 能 was just a lower variant of 月. A couple of days ago, however, I decided to look it up, and I found that, at least according to YellowBridge, it…
Jonathan Gleason
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7
votes
5 answers
How to say "we want what is best for our kids"?
I'd like to say the above sentence.
I can't think anything but the following sentence, but it just doesn't sit right with me somehow:
我们都要对我们的孩子最好.
While the subject "what's best" in english seems ok without any tangible object associated with it,…
jaffa
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7
votes
2 answers
Is it common for zh/j, ch/q, and sh/x to be merged?
I learned formally that in the standard Beijing accent, zh, ch, and sh are pronounced more in the back in the mouth than j, q, and x. However, I got lazy and speak all six of these consonants in the front of my mouth. I'm curious, is this common for…
Heitor Chang
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7
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2 answers
What is the best Chinese equivalent for "passion" or "to be passionate about something"?
In English, it is common to say you are "passionate about something" or "something is your passion" (e.g. My passion is rockclimbing).
This use of 'passion' is different to 'passion' as in relationships/emotions etc.
What Chinese expression would be…
pyko
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7
votes
2 answers
What character is 刄 + 丶?
Here's a pic I took in HK today
What's the 刄 + 丶 char? In
堂飲2 xxxxxxx 28元
I'm guessing its similar to mainlands 两, for alcoholic drink sizes.
I tried zisea & zdic to no avail...
edit: is it this: ? http://www.zdic.net/z/84/wy/20090.htm
It's the…
Mou某
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7
votes
1 answer
What is the oldest known Chinese audio recording?
I have tried search engines and Wikipedia articles on the history of audio recording, in English and Chinese, but couldn't come closer to this.
What is the oldest known recording of anyone speaking (Mandarin) Chinese? Is it available online?
imrek
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7
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3 answers
What is the function of 的多 in 中国人爱喝茶的多?
中国人爱喝茶的多。
I assume the meaning is that "Chinese people love drinking tea a lot", or "...really love drinking tea." Does 的多 act as an adverbial structure here? In what other situations would it be appropriate to use it? Would it be possible to say…
Benjameno
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