Chinese Speaking Fans

薯 is a Chinese character that appeared some time around the 6th century CE. By that time, the Roman emperor Theodosius I had closed all non-Christian temples, so the last known Egyptian hieroglyphs were written some time around 400 ce. There is almost no overlap. In Chinese, 薯 was originally written 藷；薯 is a corrupt … Read more

Tangut Oh, you thought hanzi was bad? Tangut script, also known as the Western Xia script (西夏文), is a hanzi-inspired artificial script designed by Yeli Renrong, a high-ranking official of the Western Xia dynasty. There are roughly 5800 known chatacters, and the script was used between year 1036 and 1592. It borrows a lot of … Read more

How about this character? It looks like a face that is sad, tired, shocked, or embarrassed. In fact, it is used on chats and forums online to show those exact emotions. The character is pronounced jiǒng (ㄐㄩㄥˇ) and originally means “window,” but it also adopted the meaning of “bright.” I think it’s pretty funny, don’t … Read more

Can I use 豿 as an ultra traditional variant of 狗？ Not really. The original is 狗， as seen in 说文解字 the great etymological work, Shuowen Jiezi (which people who haven’t studied the book like to criticize). I read a lot of old books, and I love to read the old woodblock versions. I honestly … Read more

Before I explain, I would like to correct some other answers. This is rather new an expression and used very much in China, especially by the younger but not the elderly. It is a usage of sarcasm. 洋 means “foreign”/ “from foreign countries”. 洋葱、洋车、西洋、东洋 are some great examples where it is used in this meaning. … Read more

Why do the Chinese RMBs use characters like 壹圆 instead of 一元？ 一 is a simple character, right? Say I borrow Mr W’s pen and give him an IOU which says I owe him 一元。 I leave the IOU with Mr W, of course. No sooner have I left than Mr W takes that pen … Read more

Oh yes, the Koreans invented everything, including the Tamil language. Koreans even rode dinosaurs. They were the very first Chinese, and lived in China, just to confuse people. I know there are some supernationalistic Koreans who make up all sorts of ridiculous claims, and suspect that most Koreans are embarrassed by all that malarkey. If … Read more

What are the differences in use between laowai (老外) and waiguoren (外国人)? Is one of these more pejorative or colloquial? Originally Answered: What are the differences in use between laowai (老外) and waiguoren (外国人)? Waiguoren 外国人 is the standard term for “foreigner” or “foreign national”. In and of itself, waiguoren carries neither a negative nor … Read more