Questions tagged [chinese]

中国語. Although totally unrelated, the Chinese language has had perhaps a greater impact on the Japanese language than Latin has had on English, especially in the form of a vast number of loanwords and the writing system.

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How cross-applicable were Classical Chinese second-person pronouns to Japanese kanji?

I'm fairly certain there's a certain stigma surrounding second-person pronouns in Japanese. Even in Chinese, it's generally considered polite to avoid them (and refer to a person by surname, title, ...
dreamforge's user avatar
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Japanese names for Chinese swords?

I was wondering, what are the Japanese names for Chinese swords like the Dao and the Jian, surely there is a Japanese pronunciation of the Characters for said swords.
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What would be the Japanese Kanji equivalent of the Chinese character 涵?

I am trying to study Japanese Kanjis using my limited knowledge of Chinese language. Usually I can find a similar character (e.g. 国 → 国) or a very close one (e.g. 传 → 伝). But when there is no ...
vdegenne's user avatar
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Is it possible to make a Japanese name from my Chinese name?

my name is 陳銘聲 in Chinese but i'm not sure how to convert that into a Japanese name. I know there are probably a lot of variations. But I'm just interested in the way Japanese names are created.
Clarence Chan's user avatar
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1 answer
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Anyone has any idea why 狼狽 means "confusion/panic/consternation" when both kanjis are ways of saying "wolf"?

Basically, I'm asking if anyone knows of a possible etymological reason. Maybe it has to do with the ideogram itself, maybe it's a saying, but I'm not finding satisfying answers online. Apparently, in ...
Mary Zep's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
342 views

Is "先" an auto-antonym?

An auto-antonym is a word with multiple meanings (senses) of which one is the reverse of another. So apparently the kanji meaning of this word is "previous" or "past". This seems ...
Saha's user avatar
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Is kanban (看板) really the same in Japanese and Chinese?

At my company we use a kanban in our software development process. I speak Chinese and I know the word in Chinese as 看板 (kànbǎn in pinyin), 看 meaning "look" and 板 meaning "board". ...
Evelyn's user avatar
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How to Convert my Chinese name into Japanese? [duplicate]

I am Chinese. I want to know how to convert my Chinese name into Japanese. My Chinese is 蓝正吉.
Zheng Lam's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
270 views

Can I use my Chinese name as a Japanese name?

my name is 黃湞鈺 (Huáng Zhēn Yù) with 黃/Huáng as my surname and 湞鈺/Zhēn Yù as my given name, and I'm wondering is it possible to "translate" my Chinese name to a Japanese one? I'm well aware ...
Stephanie's user avatar
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259 views

波比不部保 ([B] sounds) → はひふへほ ([h] or [f] sounds)

Hiragana (平仮名 or 平假名) has its cursive form originated from the Chinese cursive form 草書. You can read from https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B9%B3%E4%BB%AE%E5%90%8D. Also https://www.hana300.com/aakana....
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Is Japanese に related to the Chinese character 仁?

Is Japanese に (pronounced as "ni") related to the Chinese character 仁 (pronounced as "ren" in Chinese mandarin)? Does the に have the root from the Chinese character 仁? They both ...
wonderich's user avatar
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1 answer
559 views

龍 安 寺 蹲 踞 『吾唯足知』 [closed]

¿ Can you trace the ancient Chinese roots of the sentence 吾 唯 足 知 。 In the 茶の湯 garden of 龍安寺 🇯🇵 there's a stone dubbed 蹲踞〔つくばい〕where there it's written on it :   五 矢 囗 隹   止 and the 囗 is a basin of ...
Routcheau's user avatar
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Were there any specifics rules that were used to convert Chinese vocabulary into Japanese? Are they still perceptible in Modern Chinese?

I know that when Chinese characters were incorporated into Japanese writing/vocabulary their pronunciation changed to be easier for Japanese people to pronounce, but were there any specific rules? ...
Elizabeth Middleford's user avatar
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213 views

How would my Chinese name be translated into Japanese? [duplicate]

My name in chinese is 金辰 (pronounced Jin Chen in mandarin),would I be able to use it properly in Japanese? I know a lot of Chinese names don't work at all, but I'm pretty sure the kanji for mine ...
Tsen's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
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What semantic notions underlie 和 and Japan?

I was reading about Wasei-kango, and am bemused why Japanese-made Chinese words is translated as 和製漢語. Why not 日本製漢語? How did 和 semantically shift to mean Japan then? Isn't this semantic shift ...
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Why is 及び being used to mean "a.k.a." in this sentence?

So this sentence in a Vtuber video (which has English and Chinese translation available) caught my interest: 今回の事件ははあちゃま及び赤井はあとがデビュー当初から秘められし能力を封印していたこと原因であり、すべてははあちゃまの責任です。 I initially went into ...
ujp1800's user avatar
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1 answer
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Can I use my Chinese name as my Japanese name version?

I'm a Chinese, and my name is 彭宏森. But I still confuse how to make it into a Japanese name version. So I was wondering how do I covert my name and how do I read it in Japanese. My Chinese name is ...
Iam's user avatar
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6 votes
1 answer
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What is the origin of word 勉強 meaning "to study/learn"?

As a native Chinese speaker, 勉强 means something very different (it means to be reluctant or forced to do something) for the same kanji/漢字. Might anyone know how it came to mean learning or studying in ...
mbjb's user avatar
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What is the etymology of the phrase 隴を得て蜀を望む?

I just came across this phrase, which is listed in the dictionary as: never being satisfied with what one gets, and always wanting more; giving someone an inch and having them take a mile; taking ...
Lou's user avatar
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4 votes
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Do the Japanese read Classical Chinese poems in Japanese or in on-readings?

The pros and cons of both approaches are obvious. 1) If you read by conversion into Japanese through kanbun, you get the sense. Meanwhile, you lose the rhythm, and sometimes it is not obvious what ...
Alexander Z.'s user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
611 views

Do all な-adjectives come from Chinese?

In this video it is said that "な-adjectives come from Chinese and tend to be written in all kanji or sometimes in hiragana because the original kanji is too complicated." But い-adjectives are written ...
Enguroo's user avatar
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9 votes
1 answer
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Are 变 and 変 the same?

Is there a difference between 变 and 変 or are they different versions of the same thing i.e. traditional/simplified?
bahrta sai's user avatar
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1 answer
470 views

What is the etymology of あした?

I speak Chinese as well as Japanese. In Chinese, the etymology for 明天 and 明日 are the same in written Chinese and spoken Chinese. This got me curious about the etymology in Japanese. In written ...
Karandora's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
637 views

Why don't the characters used for Japanese Kanji have the same meaning as those used in Chinese? (Chinese-Japanese false friends)

There are many words in French that are spelled identically to or very similarly to English words but the meanings are not the same. These words are called faux-amis (false friends) because they trick ...
Kantura's user avatar
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5 votes
2 answers
1k views

Are on’yomi words loanwords?

this is probably a silly question, but since words with multiple kanji are usually read with on’yomi would that effectively make most japanese vocabulary loanwords? like 森林 or 図書館?i understand ...
jacoballens's user avatar
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5 votes
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Kanji etymology of 毎?

what does 母 have to do with 毎? is there any link at all or did it come together randomly? does it have to do with the Chinese pronunciation?
jacoballens's user avatar
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6 votes
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How to read this sign and what it means?

A friend sent a picture he received from another friend of this framed parchment with some very flowery and old looking Japanese written on it asking me if I could read it and if I knew what it meant: ...
Reveiller's user avatar
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7 votes
1 answer
532 views

What is the difference between 中国人, 華人, 漢人, and 唐人?

I looked at the dictionary definitions of 中国人, 華人, 漢人, and 唐人, and it appears that all of them mean "Chinese person". Questions: What is the difference between them? Why are there so many ways of ...
Flux's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
324 views

What are the common practice of reading names of modern Chinese people?

From what I've seen from the Japanese Wikipedia, names of communist figures (Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Xi Jinping) seem to be read with on'yomi (Mou Takutou, Tou Shouhei, Shuu Kinpei). On the other ...
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Why 習近平 is しゅうきんぺい while 文在寅 is むんじぇいん?

In broadcasts, Japanese readings of kanji are used for Chinese names while Korean readings of kanji are used for Korean names. Is there any reason for this?
legogo's user avatar
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2 votes
0 answers
220 views

Which onyomi would be used for a Chinese name? [duplicate]

Let us pick a Chinese name with differently read kanji: 李清雲 The possible onyomi are: リ・ショウドン for Go’on リ・セイタン for Kan’on リ・シン(or チン)タン for Tousou’on Now we open the Japanese Wikipedia to learn ...
Alexander Z.'s user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
345 views

How would you write/pronounce the Japanese version of the following Chinese name?

This is the name: 陳威穎 (Chen Wei-Ying). I've always been curious about this topic because Japanese names are written in Kanji. However, they usually have 4 characters. So I wonder how would that ...
alex's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
197 views

I can't translate 天吼

Context: Mecha anime soundtrack. I know that 天 is akin to "heavenly," but I've never seen 吼 before, and I can't find a translation -- or even another use in Japanese -- online at all. In traditional ...
SilverbackNet's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
193 views

About 同形の別字 and its meaning

I am doing a research on differences between kanji and hanzi and accidentally stumbled across the term 同形の別字. The article that refers to it doesn't elaborate on its meaning. Does that term mean ...
Jun Kyre-chan's user avatar
10 votes
3 answers
1k views

If you learn the 2000 most common kanji, how many of the 2000 most common hanzi would you know?

For someone interested in learning both Japanese and Mandarin, how much overlap is there? How many more characters would you have to learn to know the 2000 most common hanzi?
temporary_user_name's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
709 views

Specific examples of tonal Chinese words rendered into Japanese

It is often said that Japanese contains a large number of homonyms because there was no way to render tonal Chinese words into Japanese. This makes complete sense. But I am looking for specific ...
kandyman's user avatar
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19 votes
5 answers
14k views

Can I use my Chinese name as my Japanese name?

Im Chinese and my name is 陈依仁 (Chén Yī Rén). Can I use this as my Japanese name, and if so how do I read it in Japanese? Or would it be better to use the Katakana version of my English name which is ...
chinsuujin's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
1k views

Does Korean hanja usage correspond to Japanese kun'yomi and on'yomi kanji usage?

For those who are versed in both Korean and Japanese. To add a bit of context, I've searched info on Korean hanja usage for some time, but none of the sources clearly stated that hanja may serve the ...
Jørgen Tau's user avatar
1 vote
4 answers
357 views

Is there a Japanese translation for the Chinese term, 超级?

In Chinese, 超级 means ‘super’. E.g 超级市场 means ‘supermarket’, or 超级战士 means ‘supersoldier’, etc etc. Of course, I've looked up each kanji separately, and it turns out that 超 is chō in Japanese and 级 ...
Anthony's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
4k views

Is there a list of Japanese characters that don't have equivalent roots in Chinese? [duplicate]

According to this answer: Almost all Japanese characters (in my experience >99%) are exist in Chinese. Few are changed a little, like 宮 and 宫. As a Chinese, I have no difficulty in recognizing ...
user avatar
13 votes
1 answer
2k views

Why is 犬 used to refer to "dog" in Japanese?

In Chinese there are two words that refer to "dog" - 狗 and 犬. In most use cases 狗 is more frequently used, as it refers to a specific dog. In Japanese however, 犬 is used exclusively. Did 狗 exist in ...
user avatar
8 votes
2 answers
1k views

meanings of 曖昧{あいまい} between Japanese and Chinese

曖昧{あいまい} is a shared term between Japanese and Chinese. As far as I know, they can both mean vague, ambiguous, obscure, or something that cannot be published into light. But there's another meaning ...
Val's user avatar
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2 votes
0 answers
234 views

Japanese student learning Chinese characters? [closed]

I've recently started to self-study Japanese. Some time ago I thought of studying Mandarin Chinese and bought a book (Tuttle Learning Chinese Characters, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/805242....
Anonhoch2_Hark's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
4k views

Japanese kanjis and Chinese characters: a request for comparative stroke order

Because the first stroke order for Chinese characters was codified in Han period, the sequence of strokes was a subject to change during the time. If my memory serves me right, even simplified and ...
CyberNeo's user avatar
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9 votes
1 answer
468 views

Kun Yomi of Chinese origin, like 竹 (take)

I have came across an English book on Ancient Japanese languages. (Sorry I forgot the book name) In the book, it says some Kun Yomi of Kanji actually come from early contact of Chinese languages. ...
OmniBus's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
1k views

Are Japanese people aware of the Chinese meanings of Kanji? [closed]

I'm not sure if I've got the right wording in the question, but it comes from playing around with translate.google.com. I was aware that Japanese and Chinese have similar (if not identical) ...
Richard A Quadling's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
934 views

Are there many ways to read kanji for names? [duplicate]

I've seen many different dictionaries and such, and many have a name section where you may put in any kanji. Because I have a Taiwanese origin, I have Chinese characters that can be used as kanji: 王元劭....
adaeo's user avatar
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7 votes
1 answer
221 views

Name of レ点 in 漢文

In 漢文, why is the レ used for レ点? Is it purely a graphic representation of returning to an earlier point in the text, or does レ stand for some word?
jogloran's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
506 views

Can I use my Chinese name and if so, how do I say it?

My Chinese name in Kanji is 王元劭 (Wang Yuan Shao). I've heard there are many different readings I can use for each kanji, am I allowed to use whichever reading I like? Also, apparently the character 劭 ...
adaeo's user avatar
  • 31
0 votes
1 answer
175 views

How to transliterate 中文 in Mandarin pronunciation to Japanese [closed]

I am working on an art project that I would like to collect the hundreds of different transliterations of 「中文」 zhōng wén in Mandarin Chinese. (Pronunciation available here: https://translate.google....
Lun's user avatar
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