Monday, February 20, 2023

What does the Chinese word 走水 (주수) literally mean?

 ANSWER: "running () water ()"

So, when the Chinese use 走水 (주수) to mean "to leak" or "to flow," it makes sense, but when they also use it to mean "to catch fire" or "to be on fire," it does not make sense.

This image comes from HERE.

No wonder only 1.3 billion people in the world speak Chinese. 

Friday, February 10, 2023

How do the Chinese say, "I'm not in love"?

ANSWER: Well, at least according to the following song, they say, "I ( 아) have not (沒有 몰유) fallen into (墜入 추입) the river of love (愛河 애하)."
By the way, "the river of love" is an obstacle on the path to enlightenment.

Sunday, February 05, 2023

What does 외양간 (喂養間) mean?

 ANSWER: a stable

The  (외) in 喂養間 (외양간) means "to feed [animals or babies], means "to raise [animals or children], and (간) means "a room," so 외양간 (喂養間) literally means "a room to feed and raise animals."

Strangely, however, my Korean-English dictionary does not show 외양간 (喂養間) as a Sino-Korean word, though my Korean-Korean dictionary does. And my Chinese character dictionary (옥편) does not even show the character (외), which causes me to wonder why since 외양간 (喂養間) is a pretty common Korean word.

Also, only Koreans seem to use 喂養間 (외양간) to mean "a stable." The Chinese word for "a stable" is 馬房 (마방), which literally means "a horse () room ()" or "a horse house."

And, finally," the Chinese also use the character "" (외) to mean "hello," at least when they answer the telephone. So, "" (외) is the Chinese equivalent of the Korean word 여보시오.

()()()()()()()()候,()()()"喂."()

"When the Chinese answer the phone (中國人接電話的時候), [they] first () say (), 'Wéi ().'"