Why does 的士 (적사) mean "taxi" in China?
ANSWER: Apparently because its Chinese pronunciation is similar to that of the English word "taxi" /dīshì/.
The Chinese word 的士 (적사) can also be shortened to just 的 /dī/, as in the words 的哥 (적가) and 的姐 (적저), which literally mean "taxi (的) elder brother (哥)" and "taxi (的 elder sister (姐)." In other words, 的哥 translates as "male taxi driver," and 的姐 as "female taxi driver."
But what does 的哥的姐 (적가적저) mean when they are written together? Does the combination mean "male taxi drivers (的哥) and female taxi drivers (的姐)? Or does it mean "a male taxi driver's (的哥的) elder sister (姐)"?
By the way, the Chinese word 的確 (적확) means "in fact" or "really." Why? Probably because when foreigners see the word, many of them might say to themselves, "Com'on! Really?" Yes, really.
Koreans even use 적확 (的確), though they use it to mean "precise," "accurate," or "exact," which is the same meaning for 정확 (正確), the more popular Korean word.
Finally, if you add 高 (고), the character for "high," to 的士 (적사), the Chinese word for "taxi," you get 的士高 (díshìgāo), which is the Chinese word for "disco." Why? Because it sounds similar to the English pronunciation of "disco."
