Americans are fond of referring to their country as "the greatest nation on earth". Until recently, I didn't believe any country deserved that description. But today I think there is a strong contender for the title.

China is the world's oldest living civilisation. It has recovered from over a century of colonial oppression and lifted its citizens out of poverty. As its growth continues, China is poised to become the world's largest economy and a technology leader that is second to none. By 2030, I believe it will be an indisputable fact that China is the greatest nation on earth.

I need to understand China, from a Chinese perspective. This is my journey.

Tuesday, 4 January 2022

OCD Rant - 2 (儿子 Érzi And 女儿 Nǚ'ér, 妻子 Qīzi And 丈夫 Zhàngfū)

Today's rant is about the inconsistencies in naming family members.

Simply put, some of the words end in 子 zi, while others don't. I fail to understand why.

The generic term 孩子 háizi for "child" ends in a 子 zi, and so does the word 儿子 érzi ("son"), but the word for "daughter" doesn't end in 子 zi. It's 女儿 nǚ'ér.

Equally frustratingly, the word 妻子 qīzi for "wife" ends in a 子 zi, but the word 丈夫 zhàngfū for "husband" doesn't.

The words 男孩 nánhái for "boy" (literally "male child") and 女孩 nǚhái for "girl" (literally "female child") are consistent with each other, and are also consistent with the generic 孩子 háizi ("child" or "children").

So why aren't the words for "son" and "daughter" consistent?

Grrr!

1 comment:

  1. 「子」是常见后缀,比如房子,票子,瓶子,老子等等,在这里没有实际意义。

    语言的演化作用应该是大于规则应用的;
    「儿」是孩子之意,比如儿童、小儿,不特指男孩子,如果做个统计,古代提到这个字应该是大部分用在男孩上;
    后来女性地位提高,社会参与增加,就有必要加以区分,加入性别「女」来限定修饰,变成「女儿」。

    同样的还有「他们」,有男性就用这个,全是女性才是「她们」。

    另外,「儿女」「子女」指儿子和女儿,二字并列,没有主次之分,同样的还有「妻子zǐ」则也是并列,指妻子「zi」和孩子,「妻女」指妻子和女儿。

    对于「丈夫」,主要在「夫」,「夫妻」;
    「丈」是古代长度单位,现在也在用,用在身体上,高大伟岸才是理想的结婚对象,如大丈夫、女中丈夫;
    「丈」也用在「妻子」的父亲是「岳父」「岳丈」,「岳」是高山的意思;
    「夫子」是在古代是对有学问的人的尊称,主要是老师,也可以是年长者。

    ReplyDelete