Of all the Chinese words for “stingy; miserly” (and there are many if you look up Wiktionary under 吝嗇 dialectal synonyms), my favorite is probably the Cantonese word 孤寒 “gu1 hon4” 孤寒 literally means “alone and cold” which I find poignant even poetic and reminds me of this Tang poem 江雪 by 柳宗元

This reminds me of another poem from the Book of Songs《詩經》國風：王風 · 黍離 知我者、謂我心憂， 不知我者、謂我何求。 悠悠蒼天、此何人哉。 Those who know me, whisper I bear sorrows; Those who don’t know me, ask what I seek. O distant Heaven, tell me what man (has brought us to this despair).

I love Cantonese-Mandarin 粤式普通話 For example, 這是什麼來的 (what is this?) which ends with 來的 is not standard Mandarin from the north, but Mandarin influenced by the Cantonese construction 呢個係乜嘢嚟嘅 (what is this?) in which 嚟嘅 (synonym of 來的) serves as a modal particle to strengthen the tone of the sentence

My favorite use of 嗨： 自嗨 or 自high (“self-high”) 😅 This term started out as an internet slang around 2010 and is now widely used colloquially with a range of meanings—to get excited or hyper by oneself; to amuse or have fun by oneself; being self-indulgent or narcissistic 川普自嗨 Trump “self-high”

A big pet peeve of mine: using the character 游 for 遊 (旅游 instead of 旅遊) The original form of this word “travel” in oracle bone and bronze inscriptions is 斿 (a child holding a flag and traveling) Later scripts added 辶 (walk) → 遊 (travel) and 氵(water) → 游 (swimming) to differentiate the two meanings

In Taiwan, the Mandarin term 嗆聲 qiàng shēng or simply 嗆 means “to loudly provoke or confront” TIL 嗆聲 is actually derived from the Taiwanese term 唱聲 chhiàng-siaⁿ which means “to threaten” In Hokkien, chhiàng (唱) means “to call out with a loud voice”

Only 6 elements are directly named after countries. Somehow France (Gallia) got named twice😅 Francium (Fr): 鍅 Fǎ (TW); 钫 fānɡ (CN) Gallium (Ga): 鎵/镓 jiā Germanium (Ge): 鍺/锗 zhě Nihonium (Nh): 鉨/鿭 nǐ Polonium (Po): 釙/钋 pō Ruthenium (Ru): 釕/钌 liǎo

In 1722 黃叔璥 Huang Shujing, a Mandarin-speaking Qing official, arrived Taiwan where he spent 2 years. He recorded in 臺海使槎錄 “Records from the mission to Taiwan and its Strait” (1736) how the language spoken by Taiwanese was totally unintelligible—like barbarian gibberish and birds talking (鴃舌鳥語，全不可曉)

In 1722 黃叔璥 Huang Shujing, a Mandarin-speaking Qing official, arrived Taiwan where he spent 2 years. He recorded in 臺海使槎錄 “Records from the mission to Taiwan and its Strait” (1736) how the language spoken by Taiwanese was totally unintelligible—like barbarian gibberish and birds talking (鴃舌鳥語，全不可曉)

In Hokkien/Taiwanese, bô-siáⁿ-mih 無啥物 (not have what) is used to mean “it doesn’t matter; that’s all right; never mind” (synonymous with 沒什麼 or 沒關係 in Mandarin) In Mandarin, méishénme 沒什麼 (have not what; nothing) can also be used to mean “don’t mention it; it’s a pleasure; you’re welcome”

Tang poet Liu Yuxi 劉禹錫 (772–842) wrote in 秋詞 "Autumn Song" 自古逢秋悲寂寥 我言秋日勝春朝 晴空一鶴排雲上 便引詩情到碧霄 Since ancient times, autumns are met with sadness and loneliness I say autumn days outshine spring morns As a crane soars above the clouds in clear skies My poetic sentiments are drawn to the azure heavens

A meditation by W.S. Merwin on nature and the inevitability of change in life, as he speaks directly to the light of September: you appear to be only a name that tells of you but they all know that you have come you who fly with them the whispering birds the fallen blue plums perfect in the dew

Interestingly, 港 (káng) in Taiwanese, besides meaning harbor (most common) or stream (dated), is also used as a classifier for fluids like water or wind which coincidentally is similar to how “stream” is used as a measure word in English (eg, a stream of tears) Example 台語：電風捘(tsūn)較細港一下 華語：電風扇轉小一點

TIL the Mongolian word тайван is a loan word from Chinese 太平 (tàipíng) and it means “peace,” “calmness,” and “tranquility” Interestingly, in Bulgarian “Тайван” means Taiwan. These two words are unrelated and just happened to have the same spelling in Cyrillic So in that spirit, тайван No. 1 😉

Love these ideographic compound variant characters for "Buddha" 佛(仏) 西域哲人 Sage of the Western Region 自覺 Self-awakening or enlightenment 西國人 Person of the Western Kingdom 西天人 Person of the Western Heaven 天國人 Person of the Heavenly Kingdom 😇 Image from: 白玉庵 account on Twitter @Hakugyokuan

Okay, hear me out. In Hawaiian, Mahalo means thanks. In Taiwan’s indigenous Saisiyat (賽夏), ma'alo' means thanks and it comes from the root word 'alo' meaning blessing. In Hawaiian, it’s Aloha (good wishes) 📷 Austronesian Languages (Cognation & Comparison) FB

A wild Rose of Sharon at the trail I learned today the Rose of Sharon is native to southern China, Taiwan, and India. It was introduced to Europe in the 16th century. The name “rose of Sharon” first appeared in the Song of Solomon 2:1 (KJV, 1611) #沙崙玫瑰

Friend brought over some figs grown in their backyard. They are so good! 😊 #無花果 台語：bû-hua-kó

In Taiwan 伴手禮 refers to gifts, usually local specialties bought on a trip that one brings back. 伴手禮 is derived from the Taiwanese term “phuānn-tshiú” 伴手 (gift) Another similar Taiwanese term is “tán-lōo” 等路 (gift) which is the word our family used

There comes a day when the trees refuse to let you pass until you name them. -Lisel Mueller, from "Your Tired, Your Poor" #everynightapoem #fragment

“Home is where the heart is at peace” 此心安處是吾鄉 —from a poem by Song poet Su Shi 蘇軾 (1037–1101) 常羨人間琢玉郎，天應乞與點酥娘。盡道清歌傳皓齒，風起，雪飛炎海變清涼。 
萬裡歸來顏愈少，微笑，笑時猶帶嶺梅香。試問嶺南應不好，卻道：此心安處是吾鄉。 宋 · 蘇軾《定風波 · 南海歸贈王定國侍人寓娘》

TIL the Japanese named it tsunami 津波 (lit: harbor wave) because fishermen didn’t notice the tsunami passing them in the ocean until they returned to the harbor and found their village totally devastated by the full force of the waves hitting shallow waters

Interesting thread on the “original” (pre-Han) meaning of 灋 In bronze inscription 灋 meant “to follow the example of” (效法); later (during Spring & Autumn and Warring States) it was also used as a homophonic substitute (通作) for 廢 which meant “great” (大) or “abandon” (背棄) depending on the context

Si tuviera que morir mil veces allí quiero morir: si tuviera que nacer mil veces allí quiero , cerca de la araucaria salvaje, del vendaval del viento sur, de las campanas recién compradas. Pablo Neruda "Que despierte el leñador" 若我必須死上一千次 我願死在那裡 若我必須生上一千次 我願誕生在那裡 我那小小多山的國家 焚－鄭南榕殉道二十周年紀錄片 (2009)

Interestingly, the original meaning of the character 吃 (⿰口乞 or ⿰口气) means “to stutter” in which the phonetic component 乞 (气) could also add part of the meaning since it has the phonetically borrowed meaning of "begging" (i.e., trying to talk but with difficulties)

𘜶𗗚𗓰𗾟，𗱕𗋽𗰖𘏚 "The great sea is vast and deep, all the waters are gathered there" RIP Mr. West 🙏

Interestingly in the Japanese-Taiwanese dictionary 日臺小辭典 / 臺灣總督府編 (1908), under the Japanese entry 欝憂 ウッ ユウ (utsu yū), the corresponding Taiwanese words are written as: 欝悶 ウッ ブヌ (utsu-bun) 憂悶 イウ ブヌ (iu-bun) 憂欝 イウ ウッ (iu-utsu)

廣東話是鳥語 Cantonese is “bird language” ? Well, listen for yourself how the phrase 各個國家有各個國家嘅國歌 (Every country has its national anthem) sounds like in Cantonese and decide for yourself! 🐓🐓🐓😂 youtube.com/shorts/aRLXl...

A case in which both Japanese and Taiwanese/Hokkien preserved Middle Chinese pronunciation? 憂鬱 in Japanese is pronounced /yūutsu/ from MC 'juw 'jut In Taiwanese this compound word 憂鬱 is pronounced /ut-tsut/ which is written today as 鬱悴 or 鬱卒 (憂鬱 can be also read as /iu-ut/ in literary reading 文讀音)

This "bird talk" reminds me of the homophonic piece 季姬擊雞記 (Ji Ji Ji Ji Ji) or “Ji Ji hit the chicken” written in the style of Classical Chinese by the linguist 趙元任 Chao Yuen Ren (1892 - 1982) #普通話也是鳥語 youtu.be/r7t02I0gtmU?...

When written in cursive, the Kanji 喜 (happy, joyful) looks like 㐂 which resembles the number 七十七 (seventy-seven) written vertically. This is why one's 77 birthday is called 喜寿 (Kiju) in Japan and celebrated as a milestone for longevity

臺灣笑話集 by 川合真永 (1915) a collection of Taiwanese jokes written in vernacular Taiwanese with Japanese translation It’s incredible to me how the Japanese could write Taiwanese in Chinese characters so well back when Taiwanese themselves weren’t doing it

Auspicious kanji of the day (7/7/2025): 㐂 a triplication of 七 (seven) which is a variant of 喜 based on the cursive script of 喜 and pronounced the same way 㐂 means “happy”, “joy” and is often used in shop signs or product names in Japan Lucky 7 x 3 😇

經濟 (economy) is one of many 和製漢語 “Japanese-made Chinese words” that 梁啟超 Liang Qichao (1873-1929) borrowed from the Japanese and introduced to the Chinese lexicon of his time through his writings He used 經濟 in his essay “On Freedom” 論自由 (1902)

Ueda Kazutoshi 上田萬年 (1867-1937), who studied linguistics in Germany and has been called father of modern Japanese linguistics, was a believer of one country 國家, nation 民族 & language 言語, and a major proponent of a standard Japanese “national language” 國語 One of his early work is the book 國語論 (1895)

Came across this cool writing style called 三及第 “Saam Kap Dai” which combines classical Chinese, standard Chinese, & written Cantonese. 三及第 was popular in Hong Kong in the 1940s-60s An example of 三及第 from 經紀日記 (c. 1940-50s) by 經紀拉 (三蘇、高雄)

Love how 仁 is composed of 亻(human) and 二 (two; also can be an iteration mark for亻as in two or more people), highlighting the relationship between people. 仁 is thus often paired with the character 愛 (仁愛 benevolence; humaneness) or 慈 (仁慈 kindness; compassion) An ancient variant of 仁 is 忈 “two hearts”

Love this Canto phrase 見攰就唞 gin3 gui6 zau6 tau2 “feel tired then rest” cuz it illustrates how Cantonese uses words differently from other Sinitic languages 見 here doesn’t mean “to see” but “to feel” 攰 means “tired” 就 means “then” 唞 means “to rest”

TIL during Japanese rule (1895-1945), the Japanese referred to local Han people in Taiwan as 本島人 (islanders) while Japanese in Taiwan were called 內地人 (mainlanders) 本島人 later transitioned into 本省人 (in-province ppl) to distinguish from 外省人 (out-province ppl) who came from mainland China after WWII

是誰傳下這詩人的行業 黃昏裹掛起一盞燈 啊，來了 有命運垂在頸間的駱駝 有寂寞含在眼裹的旅客 是誰掛起的這盞燈啊 曠野上，一個矇矓的家 微笑看…… 有松火低歌的地方啊 有燒酒羊肉的地方啊 有人交換著流浪的方向… 鄭愁予《野店—邊塞組曲之二》

I’m fascinated how 荔鏡記 (c.1566) uses a mix of Choânchiu (泉州音) & Teochew (潮州音) to tell the story of 陳三 from 泉州 and 五娘 from 潮州 and how we don’t know who wrote this earliest literary work in Hokkien In this example 林厝托媒婆求𡥘𡚸, 𡥘𡚸 (潮州: cua7 bhou2) is used instead of 𤆬某 (泉州: chhōa-bó͘) for “to take a wife”

In Taiwanese, traditionally last names are said in colloquial pronunciation (白話音) and personal names in literary pronunciation (文讀音) But there are plenty of exceptions to the above general rules: 馬英九 Má Ing-kiú (both 馬 & 九 are literary) 陳水扁 Tân Tsuí-pínn (all three characters are colloquial)

This is some passage by Xunzi 荀子 (3rd century BCE) on natural phenomena and the role of human rituals 雩而雨，何也？曰：無佗也，猶不雩而雨也。日月食而救之，天旱而雩，卜筮然後決大事，非以為得求也，以文之也。故君子以為文，而百姓以為神。以為文則吉，以為神則凶也。 Thus gentlemen consider [these rituals] as decoration, while the common people think it's the work of the Divine.

People may be surprised to learn it was the Japanese when they ruled Taiwan (1895-1945) who first systematically wrote vernacular Taiwanese using Chinese characters (漢字) in dictionaries, magazines, and Taiwanese learning manuals such as those for Japanese police 《臺灣語通信研究會》鷲田敬太郎 所著〈司獄用語〉明治42年 (1909)

Hokkien words of the day* 有影 ū-iáⁿ (literally: has shadow) meaning real or true 無影 bô-iáⁿ (literally: has no shadow) meaning not real or false Derived phrases meaning “really?” or “seriously?” (Mandarin: 真的嗎?) 敢有影 kám-ū-iáⁿ 有影無 ū-iáⁿ--bô *Hakka and Teochew also share the use of 有影、無影

In the first Taiwanese translation of the New Testament Bible in Pe̍h-ōe-jī (POJ, 白話字) by Dr. James L. Maxwell (published 1875), the Lord’s Prayer ends with “sim só͘ goān” 心所願 (so be it) This is why in earlier days many Taiwanese churches would say “sim só͘ goān” 心所願 to end a prayer instead of Amen 阿門

The Lord’s Prayer (Gospel of Matthew 6: 9-13) in Classical Chinese (文言文) from 禆治文-克陛存譯本 (1859) Interestingly the prayer in the right photo (c. 1889) ends with 誠心所願 (let it be so) instead of 亞孟 (Amen). By tradition 誠心所願 (sing4 sam1 so2 jyun6) is used in Cantonese (HK) at the end of prayers

Interestingly the character 雫 ⿱雨下 is also considered a variant for 𬻊 ⿱ 天下 in Sawndip (𭨡𮄫) or 方塊壯字(Zhuang) used by Zhuang people (壯族) in South China (mainly Guangxi) In Sawndip 𭨡𮄫 (Zhuang): 𡗶 ⿱ 天上 gwnz ("above") 𬻊 ⿱ 天下 laj ("below") 📸Sawndip Sawdenj 古壯字字典 (Zhuang-Chinese Character Dictionary) 1989

So interesting how Vietnam adapted Chinese characters to create new characters to represent Vietnamese (Chữ Nôm 𡨸喃): 𡗶 ⿱ 天上 trời ("sky") 𠳒 ⿰口𡗶 lời ("word; utterances") Also in Sawndip 𭨡𮄫 (Zhuang): 𡗶 ⿱ 天上 gwnz ("above") 𬻊 ⿱ 天下 laj ("below")

Today I learned 雫 was used in “Dictionary of the Hok-këèn Dialect” (Medhurst, 1832) for the word “nóa” which means “to knead with the hands” This dictionary was based on an earlier native Hokkien (漳州 Cheng-chù) syllabary 彙集雅俗通十五音 (謝秀嵐, 1818) which used 雫 for “nóa” h/t to: Maxim Persikov on Twitter