Random new word of the day

[Dlezcano]

59 minutes ago, 大块头 said:

科学怪人

 

Interesting, in my circle I always heard it called 弗兰肯斯坦.

[889]

Your circle probably doesn't know the difference between Dr. Frankenstein and his monster.

[大块头]

I'll be referring to him as "science weirdo" from now on. 

 

It's probably worth mentioning that the article I encountered this word in (1) used it in a metaphorical sense and (2) was an original composition in Chinese (i.e. not a translation from English).

[roddy]

漸層 - gradient?

[Jim]

2 minutes ago, roddy said:

漸層 - gradient?

In geology isn't it?

[EnergyReaper]

I think 漸層 or 渐层 means Gradients in SVG(Scalable Vector Graphics, an XML-based markup language for describing two-dimensional based vector graphics)

[Jim]

Some cat comes up top of a Baidu search but didn't bother investigating how that came about

[Demonic_Duck]

Gradient in the graphic design meaning is usually 渐变, not 渐层.

[Jim]

Can't find the geology sense, think I was wrong there, but notice it's used for a gradient in hairdressing.

[EnergyReaper]

I found 漸層 here: 漸層

[Demonic_Duck]

17 minutes ago, EnergyReaper said:

I found 漸層 here: 漸層

 

I guess it's the Taiwan equivalent of 渐变 then (change zh-TW in the URL to zh-CN and you get 渐变).

[Jim]

悬鱼 and 惹草 - types of gable-end decoration in traditional architecture:

[889]

Of course there's a name for everything, and those interested in traditional Chinese architecture should check the many fascinating drawings in 梁思成 Liang Sicheng's works.

 

Just one example:

 

https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5f86/2edf/63c0/1777/3a00/03f0/slideshow/2.jpg?1602629336

[Jim]

I've been cribbing like crazy from the glossary in this book, which is also worth a look: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691159997/traditional-chinese-architecture

[889]

As a young scholar at 清华, 傅熹年 Fu Xinian was 梁思成 Liang Sicheng's 助手.

[Jim]

As chance would have it stuck the telly on just as I'm lone parenting the baby today, and caught a documentary on Liang Sicheng's work on the 营造法式  including site visits to make sense of the plethora of names.

[mungouk]

 

OK so it turns out "mingr" 明儿 actually is a word, albeit colloquial, and it means "tomorrow / one of these days / some day", which isn't actually such a bad name for a jewellery shop.

 

For those not versed in its British English usage and related terms:

 

Quote

 

minger | ˈmɪŋə |
noun British informal, derogatory
an unattractive or unpleasant person or thing.
ORIGIN
1990s: from minging.

minging | ˈmɪŋɪŋ |
adjective British informal
foul-smelling.
• very bad or unpleasant: the weather was minging.
ORIGIN
1970s: perhaps from Scots dialect ming ‘excrement’.

 

 

[889]

明儿 is common colloquially in Beijing and probably elsewhere. But I've never heard it pronounced ming-er. Instead the ng pretty much disappears and it sounds roughly like mere.

[mungouk]

7 minutes ago, 889 said:

Instead the ng pretty much disappears and it sounds roughly like mere.

 

More or less the same in Glasgow.

[Demonic_Duck]

9 minutes ago, 889 said:

明儿 Is common colloquially in Beijing and probably elsewhere. But I've never heard it pronounced ming-er. Instead the ng pretty much disappears and it sounds roughly like mere.

 

Standard erhua rules. -ng final turns into nasalization of the vowel.

 

There's also 今儿 and apparently 昨儿、前儿、后儿 too (though I can't recall hearing any of the latter three in the wild).