Chinese: extremely rich in synonyms?

[imron]

Exactly, and I think it's a bit of a stretch to claim these as "words" in Chinese, otherwise you could say Chinese has an infinite number of "words" e.g. 一年两次的, 一年三次的, 一年四次的, etc.

[null]

i've got the feeling that Chinese is trying to translate every single English word (into one word) now:roll:

for example,just a couple of years ago,i couldnt find any Chinese equivalent for 'gainsboro'(a kind of gray color),but there are at least three now:

gainsboro:

1.淡灰色(liberal translation)

2.庚斯博罗灰色(transliteration)

3.赶死部落(a witty translation,lol)

maybe it's a tendency,but it makes sick sometimes,maybe we can have a word for ployglot months later,talking about vocabulary abusement:evil:

[null]

Exactly, and I think it's a bit of a stretch to claim these as "words" in Chinese, otherwise you could say Chinese has an infinite number of "words" e.g. 一年两次的, 一年三次的, 一年四次的, etc.

i agree,but the problem is,many expressions in Chinese are legal words

if 一年两次的,一年三次的 etc. are not words,what about '双年展'?this is definitely a word.

and there would be 三年展，四年展，五年展....

a simpler example would be 一天、两天、三天......（无穷大)天

[imron]

Then by such a definition how is "the day after tomorrow" not a "word"?

what about '双年展'?this is definitely a word.

Not according to 现代汉语词典.

[null]

现代汉语词典？

you can't find many 'simple words' in Chinese dictionaries since lots of words are 望文生义的。

if a dictionary has an entry for 灰色(gray),it wont have an entry for '灰颜色'.

i guess you can't find 小狗（puppy）,小猫(kitten) etc in chinese dictionaries either,but they are definitely words.

双年展 （Biennale）是由意大利文所转过来的一个名词，目前广泛的指两年一期的重要艺术展览。目前最重要的双年展是意大利威尼斯双年展。

Then by such a definition how is "the day after tomorrow" not a "word"?

in which sense?

[imron]

in which sense?

In the sense that if the multi-word phrase '一年两次的' can be treated as a word, then why not "the day after tomorrow".

Actually, to me, neither of these are words even though they both express a single concept.

[null]

they act as adverbs but i'd call them expressions now

anywa, what do you think of these:

轻轻地，狠狠地、重重地.......

are these words?

PS:i have already posted my questions in the PKUCN forums:wink:

[imron]

轻轻地，狠狠地、重重地.......

are these words?

I am not a linguist, but I would probably say that each of those expressions contains two words, an adjective plus 地, which converts it into an adverbial phrase. Although perhaps someone with a deeper understanding of Chinese grammar can explain further?

i have already posted my questions in the PKUCN forums

Can you also post the link here, so that those interested can follow the discussion there too.