Western toilet vs. squat toilet

[drencrom]

What are the various words I would find on the mainland for sit-down toilet vs. the squatty? This has become an issue recently as I've been traveling a lot.

[imron]

For western toilet, consider 西式厕所.

[WestTexas]

squat toilet is 蹲厕

[drencrom]

西式厕所 is just a direct translation of "Western toilet". What do Chinese people call it?

Thanks, WestTexas.

[imron]

What do Chinese people call it?

The ones where I used to live called it 西式厕所.

[skylee]

I call it 座廁. But I guess 西式廁所 is also ok. The two types are called 洋式 and 和式 in Japanese.

[drencrom]

By searching around, I got:

坐便器

坐式马桶

座廁

but after getting burned several times, I never trust online sources. The only thing worse than learning is learning the wrong word. Nothing quite like a roomful of blank stares after you use a word you've been studying.

Anyone seen these used in the wild?

[gougou]

I remember seeing 坐式 vs. 蹲式 (followed by 马桶, I believe) used in a toilet somewhere that offered both kinds. Similar to here.

[aristeon]

The official name is 蹲廁, as you can see on Wikipedia

[ChTTay]

I can't remember the Chinese (what use is posting? I know!) but I've seen quite a few public toilets that call it "disabled toilet" (in English). Could always go down that route...

Maybe you would get equally blank or confused expressions though!

[abcdefg]

西式厕所 is just a direct translation of "Western toilet". What do Chinese people call it?

I most often hear 马桶。

Baidu image link: http://image.baidu.com/i?tn=baiduimage&ct=201326592&cl=2&lm=-1&st=-1&fm=&fr=&sf=1&fmq=1352308761385_R&pv=&ic=0&nc=1&z=&se=1&showtab=0&fb=0&width=&height=&face=0&istype=2&ie=utf-8&word=%E9%A9%AC%E6%A1%B6

[tooironic]

西式厕所 and 蹲厕 are correct and commonly used. Don't think too much.

[WestTexas]

Does 马桶 refer to all toilets in general or just western-style sit-down toilets?

[skylee]

I would call a wooden bucket serving the same purposes 馬桶.

[OneEye]

In Taiwan at least, I believe 馬桶 refers to a Western-style toilet, and I think 蹲廁 is used for a squat toilet. I've never asked for an explanation though, so it could be that 馬桶 is a more general term. 茅坑 generally refers to a latrine pit. But in the first episode of 智勝鮮師, after Confucius travels forward to the present time to become a high school 國文 teacher, he's looking for some water to drink and finds the bathroom in his apartment (containing a Western-style toilet, which he mistakenly calls a 水井). After taking a swig, the following dialogue ensues:

教官：什麼水井啊？那是馬桶！

孔子：馬桶？

教官：是茅坑！

孔子：呃？

教官：是拉屎的地方！

Hm...language exchange coming up this Wednesday, might make for an interesting topic.

[abcdefg]

Does 马桶 refer to all toilets in general or just western-style sit-down toilets?

In Kunming it seems to clearly convey "western-style sit down toilet." The reason I know is from apartment hunting over the past five or six years there. It was always something I wanted to inquire about. There may, of course, be other ways to say it. That piece of vocabulary was not picked up in an academic setting.

Last year and this year, however, I have a 蹲厕。No big deal. I started out saying 蹲的厕所， but realized that was unnecessary and clumsy.

[xiaocai]

In Sichuan I think we usually say 坐厕 and 蹲厕, respectively. But other terms like (抽水)马桶, 座便器, 茅坑, can be understood.