Not Nicky Posted February 27, 2017 at 02:18 PM Report Posted February 27, 2017 at 02:18 PM I learnt 预防 ages ago, but skritter gave me 妨碍 recently. Took me a while to realise and get the difference clear in my head. Then I looked back and realised oh my god the meanings and writing of the two fang2 are so similar, why are they even different?! Are there any other examples like this that make you despair at your commitment to studying this crazy tongue? How do you 分清楚? 1 Quote
Shelley Posted February 27, 2017 at 04:03 PM Report Posted February 27, 2017 at 04:03 PM I would disagree that they are so similar. 防 to protect, defend, to guard against. 妨 hinder, harm. These seem to me quite different. As a word 预防 to prevent, to take precautions, to protect, to guard against. 妨碍 to hinder or obstruct. IMHO these are quite different. Quote
Not Nicky Posted February 27, 2017 at 04:18 PM Author Report Posted February 27, 2017 at 04:18 PM Right. I think I left out the most important part, and now look a bit dumb. I wasn't confused about 预防 and 妨碍. I had kind of vaguely assumed they used the same "fang2". They both seem to have the "stopping something" idea so I just glossed over it, didn't think about the writing so didn't realise until it 预防 came up again. Are there any other examples of characters that are really similar/identical phonetically and/or orthographically with sort of tricky or confusing differences in meaning? Quote
Publius Posted February 27, 2017 at 04:46 PM Report Posted February 27, 2017 at 04:46 PM The left part of 防 is 阜 'mound'. The original meaning of 防 is 隄/堤 'dyke'. 《管子》曰：大者為之堤，小者為之防。 The left part of 妨 is 女 'female'. The original meaning of 妨 is 害 'harm'. Why female is harmful is anyone's guess. Maybe because girls distract boys from studying. They both mean stopping something but the question is in a good way or in a bad way. Quote
Demonic_Duck Posted February 28, 2017 at 03:35 AM Report Posted February 28, 2017 at 03:35 AM Yes, there are a ton like this, with differing levels of crossover in meaning, sound, and form. 佳/嘉 支/枝 消/销 秘/密 和/合 溶/熔 Not the best examples, just a few off the top of my head. Thing is, in almost all of these cases (though I guess not with 妨 and 防), they turn out to have diverged from the same etymological root. 2 Quote
Daniel Tsui44 Posted February 28, 2017 at 03:44 AM Report Posted February 28, 2017 at 03:44 AM You may also want to check the words "订金" and "定金". You may lose tonnes of money if you use the wrong word. There are two many words in Chinese that can be used with a wrong character with the same pronunciation, native Chinese do it all the time. Quote
Not Nicky Posted March 4, 2017 at 11:19 AM Author Report Posted March 4, 2017 at 11:19 AM Right, nice examples thanks all. Found another one that always breaks my heart a bit, 权利 and 权力. Thanks especially for the financial advice, @Daniel Tsui44! Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and select your username and password later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.