How do you say "collocation" in Chinese

bob · February 21, 2008, 8:35am

I’ve got “da4pei1” or “lien yong” (dunno the tones) but haven’t a spit whether either is correct not. Thanks kids.

Dragonbones · February 21, 2008, 8:58am

da1pei4 搭配 is correct AFAIK. It appears in the title of my “Dictionary of English Collocations” 英語搭配詞典 ying1yu3 da1pei4 ci2dian3, for instance, and ABCC defines da1pei4 as collocation, among other things.

ironlady · February 21, 2008, 1:55pm

My dictionary of Chinese collocations uses the same term “dapei”.

bob · February 21, 2008, 2:38pm

Bingo. (as per…)

Tyc00n · February 21, 2008, 3:10pm

How do you say it in English?

bob · February 21, 2008, 3:24pm

Dunno. Might be col (short o) location or co (long o silent l) location. I prefer co location as words that collocate are frequently co-located. That is what the word means. Pretty sure my pronunciation is “wrong” as they say. Could consult a dictionary I suppose…

Taffy · February 21, 2008, 4:19pm

My German Literature tutor at university (who was half German and half Home Counties - spoke very “proper” English) is the only person I’ve ever heard actually say this word - and she used it all the time. “Coll-ocation” (short “o”) was her plummy pronunciation.

Tyc00n · February 21, 2008, 4:23pm

I think from instinct, that if its double ‘l’, it is coll-ocation, but if it were single ‘l’ it would be co-location.

co-laborate
coll-ingwood
coll-ect
co-operate
co-found

bob · February 21, 2008, 5:16pm

Oh for pete’s sake. It would not even be possible to say coll ocation without straining a gonad. It might be col lo ca tion but if it is I seek to remedy that stunned fact. I did an etymology search on collocation (have apparently become the kind of person who does etymology searches) and discovered that, like a day with no weather, collocation has no etymology. It is, as it were, unetymoligizable. I did discover a new word though which I thought was, well, new…

“Etymology” by the way is “ci2yuan2xue2.” Isn’t that just too easy? I feel like I am cheating.

Dragonbones · February 22, 2008, 3:36am

I don’t think it’s that simple. I believe the more common term is 字源學 zi4yuan2xue2, the study of the origin of characters (such as how 已 yi3 ‘already’ derives from 己 ji3, now used for ‘self’). The character is the more fundamental unit of writing, and is more revered in Chinese culture than the
詞

(辭)
ci2, compound word (like xiao3jie3). I assume one would use ci2yuan2xue2 only if specifically limiting the meaning to the study of the origins of compound words such as 伙伴 huo3ban4 ‘companion’ (historically, variously 火伴, 伙伴 and 夥伴).

There’s an interesting story behind this last group, btw – it’s thought to derive from the practice of 10 or so soldiers sharing a cooking 火 fire in an army camp, so the other soldiers in your group are your 火伴 huo3ban4, lit. ‘fire mates’. Later, the 人 ren2 bu4shou3 was added, and this is the way I write it. The third form, using 夥, is a variant form based on a character created to represent a regional pronunciation of the word 多 duo1. Since it was pronounced huo3 in one area, the phonetic compound 夥 was created, and this was used to refer to many people or a group. Since 伙伴 no longer referred to actual fire mates, but rather mates in a group, the new compound, with the same pronunciation as 伙, made just as much sense, and became a variant way (not really a phonetic loan, since the meaning was also suitable) to write this ci2. The two are still in use side by side today, but 伙 is the etymologically more conservative choice, while I think 火 is obsolete.

bob · February 22, 2008, 3:46am

Indeed.

Hey, got any idea how to say “euphemism.”

My dictionary doesn’t list this word. Maybe the whole language is a euphemism?

Or maybe an antagonym. Euphatagonym?

These things confuse me generally.

sjcma · February 22, 2008, 4:42am

委婉 wei3wan3

Dragonbones · February 22, 2008, 6:20am

But this might confuse him, since AFAIK ‘euphemism’ is a noun, whereas wei3wan3 is an adjective (stative verb) meaning ‘tactfully indirect’, no? If he’s looking for plug-and-play he might need 委婉的說法 ‘wei3wan3de shuo1fa3’, a ‘tactfully indirect way to say (sth.)’, no?

bob · February 22, 2008, 8:06am

[color=red]
Note: I started a music term thread.
[/color]

Thanks guys. I’m making flashcards with the the vocab I need to make studying with music a more productive experience, so am coming across lots of liguistics terminology in the process. I’ll go with “wei3wan3 de5 shuo1 fa3” as it’s easy enough to drop the “shuo1fa3”

If anybody is wants to take a crack at the following long and likely to grow list I’d be awestruck, flabergasted, eternally grateful and a host of other adjectives. Most of the words are dic checked but it never hurts to double check and perhaps there’s something here other’s could use as well…
The ones with a * are “not” reality checked as of yet.

Analyze - fen1xi1
Tempo - pai1ze5
Lyric - ge1ci2
Bass - di1yin1
Genre - lei4xing2
Chorus - fu4ge5*
Verse (as opposed to chorus) - ?
Instrument - ?
Play (an instrument) - yan3zou4*
Pitch - ying1gao1*
Poetry - shi1
Poet - shi1ren2
Style - feng1ge2
Song - ge1
Songbook - ge1ben3*
Song writer - liu2xing2 ge1qu3 zuo4zhe3*
Song Title - ge1 ming2
Morphology - ?
Suffix - zi2wei3
Prefix - zi4shou3
Idiom - pian4yu3
Flow - liu2
Metaphor - bi3yu4
mnemonic - bang1zhu4 ji4yi4
Rhythm - jie2zou4
Rhyme -ya1yun4
Symbolize - dai4biao3
Collection - shou1ji2
Colloquial - kou3yu3hua4 de hua4*
Slang - li3yu3
Theme - zhu3ti2 (message)
hua4ti2 (topic)
Saxaphone - ?
Melody (vocal characteristic) - ?
Performance - biao3yan3
Commitment - ?
Create - zhuang4zao4
Describe - miao2shu4/ xing2rong2
Fascinate - mi2zhu4*
Fascinating - mi1ren2 de*
Fantasy - huan4xiang3
Bass (drum) - ?
Snare (drum) - ?
Cymbal - ?
Struggle - zheng1zha2

sjcma · February 22, 2008, 2:43pm

委婉 wei3wan3[/quote]

But this might confuse him, since AFAIK ‘euphemism’ is a noun, whereas wei3wan3 is an adjective (stative verb) meaning ‘tactfully indirect’, no?[/quote]
Yes, but I think it means literally “to bend (gracefully)”, which is then extended to mean many things depending on context, including “tactfully indirect”.

Yes, or he can use any number of nouns following wei3wan3, such as 委婉語 (wei3wan3yu3), 委婉的字眼 (wei3wan3 de zi4yan3), 委婉的表達 (wei3wan3 de biao3da2), etc.

Celeborn · August 31, 2024, 2:49am

Some more thanks, GPT!

No.	Contranym	Meaning 1 (Definition)	Meaning 2 (Definition)
1	Bolt	To secure (e.g., bolt the door)	To run away (e.g., bolt from the room)
2	Dust	To remove particles (e.g., dust the furniture)	To add particles (e.g., dust the cake with sugar)
3	Screen	To show or display (e.g., screen a movie)	To hide or block (e.g., screen a view)
4	Sanction	To approve (e.g., sanction a project)	To penalize (e.g., impose sanctions on a country)
5	Left	To depart (e.g., he left the room)	To remain (e.g., three cookies left)
6	Cleave	To split apart (e.g., cleave wood)	To adhere or stick together (e.g., cleave to your beliefs)
7	Bound	Restricted or tied (e.g., bound by duty)	Moving towards (e.g., bound for New York)
8	Clip	To cut (e.g., clip a coupon)	To fasten together (e.g., clip papers together)
9	Weather	To withstand or endure (e.g., weather the storm)	To erode or wear away (e.g., the rock weathered over time)
10	Fast	Moving quickly (e.g., running fast)	Fixed or immobile (e.g., hold fast to the railing)
11	Overlook	To fail to notice (e.g., overlook a mistake)	To supervise (e.g., overlook the project)
12	Out	Visible or exposed (e.g., the truth is out)	Hidden or extinguished (e.g., the fire is out)
13	Trip	To stumble or fall (e.g., trip on a rock)	A journey or excursion (e.g., take a trip)
14	Fine	High quality (e.g., fine wine)	A penalty (e.g., pay a fine)
15	Trim	To cut away (e.g., trim the tree)	To decorate (e.g., trim the Christmas tree)
16	Buckle	To fasten (e.g., buckle your seatbelt)	To collapse under pressure (e.g., buckle under stress)
17	Peer	To look closely (e.g., peer through the keyhole)	An equal (e.g., peer review)
18	Wear	To endure (e.g., wear well over time)	To deteriorate (e.g., wear away the fabric)
19	Garnish	To adorn (e.g., garnish a dish)	To take away wages (e.g., garnish wages)
20	Resign	To give up (e.g., resign from a job)	To submit to fate (e.g., resign to the situation)

No.	Contranym	Meaning 1 (Definition)	Meaning 2 (Definition)	Pinyin	Example Sentences
1	好	Good (e.g., 好人)	Easy to… (e.g., 好打破, easy to break)	hǎo	他是個好人。/ 這杯子好破。
2	打	To hit (e.g., 打人)	To make (e.g., 打電話)	dǎ	他打了人。/ 他打了電話。
3	倒	To pour (e.g., 倒水)	To fall (e.g., 倒下)	dǎo / dào	幫我倒水。/ 他倒下了。
4	翻	To overturn (e.g., 翻船)	To repeat or turn over (e.g., 翻書)	fān	船翻了。/ 他翻了書。
5	放	To release (e.g., 放走)	To place or store (e.g., 放東西)	fàng	他放了鳥。/ 他放了東西。
6	光	Light (e.g., 光明)	Bare or empty (e.g., 光秃秃)	guāng	陽光明媚。/ 錢花光了。
7	忍	To endure (e.g., 忍痛)	To suppress (e.g., 忍住笑)	rěn	忍痛不語。/ 忍住笑聲。
8	系	To tie or fasten (e.g., 系鞋帶)	To connect (e.g., 系電話)	xì / jì	他系了鞋帶。/ 他系了電話。
9	懂	To understand (e.g., 懂道理)	To be confused (e.g., 不懂)	dǒng	他懂道理。/ 我不懂這句話。
10	念	To read (e.g., 念書)	To miss or think of (e.g., 想念)	niàn	他在念書。/ 我很想念他。
11	長	Long in duration (e.g., 長時間)	To grow (e.g., 長大)	cháng / zhǎng	時間很長。/ 他長大了。
12	當	To serve as (e.g., 當老師)	To take on/experience (e.g., 當面對)	dāng	他當老師。/ 當面對困難。
13	解	To solve (e.g., 解決問題)	To untie or release (e.g., 解開)	jiě	他解決問題。/ 解開繩子。
14	治	To cure (e.g., 治病)	To govern or control (e.g., 治國)	zhì	他治好了病。/ 他治國有方。
15	學	To learn (e.g., 學習)	To imitate (e.g., 學樣)	xué	他在學習。/ 他在學樣子。
16	留	To keep or retain (e.g., 留下來)	To stay behind (e.g., 留在原地)	liú	他留下來了。/ 他留在這裡。
17	靠	To rely on (e.g., 靠父母)	To be close to (e.g., 靠牆)	kào	他靠父母生活。/ 靠在牆上。
18	看	To see or watch (e.g., 看書)	To treat or take care of (e.g., 看病)	kàn	他在看書。/ 醫生在看病。
19	讓	To allow (e.g., 讓座)	To yield or concede (e.g., 讓步)	ràng	他讓了座。/ 他讓步了。
20	發	To send or distribute (e.g., 發送)	To generate or emit (e.g., 發電)	fā	他發了郵件。/ 發電站發電。

#contranyms

RickRoll · August 31, 2024, 11:45am

17 years?!
What a gravedig!