CHINESE NAMES. I need help

[Alphathree33]

Does anyone know what the chinese name "Siu" means in english?

It's a friend test.

The choices are:

Small
Bitchy
Smile
Laughter
Sadness

Thanks!

 

[gopunk]

small, smile, and laughter are all xiao, afaik so i don't think those will be it. unless there are some synonyms, which is quite possible.

 

[amnesiac]

That reminds me, what is the proper spelling of barbequed pork? Is it Char-Siu, or Char-Sui? I see it spelled both ways.
Of course, us Japanese like to mangle it and spell it Cha-shu.

 

[PsychoAndy]

<< That reminds me, what is the proper spelling of barbequed pork? Is it Char-Siu, or Char-Sui? I see it spelled both ways.
Of course, us Japanese like to mangle it and spell it Cha-shu. >>




neither char-shu

 

[joohang]

Linkie to a Guide to Romanization in pinyin.

 

[gopunk]

i always heard it pronounced as cha shao. i think we're talking about the same thing. i've never heard "char" in chinese... that's weird

 

[b0mbrman]

Um...it could be water...

Like gopunk small is xiao...smile and laughter are both shao...

Actually, I'd pick book first, then water. Book is soo/su/siu

 

[gopunk]

Like gopunk small is xiao...smile and laughter are both shao...

shao? not in my dialect

 

[b0mbrman]

<< Like gopunk small is xiao...smile and laughter are both shao...
shao? not in my dialect >>


Bah...Xiao =~ Shao

 

[gopunk]

<<

<< Like gopunk small is xiao...smile and laughter are both shao...
shao? not in my dialect >>


Bah...Xiao =~ Shao >>




boooo.... bastardized

 

[SCSIfreek]

Wait a sec people. dont jump a conclusion without asking is it Mandarin or Cantonese.

Depends on how your pronounce it.


Between Small and Laughter

 

[PsychoAndy]

Bah, chinese is a confusing language, mardarin or cantonese. I'm not even gonna bother trying to put chinese words into english. I mean, everyone has their own idea of how to write out the name of something, it's horrible.

 

[manly]

My Chinese is horrible, but siu is a Romanization for both small and laughter in Cantonese. You'd have to consult a dictionary (or someone fluent in that dialect) with the actual character or tonal pronunciation to find out what a name means.

The Romanization narrows it down to a few possibilities.

 

[b0mbrman]

Hmm...do you know the dialect A33?

 

[spanky]

i tink it means small. add "burn" to the list of possibilities tho.

 

[Cyberian]

<< small, smile, and laughter are all xiao, afaik so i don't think those will be it. unless there are some synonyms, which is quite possible. >>

OK - I have a question and please be gentle with me, my family came from Ireland.

How would a listener know if the speaker meant small or laughter? From intonation, context or something else?
I have studied a few languages, but all were 'Western' and used basically the same alphabet as English, (i.e. - no Asian or Cyrillic languages) so they are not of much help.


joohang -
I read most of that site and it is very interesting. Thanks.