日本語の漢字はとてもおもしろくて、 hilarious
I've found the following uses of Chinese characters in Japanese to be very interesting:
先生 せんせい
In Japanese this means teacher. Although this is one of the possible meanings in Chinese, more commonly it signifies "Mr." So Mr. Li would be リ先生. I feel very funny every time I write "Fukai sensei" ふかい先生 on my homework.
全然 ぜんぜん
This means "not at all" in Japanese; in Chinese it is a formal (used in writing) way of saying "completely, entirely"
大丈夫 だいじょうぶ
This is HILARIOUS. In Japanese it means "all right." In Chinese it means "a real man" or "a man of fortitude and courage." I would love to see the Japanese etymology for this word!
頑張ります がんばります
Japanese is "do one's best." In Chinese the two characters here don't make any sense together. The first character has several meanings:
1. stupid as in 愚頑 yu2wan2
2. stubborn as in 頑固 wan2gu4
3. naughty as in 頑皮 wan2pi2
Why on earth is this character used???
The second character has a lot of meanings as well, among them:
1. stretch; spread; expand
2. set out; display
3. magnify; exaggerate
4. a measure word for flat objects (photographs, papers)
5. a popular surname (eg, the Chinese director, Zhang Yimou)
先生 せんせい
In Japanese this means teacher. Although this is one of the possible meanings in Chinese, more commonly it signifies "Mr." So Mr. Li would be リ先生. I feel very funny every time I write "Fukai sensei" ふかい先生 on my homework.
全然 ぜんぜん
This means "not at all" in Japanese; in Chinese it is a formal (used in writing) way of saying "completely, entirely"
大丈夫 だいじょうぶ
This is HILARIOUS. In Japanese it means "all right." In Chinese it means "a real man" or "a man of fortitude and courage." I would love to see the Japanese etymology for this word!
頑張ります がんばります
Japanese is "do one's best." In Chinese the two characters here don't make any sense together. The first character has several meanings:
1. stupid as in 愚頑 yu2wan2
2. stubborn as in 頑固 wan2gu4
3. naughty as in 頑皮 wan2pi2
Why on earth is this character used???
The second character has a lot of meanings as well, among them:
1. stretch; spread; expand
2. set out; display
3. magnify; exaggerate
4. a measure word for flat objects (photographs, papers)
5. a popular surname (eg, the Chinese director, Zhang Yimou)