sb (傻逼
Rename someone’s phone “SB250” for the lulz.
NorthWestWind@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
There are a few ways we do it in Chinese.
In mainland, people would sometimes just type the initials of the pronunciation of the character. For example, hhhhh (哈哈哈哈哈, hahahahaha), sb (傻逼 sha bi, dumbass). It can get out of hand for people who are not super familiar with their vocabularies (like me, a Hong Kong Cantonese speaker)
Alternatively, one can just use a different dialect/version of Chinese. In Hong Kong, we can have both written Chinese and spoken Cantonese mixed in the same message. We simply pick which one of them gives a shorter version of the word. For example, 回家看看有無撞其餘活動 ([Written] Go home and see [Spoken] if it conflicts with other events). Sometimes we even mix in ancient Chinese.
DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
adespoton@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
Isn’t there also shorthand where you just write the base components and people understand what you mean because even though the radicals are missing, the core meaning of the glyph is still close enough?
The difference is that the shorthand isn’t based on phonetics but on the core meaning of the calligraphic strokes.
It’s why Japanese writers can communicate with Cantonese speakers through quick strokes on their palms. The radicals are all different but the base components are the same.
Similar to a German person stripping back words to core syllables.
cloudless@piefed.social 3 weeks ago
Yes. For example in Chinese underground metro is 地下鐵路 roughly “ground under metal road”.
The shorthand is 地鐵, roughly “ground metal”. And everyone understands that as the metro.
match@pawb.social 3 weeks ago
how easy is it (e.g., number of key presses) to get 鐵 on your keyboard? it looks massively complicated, I’m counting like 22 strokes or so
cloudless@piefed.social 3 weeks ago
There are different input methods. I use phoenetic one so I only have to type 3 letters and select the character.
There is also "quick" input method which you only need to pay attention to 2 parts of the character when you type, then it gives you a selection of the most likely characters.
Lemminary@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Oh, boy, do I have a Radiolab episode for you! “The Wubi Effect”