Chipanglish
Post by Yvonne

Ma1, Ma2, Ma3, Ma4!

January 28th, 2009 | 5 Comments

KathyMarie asked:

what do the numbers mean after the words in italics? “ri4″ and “dien4″ for example.

Glad you asked! Chinese is a tonal language, which means that the way you say the word is integral to the meaning.

If an English speaker asks, “…ma?” or yells, “MA!”, the “ma” in both cases is the speaker’s mother.

But in Chinese, a word that sounds like “…ma?” means “numbness/pins and needles” while “MA!” means “to scold or yell at”.

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