有吖
Purrfecdizzo
February 07, 2010, 05:29 PM posted in General DiscussionHi, sorry it is me again with another translation question. could someone tell me what '有吖' means? it was written in response to a question I asked. thanks
Purrfecdizzo
April 01, 2010, 11:19 AMThanks everyone for your help.
suey1211
February 12, 2010, 05:08 PMHello~I'ma Cantonese here,maybe I can help u with that~
In fact,有吖=有啊 in Guangdong,but “吖” is somehow more cute when saying it,so almostly used by girlsor teemagers..But in Hongkong，“吖”is similar to "啊" ,no other meanings.
changye
February 13, 2010, 01:22 AM丫头 (ya1 tou2) a girl
bababardwan
can it simply mean "a girl" changye? My rollover gives 丫 as slave girl and 丫头 as servant girl or maid.
changye
Hi bababardwan
"丫头" was mainly used in the sense of "servant girl" in the past, specially in feudal China, but it's now often used when simply referring to a young girl in modern China.
The word sometimes connotes "affection", and sometimes "contempt", so it might be a little difficult for us foreign learners to properly use this word.
The character "丫" represents a fork-shaped thing, (be noted it's NOT originated in the Latin alphabet Y), and the word "丫头" (Y-shaped head) originates in a popular hair style of girls called "髻" (ji4) in feudal days.
P/S "吖" is a typical dialect character in Cantonese, which has the "口" part in it. The "口" indicates that it's a colloquial character.
bababardwan
February 13, 2010, 02:15 AMcan it simply mean "a girl" changye? My rollover gives 丫 as slave girl and 丫头 as servant girl or maid.
skyfx
February 12, 2010, 09:06 AM有吖 maybe means 有呀
changye
February 13, 2010, 03:52 AMHi bababardwan
You need to look into "old things" when studying etymologies, hehe. Here is a photo of "丫头" and "髻" in feudal days in China. Looks like "髻" doesn't necessarily indicate "Y-shaped", but indicates something "divided into two".
http://www.hudong.com/wiki/%E4%B8%AB%E5%A4%B4
bababardwan
February 13, 2010, 04:00 AMOh right.Thanks again Changye.Yeah,just wasn't sure where to find an old photo,and thought it might still be the same now as the old style.I have seen this style but forgotten about it.So it looks like the two top arms arms of the Y are the two buns at the side.Thanks for pointing out that 丫 is not derived from the Latin Y which would have been an easy wrong conclusion to draw.Interesting that the 丫头 is based on the shape..but presumably the 丫 shape and not the Y shape right [even though they are very similar]?
changye
“丫” originally indicated "Y-shaped twig" or something like that, and later obtained a broader meaning, as is often the case with Chinese characters.
changye
February 13, 2010, 04:08 AM“丫” originally indicated "Y-shaped twig" or something like that, and later obtained a broader meaning, as is often the case with Chinese characters.
suey1211
February 13, 2010, 03:20 PM此吖非彼丫...
bababardwan
February 13, 2010, 03:42 AMIs the Y shape meant to be seen side on [with a bit of imagination the fork of the Y being where the bun meets the back of the top of the head ] as in this pic?:
changye
Hi bababardwan
You need to look into "old things" when studying etymologies, hehe. Here is a photo of "丫头" and "髻" in feudal days in China. Looks like "髻" doesn't necessarily indicate "Y-shaped", but indicates something "divided into two".
http://www.hudong.com/wiki/%E4%B8%AB%E5%A4%B4
simonpettersson
February 07, 2010, 07:48 PMThe built-in OSX Dictionary says 吖 is "similar to 呵". Couldn't it just be a fancy way of writing "有呵"? What was the question?