Which 'Where'???

zero1niner
 March 04, 2010, 05:48 PM posted in General Discussion

Is there an easy way to know the correct time to use 'nar' vs 'na li'?? I am a newbie (or just a slow learner I suppose), and I getting confused on when to use which one.

Profile picture
chunjie2010
 March 04, 2010, 06:17 PM

No difference, but

哪兒 na3 r => Northern China, esp. Beijing

哪裡 na3 li => Southern China

Use the one you like best.

Profile picture
lujiaojie

Right. 哪儿 is common in Northern China.

Actually, they're interchangeable.

Profile picture
chenierd
 March 04, 2010, 06:52 PM

And just for clarification, you will typically see the latter written as 哪里.

Profile picture
chunjie2010
 March 06, 2010, 10:01 AM

裡 is clearer, better, nicer, because it carries the meaning/radical. You are 裡 in your clothes (=radical). Nobody writes 里 in Taiwan!

 

Profile picture
changye
 March 06, 2010, 12:01 PM

In Japan, people use "裏" (inside) instead of "里" and "裡". Actually, etymologically speaking, the form of “裏” more precisely represents its original meaning, i.e. inseide the clothes. “裡” is a relatively new Chinese character, which was probalby created several hundred years ago. In short, "裡" was a variant of "裏". 康熙字典 (1716) lists "裏" in it, but not "裡".

http://chinese-characters.org/meaning/8/88CF.html

Profile picture
lujiaojie
 March 08, 2010, 02:52 AM

Right. 哪儿 is common in Northern China.

Actually, they're interchangeable.