uu i^ I G R A M M A 11 P If OF THE CHINESE LANGUAGE. f BY iJf. Z. B. S. V; IN C. M. TWO J. li. G.
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uu
i^
I
G R A M M A 11
P
If
OF THE
CHINESE LANGUAGE.
f
BY
iJf.
Z.
B.
S.
V;
IN
C.
M.
TWO
J.
li.
G. S. A.
S,^c.,
.jr.
PARTS. (j
iir
PART
I.
PRINTED AT THK OFFICE OF THE "DAILY PEESS/' HONGKONG.
1864.
23
nil
..I
To
The Honoiable
if.
(il^ljomh^, THIS VOLUME
"
IS
RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED BY THE
AUTHOR.
^MlM
PREFACE. Wlion the author of the present work first arrived in China, he had ri;reat dlffieuUies in irettirif^; a teaclier who Avould condescend to speak to him as he would do to his o«vn countrymen and there being not as yet a work })u])lished in the local dialect to serve as a safe guide to a knowledge of the spoken language, he felt that in using any of the existing Grammars he would act like a mini living in London and using a French Grammar for the acquisition of English. The Orthography of most of the smaller works that were aftervv^ards published is only adapThe intonation has altogetlier been ted for private use. discarded, which makes the respective works often dangerous instruments to place into the hands of a new ar;
rival.
As
Orthography to be adopted in the present author had no hesitation in giving Sir W. Jones' work, the Many of the Williams follows) the preference. (whom Dr. required by foreigners are not marks now used diacritical with. therefore, soon done away and may, he for natives spelling, simple sj'stem of and excellent That will leave a such as can he acquired by a native of moderate talent within the short period of one month. To invent a new alpliabet, as several excellent scholars have proposed, would leave us in the same "position in wdiich we now find ourselves in Japan. Siam. Tdjet, Burmah and India, were the lack of a more practical system of spelling is keenly felt by the stn.deuts of those tongues. We must well keep in mind, that the further we advance in ci> ilizatioii. tlie nearer are nations bronght togcto the
Ill
PREFACE. and the more we
the need of a Standard Alphabet, that will enable a native of Europe to read the names on maps made by the nations of Asia and Afriea, and to as(iertain (approximately) the pronuneiation of a word without any aecjuired knowledge of the language of tlier
shall
feel
the country. In order to' assist the student in the acquisition of the written and spoken idioms and to enable him to avoid the study of unnecessary or useless sentences, the author has endeavoured to distinguish the book style from the vaAt the end of most of the i)aragra])hs rious dialects. there will be found a summary of the words in use in the Canton dialect. Whilst -^the student of that dialect advances in the Grammar, he should carefully commit to memory all the sentences and verbs in the Introduction. list of Phonetics for writing-lessons will be published shortly after the second part of this Grammar is completed, and the author hopes that with the hints thus given, the student will be enabled to learn to write the characters of the Chinese language within one year and to re-
A
meml)cr them throughout his
life.
The diftieulties encountered in preparing the present work have been very great, besides the Provei-bs and two Reading Lessons the author met with but little help fnmi existing books. He can, however, not pass over in silence the .valualde assistance rendered to him by the late Mrs. Irwin, in looking over the first 00 pages of the manuscript. He also feels greatly indebted to the Rev. Mr. Stringer for his kindness in correcting the last proofs. Simplicity and usefulness have been the sole aimed at by the author. He has endeavoured to for reading lessons new and interesting intc'rmation government, religion, manners and customs of the
object collect
on the Chin-
ese, so as to ac(piaint the student not only with the language, but also with the routine and daily life of the })e()])lc, among whom he is anxious to sojourn. Since the burning of the Factories and the deslniction of tlic printing office of (he A. li. C. F. M., great dif-
IV
PREFACE. work like the The author wouhl, therefore, present tli rough tlie press. ask the indulgence of the reader for defects in the outward appearance of the book. Whilst thanking such jis have assisted him with their counsel, he shall feel greatly obliged for additional help for a new edition.
ficulties liave 1)oen expcriciK^ed in o-ettino a
W. Victoria,
Hongkong, April, ISGl.
L.
INTRODUCTION. AJfinity
and Difference of
liacrs.
Whrn a p-^rson cominof trom Europe and travelling eastward, pasthrough a number of states, whose inliiibitaiits differ g'reritly iVoin him in complexion, cosrume and religion, his curiosity is excited as he advances for the nearer he approaches India, the greater is the similarity of features with his own, and the closer the affinity of the lang-uaga The large, sparkling eyes of the S[)oken by the sister states of Europe. eastern nations, so f\ir as they are unmixed with the IVlongolians from the deserts of Asia, have for more than 3000 years, revelled in sensuality; but combined with it poetr}', fiction and wit, with which the graver nations of the west still amuse their children or entertain themselves during the long winter evenings. The gigantic works the}' created for themselves and their gods ara as many expressions of their character and sentiments, and repres^pnt them to us as a people anxious to perpetuate their own existence on this eartlj, or to induce their gods to quit their abodes of bliss and dwell with ses
;
man
in the workf- of
creation.
/n's
Crossing the Himalaya how different is the aspect of affairs. Polygamy and its accompanying vices is here exchanged with Polyandry. The panorama before us is not unlike an encampment of proletarians, who are living upon the scanty crumbs fallen from the overtlowing tables of their neighbours. The wings of imagination are clipped. Tied to a barren soil, hemmed in by mountains and deserts, who wonders, that the "' Tibetian's daily song is My home is not here ", that he has created anotlier world equally poor and comfortless; and that his ciiaritabia disposili()n hns imposed upon him the task of providing for the necessi:
ties of the citizens
of that world.
The language spoken by
this people and further eastward to tlie Cochin China, Siam and Burmalf belongs to the monosyllabic tongues and is noted for poverty and inflexibility. The phor.etic system introdroduced into Tibet, Burmah and Siam has indeed to but this b is a certain degree assisted in advancing general education been more than counteracted by the influence of Budhism and the luicient superstition, as received from the Chinese. China appears to have been the cradle of that peculiar kind of civilization which distinguishes it from the rest of the world. But; their ideas petrefied in hieroglyphics before they were fully developed and their advance in literature was marked by tlie Ibrmation of a svstem of ideography, which being- mute in itse>lf, is pro;iouaced according to
Paciflc
:
in China,
;
;
VI
INTRODUCTION. Jjiff'crenl
Dinhcls
in
China.
Peculiarifij
of the northern Court
Dialact-
the local dialects, liowever miicli they ditfar from each other. Now you hear a veruiiciilar, which reminds you of Scandinavia; again you fi\ncy yourand again you are overheaped wirh gutturals, more than self in France But in spite of the jerks in Holland and other parts of the Netherlands. and unearthly sounds, the result of an imperfect articidation, Ciiiua made considerable prog-i'ess in civilization, which enabled it to subdue and refirm the surrounding b-arbarians, and to exercise a nominal sway from In all Central Asia to the Pacilic and down to the Malayan Peninsula. tha.^e states, even in .Japan, the Chinese characters became the medium ot official communication, and occupy, up to this moment, the same position that Latin did in Europe during the middle age. If the dialects in China were reduced to a phonetic system, wo should have as many different lang'uages as we have in EuropH and should find that the Chinese among the aborigines of America. vernacular is bv no monns a purely monosyllabic tongue, and that theiiirther we advance towards the north, the more similarity we find in the form of the languiiges b.5t\^''een China, Japan and the American Indians. Jn the Canton, Ilakka and other southern dialecrs we frecpiently hear the finals p, t, and k further to the north and in what is g»^nerally called the southern Court dialect, these consonants terminate in aa abrupt sound, in which neither the p, t or k can be distinguished again Hence the further north this abrupt sound terminates in a long vowel. name of the Governor General of Canton, wlio was captured by the English, is pronounced yip in Punti ; yap in Hakka yl (abruptly) in The only the southern, and yeh (long) in the northern Court dialect. iinal consonant left in the latter dialect is the N, and the nasal Ng. The changes into the guttural Ch. as N the or P. becomes B the in Greece. it is pronounced in all its finances in Germany, or the If we now pass over to Japan we find, that if the language be correctlv written, not a single syllable terminates in a consonant but the N. All the prefixes and suffixes are, as in China, Siara and Tibet, inflexible particles, and the possessive " of" stands detached as in the English language, as Mimasaka no kami, the knmi of Mimasaka Suruga no kami It certainly cannot be mere accident that the same the kami of Suruga. form should be found in many languages of the American Indians. When in America and called upon to read a few lines in a book ia which the Indian language was transcribed according to S[)anish pronunciation, I was struck with the similarity of the sounds with the JaIn opening another book, alsj written in the same language, I ])anese. found on the title page the English word ''Acts" prefixed to "AposThe Nu, Japanese No, had eitehiu,'' i. c, the " Acts of the Apostles." ther from ignorance or from a desire to europeanize the language, been affixed to the the word Apostle. Tiiis threw at once some light on the clnracter of the language and Their long words, I was sure, were the probablo origin of the Indians. lor all the names underneath the porstrunj^ together from ignorance traits of chiefs indicate, tliat the language was originally a syllabic (if not a monosyllabic) one, like the Cianese and Japanese, and that when ;
We
;
;
;
;
M—
;
H
:
W
X
;
;
VII
INTRODUCTION. SiviilarUy
«f
Chinese, Japanese and Avierlcan Indian Dialects.
reduced to a phonetic sj'stem, vLole sentences were reduced to a
sinj^le
Avoid.
conjectures were not lonp: to remain without practical proof. when in California, acciThis reniarkahle dentally asked for c\i chi. the Imiian name for uiilk. coincidence led to an inquiry, which resulted in th-^ discovery of six Ja?ily
I soon learnt, that the Japanese atnhiissadors.
names in the California Indian dialc(;t. would here remark, that those Indians, who chiefly support themselves by hunling- and fishing, speak dialects in sound much more sinulav to the Japanese and Tartars of northern Asia, than in Yucatan, Central America, and Mexico. Here where we find the ideographic inscriptions so similar in composition to the ancient Chinese characters, we have For also languages or dialects resemhling more that of northern Cliina. i)i these languages (or dialects) wo meet tlie same iireponderance of coni})Ound hissing sounds and vowels as in China, and the absence of the R Ilitheito however, ihe orthography of the works is no less rennii-kable. ]»nblished in the Otorni, Quiche and other languages of Yucatan, Central America and ]\Iexico is too incorrect to enable us to decide on any Even the point without a thorough knowledge of at least one of them. copies, which Stephen made from the manuscripts of the priests, betray })anese I
a lamentable inconsistency of orthography.
American Indians apparenlhj one Face
we comparo
n-iih the
Japanese and E. Asiatics.
the stature, features, hair and complexion of the Incannot help declaring them to be either Japanese, Chinese or I have seen women and children^ other cognate tribes of eastern Asia, whom nobody would have taken for Indians, had he found them in one In passing accross the Isthmus of Panama of the Islands of Japan. and Mexico, I was struck with the simihirity of architecture between Instead of excavating mountains, instead the Chinese and these peo[)le. of making expensive vaults, all the principal edifices are erected on elevated ground. The tiles of the roofs are concave and con' ex, just as wo have them in China the anchors of their boats are the same as we find them in Japan and the north of China, i. e. with four hooks without a barb and innumerable other manners, customs and peculiarities of civilazation agree exactly with those of eastern Asia, as in no other country of the world. now come to inquire as to how these tribes could reach AmeDuring the summer months, when the sun did not set for one rica. whole month, the inhabitants of the extreme parts of northeastern Asia, either pressed by hostile tribes, or from an ini])Vilse of adventure, must liave crossed over to the Ameiican continent, where either by hunting or fishing, they could easily su]iport themselves and provide for their wants during the coming winter. Wave after wave of immigration is likely to have rolled on and if only, at long intervals, a few returned to their native place, that was sufficient to account for a kno\\l..'dge of a laige Eastern continent, floating among the Chinese, Japanese and other AsiaIf
dians,
we
;
;
We
;
tics.
YIII
INTRODUCTION. American
are,
Iii:lkui
j
>5
Mat,
„
,Sam
„
'^'''
"
"
office;
.remove
Ill'
-^ ''^'
•
S*
"
_SL "
" "
"
^^^'^j
?^
" ^^^^X
Is
"
" „
„
and put away
^ij
.
estimate, to reflect, to find out
"
m
»
J.
tb^
to.
•
"
and
iorg-efc.
.,
,;
^
„
,P^au
„
^ij
tb'
carry on the back; to carry a child pick a pack. pull up, as a flag-.
Verbs ending in
^^t,
^P,
almost always a termination of the perfect tense.
If the Pronouns :^^ «no-o
T
f^
'm'
m-
YH
n
f-
x
i
/
XXIII
IXTRODUCnON. Verbs en/ling in I'ak,
W
'to ^t'in
Kwai^ „
'to
f^^^l
'plj
and
ch'ut^
^"F ^^^
[ij
8'°* ^^"^
whole
emi)ire.
^fil^'y^-i^W ^^^ knoels down to worship the
pai' ^shan
spirits.
Jt To
jMin
„ ,ch'ong shcung^ 0A;'^Jj[?k
Tso^
„ 'kin 4u
:3£ jJPJI'i^^
„ be seated in a sedan.
'Ta
„ jshing jch4
'fTijlJ'^jyi
„ have reduced a
PcV
„ p'au'
Jl'ffil^fi^ „ have
^t'oi
ts'akj
^^^•^
,,
run outside.
,,
discover vag'abonds,
„
find out stolen property.
ifea-stj-^J^^ '^o divulge secrets.
(Sz sz^
Tsb^ch'utj
fi^
come
return home,
„ marvel,
to
be surprised at.
„ come out or forward. „
let (as a house).
>'
t^'^6
y>
scheme, to plan.
ii
walk.
Verh"- terminati'ug in hit
cT'oi
?"^ i^
/Kwai
Lok,
hii'
to life again.
To
descend.
jj
„
cf.i-ry to.
-^,
Ultj
„
„ return.
Tifi^
PM
V
Tai'
^
h „
„ bring
to, to
carry away.
1^
„
„ move
to (or
away).
•f/^
„
„ carry
to
(
do.
).
,y
„
(
do.
).
,run jKw'ui 'Shai
^
^
transfer.
sail to
XXV INTRODUCTION. Verbs ending in 1
hii
-^
XXVI INTRODUCTION. Verbs emliny in
hit
-^
\±.-\-
^Chong
%ci:
hii^
'^^ P^'^^ ^M^
->/^j»
jTs'ia
„
l^lj
to advance.
V forward,
„
„
i£
'Ts'ing
„
wP3 „
„ be invited.
'Wui
„
Wi
„
„ destroy.
,Me
„
RT
'>
j;
„
„ dismiss,
V
» persue.
„
,,
Chukj
„
arrest.
,,
carry on the back.
'Ts'eung-
„
^ M ^
,Nim
„
tfS „
„ carry away.
„
W-
V
V take
„
iwi
;>
» stolen.
„
„ break up.
Kiik,
„
,Cliui
„
jNci
,T'au
cTs'ia
„
'P'aii
„
^ S ^
'^Sheung „
_t
^Tam
,.
jPan
„
tM ^^
Ch'ak,
„
Kiu'
„
jCh'u
Sung'
f^4 V
^ 5^ ^ ^
„
„
,Ch'ang
„
cT'o
„
jT'o
„
3S
^xn(\\
degrade.
snatch away.
'J
to.
away.
call
„
„ move
„
„
race.
„
j,
ascend.
,
to.
'7
» carry away.
,.
„
„
„ deduct.
„
„ send
return, to
to, to
„
„
„
.;
j;
V abscond.
-lii^C^M
To
go away from,
accompany
^"li''^^^^
to drag.
ending in vuU ^Rg
abbreviate, to curtail.
,Sh:in
„
P^
„
„ sbut up.
'Iin
„
„
„
im _h
„
SShinng
„
„ put up, lay up.
Jvwan
„
Ffl „
,L6
„
Wan^ ,T'in
,
„
W Ji^
i^
close.
to lock up.
„ bar,
»
>>
)'
??
„
one.
pole.
Fi'?'Z/5
Ts'iit,
to
„
i"ix•"i'^'>
fill
to
up-
lluow into confusion.
XXVII INTRODUCTION. Verbs cjidhtg in mdi J^i
J
Chap,
sinui
Hung
„
^'L'i
Tso^ ]''aii'
,Lai
,iMu ,Niru
W:)^^ To
„
ff ^^
„
^l
,,
„ „
„ sleep with, or close
„ pull away.
;>
jj
V
^
„
:;pj^
„
„ take away.
tSI
>,
„ put away.
,,
,,
„
^
„
ycf „
„
^^
„
U
,,
,,
away, to preserve.
store
preserve.
„ store up.
„
„ accumulate.
„
„
twist.
„
^
„
„ connect with, to string- together.
„
Xta;
„
,)
one
force
'1^ „
„ collect into one,
jT'iin
„
^Pong
„
^^
„
„
sT'oi
„
to
»
'7
^Tui
„
i#
„
;,
„
t6^ „
'Pi
„
^K^ai
„
i$ ik
tie
up.
carry aside.
heap up.
„ push
aside.
gi^e
all.
n
;;
„
„ keep.
Hup,
„
"n „
„ join together,
^Ch'e
„
"T^ V
V
„
-p^ „
„ put
jChai Chip,
„
\%
sT'ung'
„
fSJ
„ ,,
close,
aside.
„ fold up. Tog-ether with.
j.nn
To put
away.-
'Pai
„
fiu „
(K"^ciu
„
f
^
„
„ mix with.
P'ak,
„
^*P
,,
„ put closa.
,,
is
Tso-
„
one's plan of escajje.
into
way
,T'iii
to.
up-
wl'f^P
;j
'Chii
Oi'iin'
by.
sit
^j^ „
||5C
*Kon
„
stand aside.
^pj „
„
1".~,ik,
,,
„
sTs'iia
*Ki'iu
„ get aside.
„
*'''^^
,Siiau
pick up.
„ finish.
to
;
to
leave no
make one lump of
it.
XXVIIT
INTRODUCTION.
m
Verbs ending Pile,
cTHiii
Yriung^
„
Chnn^
„
JtM.-^
^
J?
upon,
Pi'
I'ovv.
Cbuk,
,7
•wc "
V
seize.
Chakj
bring".
„
li§ V
.V
pluck.
^Lo
},
^^|| V
jy
t'etcli,
^T'o
„
^^
^Senng
„
-Miii
„
^Ch'an^
„
^ fl ^
two).
to o-et.
')
„ diag-
»
„ meditate.
"
" purchase.
alono-.
„
„ pole (a boat).
5'
'J
iuvite.
'Ts4ng
•,
1^
Ti'iP
n
*r^ V
>7
bring.
Ki'
>,
^f
>>
;'
send (to have received).
-Shuung
?»
Jl
»
>5
ascemi.
>>
-Hj^
v
\^
"
Ch'ut,
»;
p4
"
?>
'Fun
'>
-^M
>'
" return.
TIang
V
i^
}>
7j
come,
yig-
'?
?'
come down.
Lokj
>}
'Hi
V
'Tsau
J?
^ ;^ ^
descend.
come
57
" rise.
>.
"i^
down.
move
inside.
^"''''^'^
^^^^•
,Punyap,
v
'Lo ch'ut,
.J
tUtli
"
"
Kiu= ^kHi
V
^4tS
'»
" call him.
,Ivan -ng-o
;,
>j
;;
'Shaicvan
„
?'
„ send a man.
liV sun'
V
"
"
^^^^'^
jOhui
}>
:x^^i]
'J
I'each or obtain
to'
S^^ f$A Wi^
}}
^(Jll^w' ii^e
;
to
by
persuit.
>>
??
have obtained by robbery;
??
>'
P^'t
things aright.
;>
'>
P'^t
things in wrongly.
„
|^f^j
;,
^iE
^Chong- ,ch'a
„
Sat, 'san
>,
^fjcl^ »
v «et things loosely.
,Fan
v
^IM
"
"
^^i^itle,
fall
sail to.
to separate.
„
^^
„
„
„
I^^H
„
„
'Ching- ting^
;,
^>£
j?
m have things ready.
^Ts'ui chii^
j,
fSft
"
"
sC'ha k'ok,
>,
"
" examine thoroughly.
'Tim cheuk,
„
'^'p^^
'Ta sun'
;/
^T^
^ISlim.ts'ai
„
"^^7^,,
„
bring- together.
„
^ ^^
>>
obtain by purchase.
Tit, lolc, ^Sliai
jnai
'Mai tak,
S^
one.
^ letter.
'Ts'eung; 'to
Jioi
be firmly seated.
come with
'Ch'ui ching-'
^^
Joi.
down.
P^"*^^^'
*° constrain, to hurry.
up.
>>
"
v
» calculate.
„
lij^'lit
Yu^^manhak, 1[^'.y(EM Evening.
it
Night.
XXXI INTIiODUCTIONT. Defect of Ihc
hi^si
The learned not always
Dictionar)j.
the
popular men.
The preceiliu;;' «xiiupl3s wiii suliicij r,o iudicute the way, which will If a ruler as intelligent as lead to au intelligible phonetic language. Kanglii could be induc(!d to appoint a commission of three or four men in each province, to classify the verbs according to their prefixes and suffixes, to make a collection of the com])oiinds of nouns and other parts of sneech to have books written witii this newly arranged material and iutrodduced into the schools, one generation would be sufficient to ojjen the eyes of the leained and to convince them of the benefit the nation mu»t
—
derive from a phonetic sys^^em, which men and tlie short time of a couple of months.
women
could ac(|uire
within
The sentences which
am
I
have collected, are constantly on the tongue
known to most foreign scholars of But, how many persons use them in tbeir daily the Chinese language. conversation? Very few indeed; and such as do, do so perhaps twice, Avhen a native, speaking to his country men, would use them ten tiiu.3S. Were we to look into *Dr. Williams' Dictionai'y and select all the comLinations of the class of which I have given examples, we should hardlv find 20 per cent of them. As Dr. Williams' Dictionary is by far the best that has ever been publislied in Chinese, and yet contains so small a percentage of the common colhxpiial, need we then wonder at the constant cry over the diffiMore than 50 per cent of what scholars culty of the Chinese language ? learn is not'current colloquial hence they talk to the poor and ignorant and are not understood, not because the}^ cannot read and write works in the Chinese language, but because they never assenibleit around the hi-eplace, where father, mother and children open their hearts unrestrainedly and convei-se in a tongue, which will give to future generations the material for a polished and intelligible vernacular. This conviction which has forced itself upon my mind as often as I of the natives,
and I
sure, will he
!
;
have sat among a group of native men, women and children, I can no Profound Chinese scholars, who are all the year round longer conceal. sitting" with a loquacious teacher, who almost knows what they mean to sa}' before they have expressed half their ideas, have frequently sneered at the idea, that the (jhinese languag-e could ever be reduced to a nhonotic system and that the ideographic characters could bo dispensed with. I^ut could they ever hold easy converxation with an uneducated native? and during the last war we had an I frankly declare they could not instance of a firstrate scholar of the Chinese language having to give the ])recedence to a neophite, a novice in the Mandarin dialect, because the learned man could hardly talk "vith any body but his teacher. ;
Thei-e is another feature of the Chinese colloquial requiring to be pointed cut. Certain words, like the English verb to get, pass cha melonlike through the language, meaning to strike, to buy, to extract, to ojien, by &c., and are frequently heard in very vulgar or common colloquial. As e. g. 'mai -mai, to purchase rice, would to the ear be almost tar.tology, the Chinaman substitutes 'ta to strike, for to jiurchase. As such idionuitic peculiarities are frequently
met
with, I
would here add
nearl}^
130 sen-
XXXII INTRODUCTION. Examples of
ike use of 'id, to strike.
tences with Ha, to strike, as another illustration of the between the written stvle and the colloquial.
Examples of *Ta ngit,
l^
»-
pun-'
•'
(?'"
tT®M
'c\\'i
To
le-
>,
ofHd
^J
to stiihe.
grit the teeth.
dvefs.
» phiit the cue.
To come hv
,.
16^ jloi
;
J.
tsing- shikj
» eat rice without seasoning.
,)
timg-
„
walk.
move.
„ mend.
'ching
,>
'^h jt=au
» cheat.
»
ti^
>,
(P'o
To
practice usni'y.
on the ground.
» reward.
'sheung-
» save (rescue) one.
„ kau' ,,
sleep
„ lean upon.
„ jCh^ang >,
„ dispatch.
fat,
„ pay the costs of a hiw suit.
» ch'nt, jHgan
»
siin^
„ calculate, to reckon.
J'
ting^ 'chii
,3
„
'\i
i'
„
„ (kun ^fu » (kun >,
J an
J.
^hai
(Sz
,>
1^^
have come to a resolution.
manage.
summon
one.
do.
» force one to write an order for
'cheung
make
the bed.
»
» (Shii
» bind a book.
J.
fp'i
'nau 'nan
,>
'£
sew on
a button.
„
make
>,
fix the price.
a button hole.
»
chi'ii'
» pay debt in kind.
»
(fa
,,
get (seek) flowers,
J.
'tsai
>,
[ilant.
» kau^
money,
» sole shoes.
» (P'o k^oi'
j»
land.
» spy out.
„ t'iim' '»
U-
the use
g-reat difference
f?
„
make an
estimate, to
make
a sketch.
XXXIII IKTliODUCTION. Examples of the use of^td, Til ko' kit,
to strike.
tlfllo
^o
"li^l^e
a Imtton.
y^
»
make
robes.
„ sok,
»
» sDgti
» 1!^
» extract a tooth.
„ ^mai
»
/^
" purcliase rice.
» ^shi
„
tp
» g'o to the market.
„
'kill jloi
„
^^
» mai^ {nv})
„ pMi
„
come by
chair.
" give a riddle to guess.
„ ,tang- mai^
»
!^p^
» guess a riddle, that
» hiim'
lo^
„
P^^l-
" gape, to
» makj
lo^
„
» (ts6
" M
„ i^E
wear coarse
^MJ^
» sneeze.
t^ai'
„
P^^
»
do.
hak, ^ch'i
„
ff£g|
„
do.
ftsz
» p^an^
» Ian*
„ 7;^
» sui'
„
^
„ smash.
» p'o'
„
^t
" split
» (Pang
„
J3
» ^chiin
„ ^p.
„ 'pin
„
„ cp'ing
»
»
„
flit,
„ cch^am ,shun „ ,.
ch4k, mok,
^mun
» (ko yeuk, ,fui jShii
to
;
open by
„ break like glass.
^ ^ ^
» beat
flat.
» level. " let fall.
" ^^"^
^^^1'-
''^
»
^^J
» take
„
^j f
" open the door.
„
'^^
„ a\)\dy a jdaster
J^ij^
" nitike a
'^/^^^
>>
„
1
ofi:'
make
one's clothing.
„
TJC
,>
^^
» strike
»
iS.*^
"
'fo
To
» j^ij/'C
ointment.
floor.
a threshing floor.
„
'fo
01'
chunam
» V*
To
fight (civil war).
fight (general war).
To invade
a territory.
"
,sliii
„
^fiij
„
suffer a defeat.
par
„
J4
"
tlo.
>,
jkHin H^i ,sz fu^
^Ta kwan' „
,t'o
„ ki'mg^
5,
'^fo
„ keukj kwat,
"
JS-'frflM To commit high wny robbery.
^
do.
»
^fl X. To ^P f^ To
„
"W To
»
5>
rWO
» 'TjC
»
lip,
»
mt
»
%'fu
»
"^^''
»
fs'^eukj -fliu
"
H.$,^
>,
(kung
„ ZL.
To
» Hseang
„ 9f^
„
» ^fan
„
jcli'^e
>,
ftin 'to
„
,tsiin
J'
kunu-
one.
» ,,
jming
To cane
master.
|p| To discharge a gun. ^^t* To throw shmg stones.
„
p'i'iu'
» /i
g'ain a victoi-y.
f^tr^ffiii The boxing 'iTT^Si
commit burglary
go a
"
go a hunting.
To go "
„ IS^f!]
a tiger hunting.
sliont birds.
labor for wages.
row.
"
to surprise villages.
fishing,
thresh.
Jth
•
commit highway robbery.
"
iilS- To
-^i-
[maiks.
one
kill
J,
Kuu'
leaves
one another.
Wii To
» eying
it
one.
kill
-J^Atfi
until
strike one until the blood runs out*
Pin Hu ^sz
to strike.
•
.
wlieel about.
turn about madly.
To wedge
in.
make an obevsance.
XXXVI INTRODUCTION. Ortliography
To reduce tbe Canton dialect to a simple, phonetic system, has been a subject of considerable discussion among- the junior students of the Chinese lang-uag-e ; and the different modes of spelling show, that as yet few have agreed ou that point. This diversity is in a great measure owing to the lack of a comprehensive, practical mind, able to look beyond the few years of his own existence ; but no less to a disinclination to make a few concessions to a rival and to sacrifice one's own preconceived oi)inion to better counsel, having for its aim the interest of the less instructed and less talented of the native and foreign students. But we not iinfrequeutly find that the greatest stumbling black in the way of a perfect agreement is the fJict that men make it a matter of Convenience Englishmen will write according" to the pronunciation ef their own language (if there is such a thing as a general rale); the French will follow theirs, &o. So long as they write for their private use only, not much is lost to others or to themselves but when they present the results of their labour to the public, matters stand quite differently. As public men sent out for the extension of science and civiliation, they should study simplicity, should analize every sound and represent it, as much as possible, by simple vowels and consonants, or at least by such diacritical marks as might save future generations from the scandal of spelling tis many now too frequently do amongst the lower classes of England, France, Germany, and the United States of America. They should above all fiiithfully represent the essential points of the various dialects of China, such as are the tones and aspirates, or give no pronunciation at all. For it is much better to leave the student of the Chinese language to himself, than to misguide him by an assumed authority, and to induce him to peisue a course of study which he afterwards, perhaps when too late, regrets, v.'hen health and other circumstances may not allow him to retrieve his lost ground. Standard Alphabet, such as has been proposed by Professor Lepsius is a great desideratum in the newl}' opened countries of tlie far East, and we should have adopted it, had we not a dictionary now in general use by the students of this dialect, the orthography of which is so simple iliat it will not soon be superseded by a better one. The only defects of Dr. Williams' orthography are the use of the to represent three, the E two sounds, and th:it he requires a diacritical mark to express the broad sound of the diphthong ai. The ii should be represented by the o the e by the a; the ai by the ei and the ai by the ai. Having in the present work strictly followed the orthography adopted by Dr. "Williams, I will here add his system, as exhi])ited in the table p.p. XVI and XVII in the Introduction t;ohis "Tonic Dictionary."
—
;
A
U
;
1.
a as in quota
2.
a as in father
3.
e as in
4.
e as in say
5.
i
men
as in pin
;
;
;
;
j
XXX
\
II
INTRODUCTION. Orthograj)hy.
machine
as in
6.
1
7.
o as in
8.
o as in so, lioe
9.
u as hull
;
lord
loiip-,
;
:
10. u as in school 11.
li
12.
u as
as in Giite; in turn
;
'
13. ai in while 14. ai as in aisle, ayej
now;
15. au as in
16. au as in howl (only pi'onounced hrnader and lonpor)
17. eu as in
Capernaum;
18. iu as in
pew
19. oi as in hoy
;
;
20. ui as in Louis
;
21. ui as in cooing 22. sz' this
guages to
s,
if in
;
this
;
an imperfect vowel sound, unknown
is
pronouncing the word dizzy, the two
sound
will
hm,
24. 'ng
a nasal sound,
is
spoken with a cleared mouth,
The consonants need no in
English
made by stopping
ng
;
;
k as in king
I
n
as in a?!
in
when
it is
spoken.
uniformly pronounced as
main
;
nun
s
as in sea
as in title
wits
w
wing
as in
j
as in yard.
the vowels, diphthongs and consonants, found
the Canton dialect.
Tones and Aspirates see
;
ts as in
y all
pap
p
t
;
The nhove comprise
as in sing
as in
sh as in shut
.
as in quality
as in lame
m
be changed,
like a voluntnry half cough.
the nose
illustration, as the}' are
h as in have
kw
European lan-
:
ch as in church f as in fife
in
letters di
be made.
23. 'm or is
•
p. p. 1
and
2.
in
Grammar
ov
(1) the Chinesr Langvaqe,
Difference of Intonation.
1.
Any person anxious to acquire the Chinese language as by the natives, should acquaint himself: 1. 2. 3.
it
i«!
spoken
—With tones; and —With the —With the vowo] sounds. the
aspirates
;
THE Tones.
1,
or Court dialect distinguishes 5 tones
The Mandarin
TheHalcka(5; and
ThePuntiS. 1.
In the Court dialect they are expressed without any modulation
of the voice; are marked as represented in the following square, and peated according to the number opposite each tone,
re-
8
3 (1)
^ Y g ^^ g
The 251
^shing
(
marked
shang^ ^shing
(
marked 2
cp'ing-
1
on the
left
below
),
is
the
simple even tone
The
always uttered with a
The The
71
k'ii'
)
is
the upper tone, and
i3
shrill voice is
the departing tone
) is
the entering tone.
^shing (marked 3)
jih, ,shing
(marked 4
pouthefn variations it always terminates abruptly in Chili, Shansi &c., &,g.
;
;
and In
its
but ends in a long
vowel
A lower 2.
but
(or
jflfth)
tone
is
recognised in the cP'ing ^shing only.
More modulation of the voice
the intonation differs so
much from
observed in the Hakka dialect the Pimti, that those who wish to
is
'acquire both, must take great care not to confound them. The tones of the Hakka dialect are represented in the following
2 squares
Grammar
(2) the Chinese Language.
or
Intonation. 3.
The tones of
the Punti dialect are pronounced, Hii' (Shing and 'Sheung- ^shiug 4. Yap, (ShingcP'ing- (Shing-
1.
2.
1.
2.
Upper Tones 1
2. 3.
Y ai
Shcung- cp'ing- (Shing
J-
J-
Lower Tones.
J-^
;,
'sheung- „
„
hii^
1
'2~3,^ \
,,
4:,
•
^^'
~]^^
2.
~T^
3.
-p.^
sP'ing- calling
„
I-
'sheun'8
>>
,hii'
„
4l
1
yf»p>
The The
cp'ing ^shing- is uttered with a peremptory voice, e. g. Go ! ^sLeung- ^shing- or rising tone is uttered with an interrogative dulation of the voice, e. g-. Is it mce ? Is the weather fine ?
The hu'
(Shing
the optative or wish form,
is
e. g.
Bo
Theyapj „ terminates in the Punti and Hakka in a p, t or k hence it is easily distinguished.
mo-
love me. dialects
always
;
The lowing
1. 2.
&
3. tones of the
Punti are nearly represented in the
fol-
scale.
High
tones
Lovi' tones
How
are the four tones called ?
'f0|SSff4l^-fa;SB/B ^«' They
«2'
^fX^lj^A^ ^i^' Mark Mark
the upper tones the lower ^ones,
What
,f
mat, ,meng
csliing kiu= tso^
aie called cp'ing, 'sheung,
^hii^
^^^' ^P'i^S'.
and yap
'sheung, hti\ yap!
'l^fg "J^^g ,Tim
it
1^_t^1^^'T*fi
ko' ha^ sz^ ^shing
?
5S®^#'l2*K'fi5f cNi ko^ tsz^ hai^ mat, Has
lok,.*
'Tim ko^ sheung-^ sz\shing
(^'^J^ITUg
tone has this character
,ni.
shino-.
the high or low tone
=ye ^shing a\
1
Hai^ ^sheung wak.hai^ hu^ ^shing.
Eear! these characters with me.
'M)
i^4r. ,
Jgj
-^
sT'ung ^ngo tuk^
^ni ko^* ts2-
HiGH Tones, Chin, 'chin, chin', chit,
^Jgf^|^ hlanket; to unroll; to fight
,Kam, 'k^m, kam^ tap, I^J^J^g
^
Low Xin,
IWan
-lin, lin' lit,
to seal; to contract;
to break.
amirror; armour.
Tones,
j2 Jj^-|$^|j to connect, to remove
Svan, wan^ wut,
;
;
to select ; to arrange.
-2i:jt:m^ To .ay; to grant; to revolve ; sliopery A^firaled words seldom have the Inqlier tone in the .fing shing or the hirer tone the MC shbifj. This peculiarity in the Punt/ is worth noticmg, as it vail considerably assist the student's memory.
m
(3)
Grammar
the Ciuxese Language.
of
2. Aspirates.
3.
Vowel Sounds.
How the tones frequently change the seen from the followino: examj)les. (
gr^
)
in** ) (
,U
An
interrogative
particle
^
^ ^
;
U' to hate ; Okj bad, wicked.
do to be; rr on account of. J^T
f cWai, to
\
WaV
meaning of words, may be
j"
;
(
'Ho good. Ho' to love.
A glance into Dr. Williams' " Tonic Dictionary " will convince the student of the necessity of paying strict attention to the pronunciation of the aspirates. Examples.
1.
,T'am
to carry
Tap,
^
„ answer
To'
^Ij
M
„ arrive
Pik,
^"^
,Chiii
to covet
T'ap, T^o'
at
pagoda
a to
vomit
„ oppress
P=ik,
a prince
„ abstain from
,Ch^ai
a commissioner
In the preceding examples the sound and quantity of the vowels are the same, the tones are also identical, the distinction of meaning being conveyed by the aspirates. 3. The Vowel Sounds. The following examples diifer in the sound of the vowels, by which the difference of meaning is conveyed to the ear.
Examples. Narrow
1.
or
Common
Sound.
Broad Sound
2.
Ai'
fe /^
Ai'
to strangle
Ak,
„ grasp
'Am
„ cover with the hand
Am
^
Kau
„ save
to rescue
Kau'
^_
Ak,
3. Difference in the quantity of
a pass, a defile a bracelet
an unopened flower to teach
Vowels.
Examples Long Sound.
Short Sound.
,Sam
^
^ ^
three
to inspect Ivdm gold metal Proper attention paid to these distinctions at the commencement
,Kam
fallen of study, will enable the student to avoid many errors so frequently scholar!?. into by persons unwilling to follow the advice of experienced 4. 4.
Is this
Phrases.
word
aspirated or not ?
B)61H^^®^PJ£ .Ni ko' How
is
this
tsz^
^yau
word pronounced
S#SB^1H^PJS 'Tim yeung^ tuk, It
is
kau' in Pimti,
hi'
=m6
,ni.
?
,ni
;$till^>|fe Punti'
ko'
tuk,
tsz^ ,ni.
kau\
(4) Grammar of the Chinese Language. Dialectical Difference.
Phrases.
And
this chcracter
It is read kau'
What
difference
is
The
B^fi^B^ ^i ko'
?
^WM.
sound? ^151 2^ Ko' (Shing (jam 'tim
difference of
sound
is in
ko' a^ tsz^
kau' cyan I rescue a
^>^ABi^:feK^ By
^^^'' ''^S^ ^^^^ Ira ^'^ -sV.
there in the
10^^ a'^l"! By
tsz^- ,ni.
.
the A,
jam
man
.
.
^fan pit, ^ni.
pat, ,t'ung.
from
peril.
'^'go kau' ,yan cVut, ,u ,ngai ^him.
kau' cyan I instruct
men how
to act.
^^A-Sfite'TTS "Ng'o k^u' jan Him yeung^ ^hang cwai. 4.
Dialectical Difference.
The written Chinese heing ideographic and merely intended for the eye, there is no need for long- words of diversified sounds, in order Hence the rule, " speak as you to convey the meaning to the mind. correctly write, and lorite as you correctly speah,'' is in no way applica* 1.
The student, therefore, hie to the written Chinese language of books. should he careful what characters he commits to memory, and should always ask the teacher to write down for him the compound used in the colloquial, without wliidh he cannot possibly make himself intelligible. With the exception of Dr. Williams' " Tonic Dictionary of the Canton Dialect ' there is not a single work containing such a collection of compounds used in conversation as a student might commit to memory without reference to a competent teacher. Besides the necessity of learning compounds great care should be taken to ascertain the particular word used in the dialect we wish to acquire, as also the peculiar construction of sentences. Thus in treating the Chinese language as if the ideographic characters did not exist, and by paying- strict attention to the respective idioms, vie soon discover that the various dialects of China differ as much from each other as German does from English, Dutch Swedish, Danish and other cognate tongues. 2.
I
do no. see
Examples of Dialectical Difference.
[it] or
I cannot see
JP-" )
(
Hakka Court P.
Will you go?
^H.
'T'ai
r:
kin=.
:j^\\
K'on'
/m
^^Mi
K'iin'
puh, kien
tau'.
fST^iPgiB^ ^Ni hii' c'm ^Nihi^'m. -^i-Pg
I^ir^i: Go-
>
ff|^ ^Ha
* ^
'^'i k'ii'
""'' ,
'Tseu
hii' ,ni.
puh,
k'ii'.
1
Grammar
of the Chinese Language-
2 Excmphs of DiaU-cliral Dlffh-evce. 'iNgo
'rt^J^SlJ
do not
know
^J^Pg^B
^ H.
Compounds.
>
^Ngai ^'m
Ife^^fJ
'Wo
.
puh,
,chi lb\ ,ti.
test Sec.
>»
(6) Gramjiau of the Chinese Language. Compouvds.
To
heai-
To
see
^^'^ g|^^
Classifiers.
.T'ing jman, both
kLV
'T'ai
meaning to „
,,
Examples of Symphonioiis characters used
4.
Lear.
see.
in
Compounds.
M
'T'ai kin', f| ^fai, body, stands here for ij^ ^t;ai to se To see ff These occur chiefly in popular literature and colloquial writing-s, ar sometimes employed from ignorance, and sometimes for intelligibility. 5. Many compounds in daity use may be transposed without alterin the seiise, or becoming unintelligible; but great care requires to be take
in such transpositions, lest the sense be lost. Examples of woids that may he transposed.
To
rejoice
^j^-g- cFun
or 'hi ,fun.
'hi
To go and return 'fi^ -Wong Joi or ,loi -wong. Examples of words that may not be transposed. Lord of a
-^^
family,
In the presence of
A
jgj
wine cup In
but
'ta
merits
;
^k
'chii;
Mln^
j||j
VPI'^
'Tsau
conversation ^kung
Jiung [^XlC] but
^\b
(kung
to
,pvii
'ta
To be married
(said of
toil,
I
want a
I
want
I
is
am
tea
means
to assault, to fight
[^yf]
.15
mean;
toilsome labour.
Phrases.
.^'^S •«' ,.l ko- .ts-^
FH^^
Ch'ut
^'^M
come cup
ka'.
'%o oi-
^^|^^ 'Ngo
^ ik^l
ready
king>.
Tsii' '16 ,p'o.
^'^>^tt
a cup of tea
ready
=11
.loi,
^^^^Hff^ ,Sin ^shang 'ki-^shi ,loL
?
^^^^''^
'Ngo
Ife^lffl^ 6.
A
[^p^^J*]
women)
take a wife
will the teacher
min^ means before us, opposit
whilst ^pui 'tsau means a glass of wine
mm-^'f&.m
"^"'"s^ri at'"' }
Tea
;
cts'in
ff^t^^K^Sf^^ KiiV ^nai 'shui ,sz' fiV
Call the bricklayer
When
;
labour for wages; ^kung
[^ JL]
7.
To
whilst 'chii ^ka means to rule afamilj
jts'in
oi=
cch'a ^pui.
,pui ,ch'a.
P^^'
^^^''
,ts'ai pi^ lok,.
Classifiers.
added to or precedes every noun, whenever it stands Our words herd (in herd of cattle) ; sheets (in (in pieces of silk) correspond exactly to these which the student will do well to commit to memory before,
classifier is
in relation to numerals. pieces sheets of paper) ;
classifiers,
he proceeds further. 1
.
Ko' jgj
is
applied to men, as yat, ko' ^yan
Shap, ko'
'nil 'tsai
'JriS:i^if
'-^'en
—'i^\
girls.
one man.
(7)
Grammar
of tub Chinese Language. 6.
Ko'
^
the
Classifiers.
abbreviated ko'
'^
such as baskets, coin &c.,
'Mid neung- ko'
Jam
Chek, arms, eyes &c. 2.
^
HSMfS^I^ Buy two baskets.
Joi
'Pi ^Dg ko' 'ping ,kon
applied to inanimate objects,
is
Sec.
'kHif$5^^^g[fljj:t^2jg Give bimiive
biscuits.
applied to boats, vessels, birds, quadrupeds, legs, it is also applied to man.
is
In Hahka colloquial
Examples. Yat,
"^^ ^'%
chek, -t'eng
One
boat.
One
vessel.
„
cshiin
Shap,
„
,kai
"T^^
^Ng-'
„
^chxi
5l^J§
Five pigs.
^Leung-
„
'shau
PH^^
Two
„
%g;in
„
Yat,
Ten chickens.
—'^BR
One
arms. eye.
Exercises,
Embark
Call a boat.
Raise one arm.
To
call
B^yR
^^^'
open
ch'ing'.
tTPQ
3. Tiii' ^fif is
Open one
£^oi- 2-
weigh^^
Weigh
in that ship.
Buy
that chicken.
a
pi"-;
eye.
To embark, To buy
to take passage in, ^l? tap,.
^
^mai.
To
raise
^
To To
'kii.
'ta Jioi.
applied to things
we use
that
in pairs,
as shoes,
stockings, scrolls, &c.
Examples. Yat,
tui' shai
Yat,
Yat
tfii'
mat,
tui' 'tui
One
pair of shoes.
'^T'fi^
One
pair of stockings.
'P't^y*
One
pair of scrolls.
—'aU*^ —
Exercises.
Make
Knit a pair of stockings.
a pair of shoes.
Put on
To make
4.
5®
^
this pair of shoes.
tso-.
To
"^
knit -^^ chik,.
To
cheuk,.
jSheung
is
T?ke
ttike off
^
Write a pair
of sceoHs!.
off this pair s^tockings.
To
write
^
'se.
To put
on.
i'ixt,.
applied to a pair, a couple, double, &c. *
Note
2.
— In
kiu' Joi and similar phrases the object must be put between the two verbs. Exception : In negative sentences, as ;
BSfi^VttfflPSfi!
^ttlB^fi^V^
cni tik,
jau ,cham
,'m ch^ut,
orPg-g^
c'm ^chamtak, ch'ut, ,ni tik, .yau,'
Cannot
the particles 6*A'?
Sx
>ii
t'ii"
There 17.
y^^> tui' ^nu ,van
is
a party of ladies in the garden.
stands for herd, flock &c.
^^
jKw'an
Yat, ikw'an jeung'ye ap,
„
,
'shui jngau
„
^3
18. Tat,
Ko' 'pa
A 19.
—'^^^. A — S.lf^l — '^^TjC'^ A
flock of sheep.
wild ducks.
„
'
herd of buffaloes.
applied to irregular pieces or spots.
is
^shang yat,
kini'
^fJlHW —'I^^lfe A
FiV ^fj
is
Yat, fu'
hi' kii'
sau'
tfit,
spot of rust has
^tB:©J^~^S^
come on
used as a
that sword.
cla«t ^/'j^ -tt^
(
)
oXsbacL
in
_a*
j-r
I^-B^fi Aa(-5)K?!^
Wfm^^M:
^'
'Ts^z ,van fu^ ,chi Jol.
.Nl ko' ,yan fu^ .k^
lM
,\no to
,lof.
.Sz shh^ pat, kit, ^kwo.
( P. PJ&('^KtSr^PS/^a Hr J^i =t'i^ C.
and
Colloipiial in the lower.
carry on the back.
shii= ,t6
,'m kit, 'kwo.
(18)
C'hAMMAR of tub CniNEPE LANC.rAGK. Ihe Tlie
woman Inst
w'il'en
B,
f
"'^s'tm ^
younV
(
Ti,ts^ni,ts^ing,cL^unsoii^'"no-ar.
"flrSXt^^^
Ko'^nu,vaTisl.eunoMiau\shan-
The man liar-TB. (P.
ous intentions.
The
B.
rest.
tlie
rest is not
C
shat, 4iu
i*: ^^ff^ifliV^^^ Jv'i
1010
A®®
jan
^U^ 'I^o k"
^^^i _^^f^^
worth bein--^ B. looked at,
The Koi
Article.
fS:§1^^5§{r?l
:kli&U^&
'^'
Lost
The Iiuhfnite
Definite Article.
Shat,
M
cwai
Mo
ke'
>.Ill,^
)i
(Sneak
^ts'z
Sc
write
-^^h|
and
(I'^ung" 'ino
/I's'z chniig-.)
(I'^'inS' '"'^ ^*^-
ajla.} 'J^Iau 'p'an (Sj)eak -p'an
^tX^Ij
^mau.) (G)
The. male and female or masculine and feminine character of
T).
animate niiture
is
expressed bv
l^i!^ cKong and
in-
.yau (strong- and soft.)
Examples. It .
It
a
is is
a
^\
man i^ woman "jj^j^C/^
A
coek
A
bull
(Kung-
Ua? cnam '"^
;>
,yan.
»
KiiV Jvai,kung;ahpn|^^,kai
^X-p
^Mau
A
,ngau.
cow 'if-L^
W\
'p'an ^ngau.
^
and 'nu j^W; are the general terms used in colloquial for exl^ressing the gender of every species of animate nature except
man.
^)i^^]%^lS.iM&
Is this a cock or a hen-bird?
Where
is
hai-
(kung wakj
the
sow?
hai*
iWMWM''mf^ 2.
cChil
jmim
cyan
,t'o
distinctness l"i^
^^''i|^ f 1
^1^0^ J\. may fM,
]\oTE
is
sts'5
6.
1x£ niay mean.
express
that bad
:
required, the characters
^,
cts'i'ii
—iYam ^yeung
]ll^,
^nii tsoi= .p^^^ ^^'ii' c^i-
jch'au
My
as well as the plural. pupil, or
-ii^^d
my
^JNgo
pupils- ko' ok^
man or those bad men. Where Hang -^^ jmun if\ piii' J^,
j^ are put after the substantive
are also applied to concave
Iw5 jyeung
(")
Number.
Every noun may express the singular ke'
r^i chek, tseuk,
'n:'i.
convex Hies;
j
kok,
and convex objects
pJ^K jam
'^nga concave do. 5 the former covering the latter as heaven does earth. (^•ff-
G.
Note
— These characters are — As these words
7.
also applied to plants.
are seldom
used in general conversation, foreigners find themselves often in a dilemna, when having to refer to the gender of animals, whilst the Chinaman will al-
ways help himself by speaking of doir."
a
*'
boy dog" and a "girl
(CO)
GllAMMAR OF TUB CniNESK LANGUAGE. the JSoun.
Words foUon'Vuj
^,
If, cbnng' M, sf=^i^ Hs, sliu> )^, yn '^, ^ts'im ;^, man-
.cliii
'f'^,.li;'im 01-
Plni-al
{H;,^to
Nnmher.
^
fj^, ,kai
Jl\, ^tsung-
and
,kai
either precede
fj,
follow the noun.
^^
'Tano-
^
^Ng-o 'tang-
^^eung
,Nung
common
the most
is
-N"-o 'tan"-
"ui 'tang-,
T^j
character used to denote the plural.
1/]^^
are )ised both in books and colloquial.
%^^WJ
,ti
A
^\f
tik, p5'
'Ni 'yau pak,
hwh
'Yau
ping-^ tik,
,kan
oi'
,tij
'^siii
httle longer.
Hak,
^ti
,yan
^^ El Hv ,ni
iiV
man who
e.
Note
9.
tai^ ,ti.
I like one larger.
A little
^^^xf
'ill
Purchase that white
|$^ Q ^^^B^
kin' ^ni
Have you any
^^^^ AS^Mi^:^
wishes to see you. In another sentence the quality of the adjective vious,
(kau
like
darker.
A little better.
'Mai ko' pak,
^ti
oi'
I hke one smaller,
I do LOt like that;
jCh'eung
Do you
'f^t}7,'gB^pa^i^Bl&
is
calico.
whiter
There
is
?
a sick
much more
ob-
(J.
—'Ho
jjj*
is
>§i(f He
used as an Adverb
;
conducts himself well.
-K'ii
^hang ,wai 'ho
416 'kau
^^%
iBfT
Very
long.
(•35)
GuAMMAIi or TUB Adjfctices.
C. D.
omitled
is
[{>J
^ ^ yv
kwai^ tvan
ix.'JK.il^ifj^
and honorable
rich
In the Canton Colloquial ke^ the Adjective,
-Yau
,'M 'ho ke>
A WtWi^^f^ ^
jan
shiit,
WiV
41 o
A
'Wo jif Good.
Beautiful.
or
M5?
Kang'lio
hateful person.
fi^
Most
by
are expressed
characters
Superlative.
ChP
Better,
M^
Kang' -mi
The comparative is ^T.'z jan pP 'pi ,ya.i
llo han^
Pf ;S'''f^ Amiable,
ke^
oi^
Comparafice.
2.
^
]ierson.
wonKhy man.
Tlje
^
i'lV
crafty fellow.
comparative and superlative corn'.s[)ont!in^- to our more and most. J'osiiive. Comparative.
-Mi
house.
5=^1 hmo-unge.
Pg-^i'^kiifS'
ke^jyan "PffS^'iltA
2.
larg-e
together, as:
more frequently used to express
^$M^^\
jan
ke'
RI ;•§ detestable.
'IIo iV
P(]^ is
very
])ut
e.