Categories
Current Events

Àomìkèróng

Àomìkèróng (Omicron 奥密克戎 奧密克戎) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

[Note: Tap/click on a Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to reveal its “flashcard”, tap/click on a “flashcard” or its Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to hide the “flashcard”.]

As of this writing, near the end of 2021, the subject of the COVID-19 pandemic has been, to say the least, on people’s minds now for a while. So, it would be good to be able to refer to things related to it in Mandarin when speaking to people in the Mandarin field, or when speaking to our brothers and sisters in the truth.

electron microscope image of SARS-CoV-2—also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19

An electron microscope image of SARS-CoV-2—also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19
Creative Commons Attribution License logo NIAID

This week’s MEotW, “Àomìkèróng (Omicron 奥密克戎 奧密克戎)”, is one way to say “Omicron”—as in the Omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19—in Mandarin.

Another way to say “Omicron” in Mandarin is “Àomǐkěróng (Omicron 奥米可戎 奧米可戎)”.

To get an idea of how commonly used these expressions are compared to each other, consider the numbers of Google search results involving these expressions, together with “biànzhǒng (biàn·zhǒng changed · kind; type; variety → [mutation; variant; variety] 变种 變種)” (a past MEotW) and “biànyì zhū ((biàn·yì changed · {to be different} 变异 變異) (zhū {trunk of a tree → [strain]} 株) [(virus) strain/variant])”, two common ways to say “variant”:

Àomìkèróng (Omicron 奥密克戎 奧密克戎)
Search Terms Google Results Approx. No.
"奥密克戎变种"
(Àomìkèróng (Omicron 奥密克戎 奧密克戎) biànzhǒng (biàn·zhǒng changed · kind; type; variety → [mutation; variant; variety] 变种 變種))
696,000
"奥密克戎变异株"
(Àomìkèróng (Omicron 奥密克戎 奧密克戎) biànyì zhū ((biàn·yì changed · {to be different} 变异 變異) (zhū {trunk of a tree → [strain]} 株) [(virus) strain/variant]))
4,220,000
Àomǐkěróng (Omicron 奥米可戎 奧米可戎)
Search Terms Google Results Approx. No.
"奥米可戎变种"
(Àomǐkěróng (Omicron 奥米可戎 奧米可戎) biànzhǒng (biàn·zhǒng changed · kind; type; variety → [mutation; variant; variety] 变种 變種))
4
"奥米可戎变异株"
(Àomǐkěróng (Omicron 奥米可戎 奧米可戎) biànyì zhū ((biàn·yì changed · {to be different} 变异 變異) (zhū {trunk of a tree → [strain]} 株) [(virus) strain/variant]))
0

(Note that the quotation marks in the search terms tell Google to look for the exact sequences of characters that are inside the quotation marks—the results of searching without the quotation marks can be very different.)

Sounds Like…

Note that both “Àomìkèróng (Omicron 奥密克戎 奧密克戎)” and “Àomǐkěróng (Omicron 奥米可戎 奧米可戎)” are Mandarin expressions that were constructed, not because of the meanings represented by the Chinese characters used to write them, but because the Mandarin syllables used to say them sound like the English word “Omicron”.

In fact, when talking or writing in Mandarin about the Omicron variant, it is very common for people to just use the actual English word “Omicron”, which sounds more like the English word “Omicron” than anything else, and is not a Mandarin word written using the supposedly ideographic (representing meaning through visible symbols) Chinese characters.

Omicron
Search Terms Google Results Approx. No.
"omicron变种"
(Omicron biànzhǒng (biàn·zhǒng changed · kind; type; variety → [mutation; variant; variety] 变种 變種))
3,880,000
"omicron变异株"
(Omicron biànyì zhū ((biàn·yì changed · {to be different} 变异 變異) (zhū {trunk of a tree → [strain]} 株) [(virus) strain/variant]))
2,850,000

It is no surprise to linguists (language scientists/scholars) that people naturally focus on what words sound like when spoken, because, while of course meaning is what, well, gives life meaning, one of the basic principles of modern linguistics (the scientific study of language) is that speech is primary, and writing is secondary. That means that God designed us humans to express meaning via language primarily using speech that is heard, not writing that is seen, no matter how much lovers of Chinese characters traditionally focus on that visually intricate writing system above all else.—1 Corinthians 14:8–11.

Categories
Current Events

jiāqiáng

jiāqiáng (jiā·qiáng {adding (to)} · strengthening [→ [booster (e.g. for vaccine)]] 加强 加強) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

[Note: Tap/click on a Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to reveal its “flashcard”, tap/click on a “flashcard” or its Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to hide the “flashcard”.]

As of this writing, deep in the year 2021, the subject of the COVID-19 pandemic has been, to say the least, on people’s minds now for a while. So, it would be good to be able to refer to things related to it in Mandarin when speaking to people in the Mandarin field, or when speaking to our brothers and sisters in the truth.

electron microscope image of SARS-CoV-2—also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19

An electron microscope image of SARS-CoV-2—also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19
Creative Commons Attribution License logo NIAID

This week’s MEotW, “jiāqiáng (jiā·qiáng {adding (to)} · strengthening [→ [booster (e.g. for vaccine)]] 加强 加強)”, literally means “adding (to), strengthening”, and is often used to refer to the “booster” part of what English-speakers call a “booster shot” for, say, a COVID-19 vaccine.

How about the “shot” part of “booster shot”? It seems this can be expressed in Mandarin as “zhēn (needle → [injection; shot]針/鍼)”, “ ({medicinal/chemical preparation}; dose)”, or “zhēnjì (zhēn·jì {needle → [injection; shot]} · dose 针剂 針劑)” (the first two put together).

Frequencies

The following table of Google search result numbers gives us an idea of how frequently used these possible terms are, compared to each other:

jiāqiáng (jiā·qiáng {adding (to)} · strengthening → [booster (e.g. for vaccine)] 加强 加強)
Search Terms Google Results Approx. No.
"加强针"
(jiāqiáng (jiā·qiáng {adding (to)} · strengthening → [booster (e.g. for vaccine)] 加强 加強) zhēn (needle → [injection; shot]針/鍼))
14,208,000*
"加强剂"
(jiāqiáng (jiā·qiáng {adding (to)} · strengthening → [booster (e.g. for vaccine)] 加强 加強) ({medicinal/chemical preparation}; dose))
2,560,000
"加强针剂"
(jiāqiáng (jiā·qiáng {adding (to)} · strengthening → [booster (e.g. for vaccine)] 加强 加強) zhēnjì (zhēn·jì {needle → [injection; shot]} · dose 针剂 針劑))
192,000

 

* Since “加强针” is contained in “加强针剂”, the number of results for “加强针剂” has been subtracted from the raw number of results for “加强针” to arrive at this number. ^
Categories
Current Events

Dé’ěrtǎ

Dé’ěrtǎ (Delta 德尔塔 德爾塔) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

[Note: Tap/click on a Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to reveal its “flashcard”, tap/click on a “flashcard” or its Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to hide the “flashcard”.]

As of this writing, deep in the year 2021, the subject of the COVID-19 pandemic has been, to say the least, on people’s minds now for a while. So, it would be good to be able to refer to things related to it in Mandarin when speaking to people in the Mandarin field, or when speaking to our brothers and sisters in the truth.

electron microscope image of SARS-CoV-2—also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19

An electron microscope image of SARS-CoV-2—also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19
Creative Commons Attribution License logo NIAID

This week’s MEotW, “Dé’ěrtǎ (Delta 德尔塔 德爾塔)”, is one of the more “Mandariny” ways to say “Delta”—as in the Delta variant of the virus that causes COVID-19—in Mandarin.

There are, however, other ways to say “Delta” in Mandarin, e.g.:

  • Děi’ěrtǎ (Delta 得尔塔 得爾塔)
  • sānjiǎo (sān·jiǎo three · {horns → [corners]} → [triangle; delta] 三角) [xíng (form; shape 形)]”
  • sānjiǎo (sān·jiǎo three · {horns → [corners]} → [triangle (of)] 三角) zhōu ({river islets/islands} → [(river) delta] 洲)
  • sānjiǎo (sān·jiǎo three · {horns → [corners]} → [triangle; delta] 三角) (wing 翼)

To get an idea of how commonly used these expressions are compared to each other, consider the numbers of Google search results involving these expressions, together with “biànzhǒng (biàn·zhǒng changed · kind; type; variety → [mutation; variant; variety] 变种 變種)” (a past MEotW) and “biànyì zhū ((biàn·yì changed · {to be different} 变异 變異) (zhū {trunk of a tree → [strain]} 株) [(virus) strain/variant])”, two common ways to say “variant”:

Dé’ěrtǎ (Delta 德尔塔 德爾塔)
Search Terms Google Results Approx. No.
"德尔塔变种"
(Dé’ěrtǎ (Delta 德尔塔 德爾塔) biànzhǒng (biàn·zhǒng changed · kind; type; variety → [mutation; variant; variety] 变种 變種))
619,000
"德尔塔变异株"
(Dé’ěrtǎ (Delta 德尔塔 德爾塔) biànyì zhū ((biàn·yì changed · {to be different} 变异 變異) (zhū {trunk of a tree → [strain]} 株) [(virus) strain/variant]))
1,980,000
Děi’ěrtǎ (Delta 得尔塔 得爾塔)
Search Terms Google Results Approx. No.
"得尔塔变种"
(Děi’ěrtǎ (Delta 得尔塔 得爾塔) biànzhǒng (biàn·zhǒng changed · kind; type; variety → [mutation; variant; variety] 变种 變種))
824
"得尔塔变异株"
(Děi’ěrtǎ (Delta 得尔塔 得爾塔) biànyì zhū ((biàn·yì changed · {to be different} 变异 變異) (zhū {trunk of a tree → [strain]} 株) [(virus) strain/variant]))
13,300
sānjiǎo (sān·jiǎo three · {horns → [corners]} → [triangle; delta] 三角) [xíng (form; shape 形)]
Search Terms Google Results Approx. No.
"三角变种"
(sānjiǎo (sān·jiǎo three · {horns → [corners]} → [triangle; delta] 三角) biànzhǒng (biàn·zhǒng changed · kind; type; variety → [mutation; variant; variety] 变种 變種))
354
"三角变异株"
(sānjiǎo (sān·jiǎo three · {horns → [corners]} → [triangle; delta] 三角) biànyì zhū ((biàn·yì changed · {to be different} 变异 變異) (zhū {trunk of a tree → [strain]} 株) [(virus) strain/variant]))
4
"三角形变种"
(sānjiǎo (sān·jiǎo three · {horns → [corners]} → [triangle; delta] 三角) xíng (form; shape 形) biànzhǒng (biàn·zhǒng changed · kind; type; variety → [mutation; variant; variety] 变种 變種))
127
"三角形变异株"
(sānjiǎo (sān·jiǎo three · {horns → [corners]} → [triangle; delta] 三角) xíng (form; shape 形) biànyì zhū ((biàn·yì changed · {to be different} 变异 變異) (zhū {trunk of a tree → [strain]} 株) [(virus) strain/variant]))
0
sānjiǎo (sān·jiǎo three · {horns → [corners]} → [triangle (of)] 三角) zhōu ({river islets/islands} → [(river) delta] 洲)
Search Terms Google Results Approx. No.
"三角洲变种"
(sānjiǎo (sān·jiǎo three · {horns → [corners]} → [triangle (of)] 三角) zhōu ({river islets/islands} → [(river) delta] 洲) biànzhǒng (biàn·zhǒng changed · kind; type; variety → [mutation; variant; variety] 变种 變種))
20,800
"三角洲变异株"
(sānjiǎo (sān·jiǎo three · {horns → [corners]} → [triangle (of)] 三角) zhōu ({river islets/islands} → [(river) delta] 洲) biànyì zhū ((biàn·yì changed · {to be different} 变异 變異) (zhū {trunk of a tree → [strain]} 株) [(virus) strain/variant]))
982
sānjiǎo (sān·jiǎo three · {horns → [corners]} → [triangle; delta] 三角) (wing 翼)
Search Terms Google Results Approx. No.
"三角翼变种"
(sānjiǎo (sān·jiǎo three · {horns → [corners]} → [triangle; delta] 三角) (wing 翼) biànzhǒng (biàn·zhǒng changed · kind; type; variety → [mutation; variant; variety] 变种 變種))
146
"三角翼变异株"
(sānjiǎo (sān·jiǎo three · {horns → [corners]} → [triangle; delta] 三角) (wing 翼) biànyì zhū ((biàn·yì changed · {to be different} 变异 變異) (zhū {trunk of a tree → [strain]} 株) [(virus) strain/variant]))
0

(Note that the quotation marks in the search terms tell Google to look for the exact sequences of characters that are inside the quotation marks—the results of searching without the quotation marks can be very different.)

Sounds Like…

You may notice that the ways to say “Delta” in Mandarin can be divided into

  • those that are derived from the meaning of “Delta” (the uppercase Greek letter delta (Δ), or something that looks like a triangle like it does), and
  • those that are derived from the sound of the English word “Delta”.

It is evident from the above Google search results that overall, saying “Delta” in Mandarin using expressions that sound like the English word “Delta” is much more common than doing so using expressions that mean what “Delta” means, or that mean something that looks like what a “Delta” looks like.

In fact, as was shown in the MEotW post about “biànzhǒng (biàn·zhǒng changed · kind; type; variety → [mutation; variant; variety] 变种 變種)”, when talking or writing in Mandarin about the Delta variant, it is very common for people to just use the actual English word “Delta”, which sounds more like the English word “Delta” than anything else, and is not a Mandarin word written using the supposedly ideographic (representing meaning through visible symbols) Chinese characters.

Delta
Search Terms Google Results Approx. No.
"delta变种"
(Delta biànzhǒng (biàn·zhǒng changed · kind; type; variety → [mutation; variant; variety] 变种 變種))
2,230,000
"delta变异株"
(Delta biànyì zhū ((biàn·yì changed · {to be different} 变异 變異) (zhū {trunk of a tree → [strain]} 株) [(virus) strain/variant]))
1,750,000

It is no surprise to linguists (language scientists/scholars) that people naturally focus on what words sound like when spoken, because, while of course meaning is what, well, gives life meaning, one of the basic principles of modern linguistics (the scientific study of language) is that speech is primary, and writing is secondary. That means that God designed us humans to express meaning via language primarily using speech that is heard, not writing that is seen, no matter how much lovers of Chinese characters traditionally focus on that visually intricate writing system above all else.—1 Corinthians 14:8–11.