this post was submitted on 29 Apr 2024
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Memes

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To be fair, zero is a complicated number

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[–] alcoholicorn@lemmy.ml 59 points 6 months ago (27 children)

I'm sure the chinese have equivalent memes about having to learn arabic numbers, at least you don't have to use it in written out numbers, 20 is 二十, two-ten, 200 is 二百, two-hundred, 2000 is 二千, two-thousand, 200,000 is 二十万, two-hundred-thousand.

There less memorizing irregular words like twelve and X-teen and converting 30 to thirty, since it's all pronounced as written.

[–] Frozengyro@lemmy.world 17 points 6 months ago (10 children)

Japanese pronounces some numbers different depending on what you are counting. Is this the same for Chinese?

[–] Vrtrx@lemmy.world 3 points 6 months ago

Afaik, no. Japanese either uses 音読み onyomi = Chinese reading (literally "sound reading", 音 = sound, 読み = reading) and 訓読み Kunyomi = Japanese reading (訓 has multiple kanji meanings. I learned it as "instruction". Sites list the meanings as 訓 = instruction, Japanese character reading, explanation, read) for words that have kanji (Chinese characters). The original Chinese characters don't have a "Japanese reading" afaik. They are Chinese after all.

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