Talk:小姐

Is it true that the meaning "prostitute" evolved from the usage of the word in the title of a certain XXX movie?--Ivan Štambuk 19:54, 13 October 2009 (UTC)

Pronunciation

@Tooironic, Justinrleung May I ask that how should we deal with the pronunciation "xiǎojie"? Does "ɕi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴ d͡ʑ̥i̯ɛ⁴" exist? Dokurrat (talk) 05:03, 30 July 2018 (UTC)

@Dokurrat: Not sure. I haven't heard of /ɕi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴ d͡ʑ̥i̯ɛ⁴/. — justin(r)leung _{{ (t...) | c=› }} 05:47, 30 July 2018 (UTC)

I dunno either. ---> Tooironic (talk) 09:17, 31 July 2018 (UTC)

@Tooironic: I think it is you who added "xiǎojie" to this entry. May I ask if you have any justification for it? Dokurrat (talk) 14:13, 1 August 2018 (UTC)

I can't remember the source. I note CC-CEDICT includes it. ---> Tooironic (talk) 14:18, 1 August 2018 (UTC)

@Tooironic: I'll remove this pronunciation as CC-CEDICT did not explain the reason or give a proof for this pronunciation See here. Dokurrat (talk) 02:56, 15 September 2018 (UTC). Dokurrat (talk) 04:01, 10 August 2018 (UTC)

OK no problem. Thanks. ---> Tooironic (talk) 13:12, 13 August 2018 (UTC)

Meaning of 來了

I don't think this is how I understand 來了 in this case. May I ask how do you @Dine2016 understand it? Dokurrat (talk) 03:24, 19 January 2019 (UTC) (modified)

@Dokurrat: If I'm not mistaken, 來了 could either mean “has arrived” or “is on the way”, though I couldn't explain why. What about asking other editors? --Dine2016 (talk) 03:37, 19 January 2019 (UTC)

@Dine2016: Well, It seems that you're the one who is a native Mandarin speaker and online at the moment (besides me)... Dokurrat (talk) 03:40, 19 January 2019 (UTC) (modified)

@Dokurrat: Yes, though I couldn't distinguish -n and -ng. --Dine2016 (talk) 03:41, 19 January 2019 (UTC)

@Dine2016: As for me, I would understand “來了！” as either “[I'm] coming!” (in a situation that I am answering to a knocking door) or “[He/She/It/They is/are] here!” (in a situation that I am pointing out that someone(s) has/have arrived just now). But... I don't think I would understand “王小姐來了。” as “Miss Wang is coming.” And you said you would understand 來了 as both meaning. Could you please gimme a context in which “王小姐來了。” means “Miss Wang is coming.”? Hope you don't mind me. Dokurrat (talk) 03:48, 19 January 2019 (UTC) (modified)

CC @Tooironic. Dokurrat (talk) 03:49, 19 January 2019 (UTC)

@Dokurrat: “（經過多天的等待，從來沒拜訪過我公司的）王小姐來了（動身了/在來的路上，請大家做好準備迎接）”。? I agree this is a little odd though. --Dine2016 (talk) 03:57, 19 January 2019 (UTC)

@Dine2016: Hmmm... 🤔 I don't want to comment on this example. At least this is not a common meaning/usage of “王小姐來了。”, right? He/she has already said it is a little odd; I need not ask this question. Dokurrat (talk) 04:15, 19 January 2019 (UTC) Dokurrat (talk) 04:05, 19 January 2019 (UTC) (modified)

Why not give both translations (if it looks nice) --Geographyinitiative (talk) 04:21, 19 January 2019 (UTC)

Actually, the first scenairo I came up with was: in a noisy classroom, one of the pupils by thw window spots the teacher on the way to the classroom and says: 老師來了！ By the time the teacher enters the classroom, the class has already quieted down. --Dine2016 (talk) 05:05, 19 January 2019 (UTC)

@Dokurrat, Dine2016: This looks like a 了₁ vs. 了₂ situation. With 了₁, it would be "Miss Wang has come", and with 了₂, it would be "Miss Wang is coming". Both readings can be right, but I'd use an exclamation mark with 了₂. In Cantonese, this distinction is clearer: 王小姐嚟咗 vs. 王小姐嚟喇. — justin(r)leung _{{ (t...) | c=› }} 06:55, 19 January 2019 (UTC)

@Justinrleung: By using denotation "了₁" and "了₂", did you mean 了#Pronunciation 1 and 了#Pronunciation 2? If so, then, I'd say such analysis doesn't apply to my usage. Dokurrat (talk) 07:35, 19 January 2019 (UTC)

@Dokurrat: No, not the pronunciations. They're both pronounced le, but they differ in function/meaning. I should have been clearer. 了₁ is the aspectual particle (perfective) and 了₂ is the modal particle ("marks a 'currently relevant state'" per Wikipedia). — justin(r)leung _{{ (t...) | c=› }} 07:43, 19 January 2019 (UTC)

• My intuition tells me that 來了 means "coming" not "here" ("arrived") - that would be 到了. But of course I defer to the native speakers here. ---> Tooironic (talk) 07:11, 19 January 2019 (UTC)

Phonetic: xiáojie

According to Wiedenhof's A Grammar of Mandarin --Backinstadiums (talk) 09:20, 1 October 2019 (UTC)

Hong Kong

@Justinrleung, RcAlex36 Just wondering, does this term also mean "prostitute" in Hong Kong like it does in mainland China? In Singapore, it's common for us to use this term to call a waitress in restaurant, including when speaking Cantonese, but I've heard conflicting reports about Hong Kong. Some say it's the same as mainland China, and some say it's fine just like in Taiwan. The dog2 (talk) 04:47, 19 January 2021 (UTC)

@The dog2: No. RcAlex36 (talk) 04:52, 19 January 2021 (UTC)

@Justinrleung, RcAlex36 So does this mean it will be OK if I call a waitress 小姐 in Hong Kong. The dog2 (talk) 05:02, 19 January 2021 (UTC)

@The dog2: I think so. — justin(r)leung _{{ (t...) | c=› }} 05:21, 19 January 2021 (UTC)