MEotW: zháole huǒ

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

• zháole huǒ

Are homophones really a showstopper when it comes to using Pīnyīn to write Mandarin? How are homographs a similar problem for characters?

Many claim that _Pīnyīn_ shouldn’t be used as a writing system because characters are required to avoid confusion from all the homophones (different words that sound the same) in Mandarin.

If that’s true, then people shouldn’t SPEAK Mandarin either! But many do, and it’s fine. pic.twitter.com/1MK0ERuFjc

— Troubadour WW (@troubadourww) April 8, 2025

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MEotW: dòngnù

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

• dòngnù

Is anger an appropriate reaction to the suggestion to focus less on characters and more on Pīnyīn?

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MEotW: qià‐dào‐hǎochu

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

• qià‐dào‐hǎochu

What can we say to Mandarin-speaking people about how fine-tuned the universe is to support life?

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MEotW: ménwèi

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

• ménwèi

How can we talk to Mandarin-speaking people, many of whom believe in evolution, about the “security guards” built into our cells?

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