This sucks :) (was: Re: Some help with Latin)

From: Henrik Theiling <theiling@...>

> I did not know Mandarin allowed so much 'chi1'.  I only learned
>   'chi1 fan4' - 'eat rice = eat'
>   'he1  cha2' - 'drink tea'
>   'xi1  yan1' - 'suck smoke = smoke'
>   'xi1  qi1'  - 'suck air = breathe'
> All these can be with 'chi1' also??
"chi1 cha2" and "chi1 shui3" have a regional je-sais-trop-bien-quoi about them, but
I heard at least the former now and again.

"chi1 yan1" was definitely in currency (disqualifier: my home base on the mainland
was the provincial capital Nanchang in Jiangxi, a Gan area), but, as Eugene
points out, could have been a localism grafted onto Mandarin. "xi1 yan1 (back
to "tabako o suu") is the norm, as, I hope (Eugene?) is "chou1 yan1" ("pull
smoke," cf. "take/have a drag"). As for Hokkien, the Taiwan years elicited "t

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