11 definitions by Gaijin-san
An SAR (Semi-Autonomous Region) of China. Island west of Hong Kong Portugese colony from the 1500s up until 1999. Gambling hot-spot of China, due to a loosely-regulated free market economy. Where 007 meets Silva's damsel and fights off her bodyguards (one of them gets eaten by a Kimodo dragon) in Skyfall.
by Gaijin-san January 10, 2013
by Gaijin-san January 10, 2013
Korean for "Roman alphabet/writing/letters". There are several different romanization methods used in South Korea, making it somewhat to discern how to pronounce some Korean words without any knowledge of hangeul, the Korean alphabet. South Koreans spell their names similar to common English words so that English-speakers can pronounce their names more easily.
In romaja, my can be spelled as following, Kim Lee Sung or Kim Li Seong.
Korean barbeque, spelled kimchee or kimchi in romaja, is notoriously spicy.
Korean barbeque, spelled kimchee or kimchi in romaja, is notoriously spicy.
by Gaijin-san January 10, 2013
Standard Chinese spelling system using Roman alphabet. Literally translates as "spell sound". In modern Chinese education, children are taught to read and write pinyin before learning hanzi (Chinese characters).
If it weren't for pinyin, there would be no way I could ever learn how to speak Chinese by reading it.
by Gaijin-san January 10, 2013
The language that had split into the modern languages of Hindi and Urdu. Until Pakistan separated from India in 1947, the two languages were the same. Though they are now considered separate languages, they are mutually-intelligible, meaning that a Pakistani can speak to an Indian in Urdu, and an Indian to a Pakistani in Hindi, and can comprehend what they say to each other. The main difference is in their writing systems. Urdu is written in the Arabic alphabet, while Hindi is written in the Sanskrit alphabet.
by Gaijin-san January 11, 2013
Chinese written character. One of the oldest continually used writing systems to date. Characters are ideographic, meaning that they represent the meaning of the word, as opposed to phonetic, which means you will not be able to learn how to speak Chinese just by reading it. Hanzi is used to write Chinese, Japanese, to some extent in Korean, and Vietnamese until the occupation of France.
Since one has to memorize thousands of hanzi, it is very difficult to read Chinese.
Because so many homophones exist in Chinese, due to the fact that every word only has one syllable, the Chinese cannot simply stop writing hanzi.
Because so many homophones exist in Chinese, due to the fact that every word only has one syllable, the Chinese cannot simply stop writing hanzi.
by Gaijin-san January 10, 2013
Arabic for "God". Regardless of what their first language is, Muslims prefer this title over other names that refer to "God" because Arabic is the divine language of Islam. The Hebrew equivalent of "Allahumma" is "Elohim", since Hebrew and Arabic are very similar languages.
by Gaijin-san January 10, 2013
