a puppy?
I was browsing this list of Chinese honorifics, and it's very interesting. A lot of them seem to function as pronouns in situations where you want to actually avoid pronouns. My favorite:
犬子 (quǎnzǐ): "My son, who is comparable to a puppy"
Seriously?
Also interesting:
不谷 (bù gǔ): I, the ruler of a dissolute kingdom (literally "produces no grain")
窃 (qiè): I, who did not give you proper notice
令阃 (lìngkǔn): the beautiful door to the woman's room (i.e. your wife)
The second character of that last one is interesting. There is a doorway (门) surrounding the character kùn 困, which means either "sleepy" or "difficult" (and now I'm confused). That might be just for pronunciation.
I'm trying to imagine being in a situation in which you had to quickly decide which honorific to use...
犬子 (quǎnzǐ): "My son, who is comparable to a puppy"
Seriously?
Also interesting:
不谷 (bù gǔ): I, the ruler of a dissolute kingdom (literally "produces no grain")
窃 (qiè): I, who did not give you proper notice
令阃 (lìngkǔn): the beautiful door to the woman's room (i.e. your wife)
The second character of that last one is interesting. There is a doorway (门) surrounding the character kùn 困, which means either "sleepy" or "difficult" (and now I'm confused). That might be just for pronunciation.
I'm trying to imagine being in a situation in which you had to quickly decide which honorific to use...