<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xml:lang="en-gb"> <link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://chineselanguage.org/forums/app.php/feed/topic/11044" /> <title>Chinese languages</title> <subtitle>Chinese languages</subtitle> <link href="http://chineselanguage.org/forums/index.php" /> <updated>2011-01-28T19:39:07+00:00</updated> <author><name><![CDATA[Chinese languages]]></name></author> <id>http://chineselanguage.org/forums/app.php/feed/topic/11044</id> <entry> <author><name><![CDATA[Lafaso870]]></name></author> <updated>2011-01-28T19:39:07+00:00</updated> <published>2011-01-28T19:39:07+00:00</published> <id>http://chineselanguage.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=34417#p34417</id> <link href="http://chineselanguage.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=34417#p34417"/> <title type="html"><![CDATA[Meaning of 东西]]></title> <content type="html" xml:base="http://chineselanguage.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=34417#p34417"><![CDATA[ "东西".. Since RS gives no definitions, I went with my gut on the meaning, and apparently was totally wrong according to any dictionary I've checked.<br><br>The only sentence they give with this word is:<br>这只狗在吃东西。<br>It shows a picture of a dog eating dog food. Since at this point we've been given several items of food, I assumed it meant "dog food"...<br><br>However, the dictionary disagrees (rightfully I'm sure)...<br>It looks like in that context, it simply means "something", right?<br><br>The most basic translation of 东西 ([dōngxī]) is "east and west"...<br>Other definitions include:<br>1. thing; stuff<br>2. (referring to an animal) thing; creature<br>3. noun [Offensive] (refering to a person) thing, used as an insult<br><br>So... was this RS's cute way of avoiding teaching the word for dog food by simply saying the dog is eating... something?<br><br>And, more importantly, is this a word one would use regularly if you're referring to "stuff"?<p>Statistics: Posted by <a href="http://chineselanguage.org/forums/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=8406">Lafaso870</a> — Fri Jan 28, 2011 7:39 pm</p><hr /> ]]></content> </entry> </feed>