{"id":24063,"date":"2025-05-28T16:59:30","date_gmt":"2025-05-28T16:59:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/?p=24063"},"modified":"2025-05-28T17:01:20","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T17:01:20","slug":"foreign-eggplants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/?p=24063","title":{"rendered":"Foreign Eggplants"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When is a <strong>tomato<\/strong> not a <strong>tomato<\/strong>?<\/p>\n<p><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/calliope\/2662544748\/in\/photolist-852kVe-5789t7-b8LaPF-DmrKfC-9cXzpN-6txfpA-5tVAV8-54heMW-5YvWQF-aj8Dp1-5ge3mB-qWLVo-dfT6ED-9mhAPb-5KdEsA-7Fs3nY-dbon4z-5n8u78-9T3LLD-4yQ7VH-NR8Ps-4mPcF-5JPmyG-bMLbSr-MtJivA-9PYMrn-64JSUE-67jdSd-pbk987-4mPrt-dh22JR-daqeR9-Jn2yE-5pXPkD-dtXLFc-HaAve-pdn7Zi-7tNQFk-g6ctL2-6J3NBn-8KMvwk-2tN1Vw-mpcbv-39bkSj-5Abm1L-6qp4To-4D2Ns-5fg82x\" title=\"tomatoes\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/3215\/2662544748_9145485000_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"403\" alt=\"tomatoes\"\/><\/a><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Recently I&#8217;ve been brushing up my knowledge of Mandarin Chinese by doing some Chinese lessons on Duolingo. The kind of Chinese taught there is Mandarin from Mainland China, which differs somewhat from the Mandarin of Taiwan that I&#8217;m more familiar with.<\/p>\n<p>One difference is the word for <strong>tomato<\/strong>. In Mainland China it&#8217;s <strong>\u897f\u7ea2\u67ff<\/strong> [\u897f\u7d05\u67ff] (x\u012b\u200bh\u00f3ng\u200bsh\u00ec), and in Taiwan it&#8217;s <strong>\u756a\u8304<\/strong> (f\u0101n\u200bqi\u00e9). <strong>\u897f\u7ea2\u67ff<\/strong> means literally &#8220;western red persimmon&#8221;, and was borrowed into Tibetan as <strong>\u0f5e\u0f72\u0f0b\u0f67\u0f74\u0f44\u0f0b\u0f67\u0fb2\u0f72<\/strong> (zhi hung hri) [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/%E8%A5%BF%E7%B4%85%E6%9F%BF\">source<\/a>]. <strong>\u756a\u8304<\/strong> means literally &#8220;foreign eggplant \/ aubergine&#8221;, and was borrowed into Zhuang as <strong>fanhgez<\/strong> [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/%E7%95%AA%E8%8C%84\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>Is <strong>\u756a\u8304<\/strong> used at all in Mainland China, or in other Chinese-speaking regions?<\/p>\n<p>Incidentally, the word <strong>tomato<\/strong> comes from Spanish <strong>tomate<\/strong> (tomato), from Classical Nahuatl <em>tomatl<\/em> (tomatillo), from Proto-Nahuan <em>*tomatl<\/em> (tomatillo) [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/tomato\">source<\/a>]. <\/p>\n<p><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/gudlyf\/6116048951\/in\/photolist-ajsmgR-4e6rB9-7fj6rb-8kHGxM-z1B8zD-9NaF2V-drYqq4-9NdjmE-HC2mnx-csC2hq-9Naybz-2W1zXo-4e2rCp-9NdjaJ-8Uyjkv-8o2e1h-8tKfHd-8mJfhW-8o2f1y-3en1f9-8nY4f8-YFb8Q-5p2KAB-5oGRu-6o5KqN-5U4zGA-6o1ApX-drYqmz-6tiAfz-2KYXev-5kopVh-hfu57-PxbSEc-2jqdjhY-5jCJz-2eLipaf-4aajeA-7ZdAQv-8phu2k-fqnkV7-abNtF6-7sQPeg-pRdpX-dQeyVo-9XqrcH-8jwmQ7-4Df96c-5rZ2Kf-aZp7w6-yjGGtd\" title=\"Tomatillos\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/6062\/6116048951_929894b89b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Tomatillos\"\/><\/a><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>A <strong>tomatillo<\/strong> is &#8220;A plant of the nightshade family originating in Mexico, <em>Physalis philadelphica<\/em>, cultivated for its tomato-like green to green-purple fruit surrounded by a thin papery skin.&#8221; and is a diminutive of <strong>tomate<\/strong> &#8211; see above [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/tomatillo#English\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>Other words that differ include:<\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<th>Mainland China<\/th>\n<th>Taiwan<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>\u571f\u8c46<\/strong> (t\u01d4d\u00f2u) = potato (&#8220;earth bean&#8221;)<\/td>\n<td><strong>\u99ac\u9234\u85af<\/strong> (m\u01cel\u00edngsh\u01d4) = potato (&#8220;horse bell potato \/ yam&#8221;)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>\u81ea\u884c\u8f66<\/strong> (z\u00ec\u200bx\u00edng\u200bch\u0113) = bicycle (&#8220;self go vehicle&#8221;)<\/td>\n<td><strong>\u8173\u8e0f\u8eca<\/strong> (ji\u01ceot\u00e0ch\u0113) = bicycle (&#8220;pedal vehicle&#8221;)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>\u516c\u4ea4\u8f66<\/strong> (g\u014dng\u200bji\u0101o\u200bch\u0113) =  bus (&#8220;public transport vehicle&#8221;)<\/td>\n<td><strong>\u516c\u5171\u6c7d\u8eca<\/strong> (g\u014dng\u200bg\u00f2ng\u200bq\u00ec\u200bch\u0113) = bus (&#8220;public car&#8221;)<br \/>\n  <strong>\u516c\u8eca<\/strong> (g\u014dng\u200bch\u0113) = bus<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>\u51fa\u79df\u8f66<\/strong>* (ch\u016b\u200bz\u016b\u200bch\u0113) =  taxi (&#8220;vehicle for hire&#8221;)<\/td>\n<td><strong>\u8a08\u7a0b\u8eca<\/strong> (\u200bj\u00ec\u200bch\u00e9ng\u200bch\u0113) = taxi (&#8220;vehicle caculated by mileage&#8221;)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>\u8ba1\u7b97\u673a<\/strong>** (j\u00ec\u200bsu\u00e0n\u200bj\u012b) =  computer (&#8220;calculating machine&#8221;)<\/td>\n<td><strong>\u96fb\u8166<\/strong> (\u200bdi\u00e0n\u200bn\u01ceo) = computer (&#8220;electric brain&#8221;)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<p>*<strong>\u51fa\u79df\u8eca<\/strong> (ch\u016b\u200bz\u016b\u200bch\u0113) = rental car in Taiwan.<br \/>\n**<strong>\u8a08\u7b97\u6a5f<\/strong> (j\u00ec\u200bsu\u00e0n\u200bj\u012b) = calculator in Taiwan.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.japanesepod101.com\/member\/go.php?r=759259&amp;i=b0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/images\/banners\/banner_japanesepod.jpg\" alt=\"The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com\" width=\"630\" height=\"83\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-5001128073855040\"\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<!-- Blog horizontal --><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\n     style=\"display:block\"\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-5001128073855040\"\n     data-ad-slot=\"1685480124\"\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When is a tomato not a tomato? Recently I&#8217;ve been brushing up my knowledge of Mandarin Chinese by doing some Chinese lessons on Duolingo. The kind of Chinese taught there is Mandarin from Mainland China, which differs somewhat from the Mandarin of Taiwan that I&#8217;m more familiar with. One difference is the word for tomato. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[95,104,107,10,192,64,70,78,415],"tags":[417,416,158,138,281,418,419,163],"class_list":["post-24063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chinese","category-english","category-etymology","category-language","category-nahuatl","category-spanish","category-tibetan","category-words-and-phrases","category-zhuang-vahcuengh-","tag-china","tag-chinese","tag-etymology","tag-language","tag-omniglot","tag-taiwan","tag-tomato","tag-words"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24063"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24063\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24069,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24063\/revisions\/24069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}