Chinese Tuesdays: Ladlebeetle

 

Ladybird/bug/beetle in Chinese is 瓢虫 (piáo ​chóng)​, and 瓢 (piáo) means ladle made from a gourd – the type used to scoop up water or small amounts of grain. I’m sure that the use of 瓢 in 瓢虫 is down to the similarity in shape between the tool and the shell of the ladybird, but it’s funny that the English translation, ladle, sounds like a mispronunciation of lady.

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Every Tuesday on the Anthill, Sam Duncan posts a langauge titbit from his blog. Read them all here

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Sam Duncan , Tue 9 July 2013 in

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