How to say “Excuse me. May I go by?” 借光 / 借過 / 不好意思 in Mandarin Chinese & etymology of 光 [fire + sit = bright]:『光』的演變:甲骨文、金文、小篆

in #steemstem6 years ago (edited)

To ask people to let you go by, nobody says 借光 jièguāng / jiehguang anymore. 借過 jièguò / jiehguoh is now the correct expression, at least in Taiwan.

However, because I appreciate the respectful attitude and poetic sound of 借光, I occasionally use the old-fashioned phrase 借光, which literally means “[may I] borrow [your] brightness (sunshine)?”

Actually, the four-character phrase 不好意思 Bù hǎo yìsi / buh hao yih.sy "[literally] I am embarrassed [to be doing this]" is even more common. Gently make your way through a crowd while repeating this phrase: nobody will object or take special notice (as long as you pronounce it in a recognizable manner, including tones).


The etymology of 光 guāng / guang

In the Bronze Age writing called oracle script 甲骨文 jiǎgǔwén / jeaguuwen (also called “oracle bone inscriptions”), 光 appears as a semantic compound, a stylized drawing of a fire on top of a sitting human, presumably a person basking in the light and warmth of a small fire.

Note that early Chinese writing was not standardized, so this is only one of many possible ways to write 光. Wiktionary provides many more images and notes: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%85%89

The bronze script (金文 jīn wén / jin wen) form is similar to oracle script. You can still make out the sitting person (modern forms: TC 兒, SC 儿), but the flames have become unrecognizable abstractions. After the seal script reform carried out in the Qin Dynasty (秦朝 Qíncháo / Chynchaur), the character becomes more artistic but wholly unrecognizable to modern eyes.

In modern Chinese characters 現代漢字 (xiàndài hànzì / shiannday hanntzyh), the fire has been reduced to a straight line with a single dot on either side, and the sitting person has become two curved lines.

Stroke order courtesy of Wikimedia Commons (CC--BY):


Why this post uses the #steemstem tag

  1. https://steemit.com/steemstem/@wentong-syhhae/linguistics-is-a-science-not-one-of-the-humanities

  2. https://steemit.com/science/@wentong-syhhae/can-we-squeeze-out-a-place-for-linguistics-in-the-steemstem-community

  3. https://steemit.com/steem/@wentong-syhhae/steemit-should-help-language-lovers-linguists-teachers-and-learners-locate-posts


Self Introduction: Enthusiastic INTP Polyglot

https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@wentong-syhhae/enthusiastic-intp-polyglot

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I missed the voting window for your post. I'm going to make it a point to check steem more frequently.

The four character phrase you mention above, 不好意思, I've always viewed this as appropriate for the situation you mention, but also as a phrase that means the speaker is acknowledging that it's a potentially embarrassing situation, except the speaker doesn't necessarily feel any fault, guilt, or embarrassment for whatever is happening.

Am I completely off with this usage?

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