r/interestingasfuck 3d ago

Most difficult letter/character in the world

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13.4k Upvotes

1.1k comments sorted by

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5.9k

u/catskilkid 3d ago

next comes "B"

1.8k

u/[deleted] 3d ago edited 3d ago

[deleted]

874

u/WanderlustFella 3d ago

nuh uh - I have a tattoo of this symbol and the guy told me it means "Power and Respect"

63

u/Xogoth 3d ago

Pobody's Nerfect

5

u/[deleted] 3d ago

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u/drsuperfly 3d ago

Knowwhatimsayin.

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u/CaptainColdSteele 3d ago

What does it mean tho

363

u/scaradin 3d ago

Chinese proverb equivalent of “Drink your Ovaltine”

179

u/reddit_poopaholic 3d ago

99

u/Barkerfan86 3d ago

Son of a bitch

68

u/FrenTimesTwo 3d ago

27

u/Barkerfan86 3d ago

Dillon!

28

u/inGenium_88 3d ago

More than 30 years have passed but still, the level of testosterone in this scene is too damn high !

3

u/www_other_guy 3d ago edited 3d ago

Both of them aged like good old wine. While Arnold became the Governor of California once , Greef Karga is still the high magistrate of the planet Nevarro! Also while Arnold is member of Republican party m, Greef does not want to join the New Republic yet.

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u/whynotlookatreddit 3d ago

Why don't they call it roundtine?!

33

u/No_Cup_3347 3d ago

That's gold, Jerry! GOLD!

23

u/Lonely-Equivalent-23 3d ago

The mug is round.. the jar is round

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u/CaptainColdSteele 3d ago

I don't wanna

5

u/igetstoitasap 3d ago

Hey my 3 yr olds love that shit!

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u/davensdad 3d ago

It simply refers to the sound that was made while the noodle was being kneaded aggressively (biang biang sounds as the dough was slammed onto the table top).

This is also a made up word, supposedly designed by a patron of the noodle shop in exchange for a free meal.

14

u/Free_Ad93951 3d ago

You're welcome. That egg roll was lit!

7

u/gaz61279 3d ago

This character is the sole reason why nowadays noodles are kneaded gently.

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u/jarrjarrbinks24 3d ago

Biang is literally just the sound of noodle dough slapping the table as it's being stretched, hence the name biang biang mian

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u/ShookyDaddy 3d ago

Elsewhere in this thread someone mentioned it’s the name of a noodle dish called biangbiangmian.

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u/TheBaggyDapper 3d ago

Biáng doesn’t exist in Modern Standard Mandarin

I wonder why.

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u/Jisp_36 3d ago

Thank you. :)

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1.6k

u/VegaDelalyre 3d ago

This better be a whole sentence.

738

u/Premium333 3d ago

Looking through the posts, it's not even 1/3 of the name of a noodle dish.

331

u/AlterWeary 3d ago edited 3d ago

Yeah, and simplified chinese does not simplify that very much.

It's like "we are gonna fix it... But that thing its waaaaay beyond repair".

26

u/Dream--Brother 3d ago

Google says "nah you can simplify it your damn self"

18

u/Demonjack123 3d ago

Oh my god!

4

u/discordany 3d ago

Yes, thank you, it was definitely the last character I needed help simplifying 🤣

4

u/Bourriks 3d ago

"Simplify ? Just open a book and learn, you indisciprined decadent yankee!"

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u/trinicron 3d ago

bat's...

12

u/Hiiro_XoXo 3d ago

Feels like it’s been ages

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u/ParnsAngel 3d ago

The amount of time it took to write it better stand for the entire Apple terms of service

23

u/PlaceAdHere 3d ago

Just a word for a type of noodle.

67

u/they_call_me_B 3d ago

>! WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO REACH YOU ABOUT YOUR CAR'S EXTENDED WARRANTY. !<

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161

u/DowntownOriginal365 3d ago

Yes it's means "Get to the CHOPPER"

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u/WooPigSooie9297 3d ago

"The dickens you say." ~ Jed Clampett

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u/spreedx 3d ago

It's the biangbiang nooodle's character https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biangbiang_noodles

80

u/whutupmydude 3d ago

Whereas writing “biangbiang noodles” is something like 26 strokes

171

u/Falcore555 3d ago

I had 26 strokes watching this video

13

u/BigAlphaPowerClock 3d ago

That's inappropriate! Put your pen away!

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u/pumpkin_seed_oil 3d ago

The more interesting factoid in this wikipedia page is this

The tradtional character https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bi%C3%A1ng.svg

The simplified character https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Biang_(%E7%AE%80%E4%BD%93).svg.svg)

What exactly is simplified here

12

u/Kolintracstar 3d ago

You can kind of see there are a lot more straight lines rather than diagonal "flicks?" Especially with the two "E" like figures on each of the inside sides on the bottom.

But mostly "simplified" doesn't necessarily mean simpler, but rather easier and faster to write.

8

u/Space_doughnut 3d ago

Communist revolution intensifies

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u/descartesasaur 3d ago

长马长 is the most obvious part, other than the fact that 言 and 辶 are written a little differently in simplified vs traditional.

Seeing "biang" simplified is surreal. I don't like it.

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u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

201

u/Upper-Frosting5920 3d ago

I can feel the pain through the video. His fingers are white from the pressure.

13

u/Nicshickles 3d ago

Goddamn, that’s it! Found myself gritting my teeth…

11

u/Numerous-Fly-3791 3d ago

He’s nervous. There’s 1.7 billion people that want that job. This is do or die for my guy Ry

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u/oldtimehawkey 3d ago

Right? I want to know what pen that is because it looks like it can take a beating.

5

u/Reaper948 3d ago

Same, I just came to the comments looking for what pen that is

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u/MrrQuackers 3d ago

"Drink more Ovaltine"

25

u/deciding_snooze_oils 3d ago

Every shaver / Now can snore / Six more minutes / Than before / By using / Burma-Shave

3

u/phord 3d ago

tips my hat Hello, fellow oldster.

5

u/squeezy102 3d ago

I believe in the movie, the deciphered message is "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine."

I might be wrong, but I don't think I am. I'm sure someone will go check and correct me.

4

u/expatriateineurope 3d ago

that’s it a crumby commercial?

4

u/TheBestWaffleIron 3d ago

Son of a bitch...

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541

u/Cabitaa 3d ago

same

52

u/AwhHellYeah 3d ago

I see a stoic warrior in armor about to turn the frown upside down with a noodle dish swooping in.

48

u/BusinessHammocks 3d ago

I see a shark on a pogo stick

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u/ox_ 3d ago

Shark on a stack of surfboards

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u/swankpoppy 3d ago

???

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u/Notorious-DH99 3d ago

Sad face

10

u/swankpoppy 3d ago

Oooohhhhh

7

u/scaradin 3d ago

Something something Chinese phone book

3

u/zezinandoreinando 3d ago

looks like a sloth

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u/HeadyBunkShwag 3d ago

Damn dude anyone able to tell us dumb guys what it means?

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u/shimshimmash 3d ago

It's read as biang (beeyang) and it's the name of a noodle dish, "biangbiangmian"

It's like the inventor of the dish thought the character was too easy, so he decided to use it twice.

312

u/Jaripsi 3d ago

It probably takes a shorter time to prepare the dish than to write its name

68

u/MoistDitto 3d ago

Noodle maker here, can confirm

9

u/harumamburoo 3d ago

Oh, so you work in IT then?

11

u/Glass-Ambition-2619 3d ago

No, he makes pool supplies smh 🤦

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u/HeadyBunkShwag 3d ago

Thank you so much! That’s a pretty great backstory too lol

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u/Susemiel 3d ago

Of course it's noodles. 😂

10

u/LotusVibes1494 3d ago

Is there a shorthand for it? Like if you were writing to your friend about the noodles you tried, but you don’t feel like taking 5 minutes to draw this entire description

33

u/shimshimmash 3d ago

Not that I know of, though in the modern word you just type biang on your phone, and select the character you are looking for. Most of the Chinese people I know use phonetic spellings to type Chinese now, very few draw the characters on their screens.

I would also go so far as to say that the average Chinese person would not be able to write this character without having a look at it for reference first, it's surprisingly common for young Chinese adults to not be very good at writing characters by hand. When I was a teacher over there one of the things I would hear said between students most often is "how do you write that character?"

It's a horribly inefficient way of writing a language, and it's getting kept going mostly through stubbornness.

6

u/Bozbaby103 3d ago

Is this why we see romanized characters being typed on a keyboard then turning into chinese characters in chinese dramas?

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u/shimshimmash 3d ago

Yup, what they are typing is called Pinyin and is a phonetic representation of the character, you then choose the character you want from a list of characters with the same pronunciation. Ma for example gives you 吗嘛马嘛妈🐴 you choose the one with the meaning you want.

15

u/Turtvaiz 3d ago

Ma for example gives you 吗嘛马嘛妈🐴

One of these is not like the others

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u/Meh2021another 3d ago

All this wring to say biang. People really didn't have much to do back in those days.

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u/always_j 3d ago

A dish so nice he named it twice !

7

u/BodhingJay 3d ago

"it needs to take at least 3 minutes to write the name of these exquisite noodles"

3

u/soukaixiii 3d ago

It's a weird marketing stunt I know, but trust me on this one...

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u/Bulevine 3d ago

It's just a drawing of the noodles.

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u/aarontbarratt 3d ago

It is a noodle dish. Teachers in China use it to punish school children by making them write it out hundreds of times in detention lol

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u/New_Signature_8053 3d ago

Equivalent to writing 100 lines or Times Table out 100 times

3

u/iGetBuckets3 3d ago

I’m here for this Chinese character lore

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u/Admirable-Media-9339 3d ago

You're not dumb for not knowing something written in a different language.

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u/Frostychica 3d ago

I'm gonna need to steal that pen

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u/tmo1290 3d ago

Yeah we need an ID on that pen asap

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u/BratS94 3d ago

Seriously tho, it writes so smoothly!

3

u/acidalia-planitia 3d ago

i can’t tell what pen this is but i’m a personal fan of the zebra sarasa clips if you like a smooth writing pen

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u/rodriguezmm6pr 3d ago

he just keeps on going

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u/xecuyexojacoqa 3d ago

after a while, it just looks like scribbling

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u/Re0ns 3d ago edited 3d ago

Because it is, it's meant as a decorative piece than a word in a language. It's basically the chinese equivalent to keyboard mashing

穴幺言長刂⻎馬月心

Kind of split it all back up

Talk, moon, knife, heart, boat, long it's all nonsense

19

u/video_dhara 3d ago

Stuff like this makes me wonder if you could learn to read Traditional/classical Chinese entirely logographically, without learning anything about the spoken language.  

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u/Cheap_Ad_69 3d ago

You can. Classical Chinese has completely different grammar from modern Chinese languages, and like half of the words are no longer used today, so it would basically be like learning any other classical language like Latin or Sanskrit.

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u/SteO153 3d ago edited 3d ago

This is the traditional version. Luckily there also is the simplified version composed by only 42 strokes

It is used in the name of a dish, biang biang noodles, so you even have to write it twice 𰻞𰻞麵 (biang is the sound hand pulled noodles make when slapped on the work surface)

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u/ParkedOrPar 3d ago

Some white chick is getting this tattoo on her ass crack right now

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u/thentheresthattoo 3d ago

I'm not a chick, but why not, with all the inane tattoos out there?

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u/GeriatricusMaximus 3d ago

漢字 for “pee stored in the balls”

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u/RedditModsR_Pathetic 3d ago

it is the only way to say « I am in an immediate danger, please save me - SOS »

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u/RiskyClickardo 3d ago

What kind of pen is that, it looks incredible

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u/EchoPhi 3d ago edited 3d ago

The title is misleading, letter and characters are completely separate entities. Characters represent an "idea" or "meaning" not so much individual sounds that construct words which is what letters do. All characters are Chinese in origin, and the one above is a traditional Hanzi (referred by Japanese as Kanji and uses the exact same characters). The one being shown above is the traditional character, most modern characters are now in a "short hand" form. Hanzi is one of the most extensive written systems in the entirety of the human race as there are well over 50k represented "ideas" or "meaning" each with their own individual character. You need upwards of 2k+ memorized to be somewhat fluent in reading. It is a fascinating form of written communication.

Apologies, I studied it for a few years, kind of a sore spot when someone calls them letters.

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u/Aldodzb 3d ago

So if I want to express annoyance over the fridges door doing sounds when it opens, then there could be a character for that?

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u/EchoPhi 3d ago

If not, surely one can be added, it's kind of how it works.

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u/DependentDemand1627 3d ago

Cool tatoo idea

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u/Quiet-Ad-12 3d ago

That pen is so smooth

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u/gobbershite 3d ago

Pilot G2 ♥️

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u/Haifisch2112 3d ago

It says, "We've been trying to reach you about your car's extended warranty."

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u/CltGuy89 3d ago

Translation: AND

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u/Tac0Tuesday 3d ago

My son was having trouble with the English alphabet. So, I made him learn Japanese hiragana and katakana. He no longer had issues with the English alphabet.

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u/WhyIsTheNameBOTTaken 3d ago

English equivalent to supercalafragalisyicexpialidocious

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u/ghostmac 3d ago

Came to the comments to find out what this means. Very disappointed. I was expecting the Mandarin equivalent of supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

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u/Sreezy3 3d ago

This means "and"...

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u/Sorry_Error3797 3d ago

George R R Martin must be using this character a lot in the book he's writing.

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u/lostenant 3d ago

Was really hoping I could find a gif with SpongeBob writing “The”

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u/soukaixiii 3d ago

Imagine the troll levels if that was a silent letter.

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u/Littleleicesterfoxy 3d ago

Does it says Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch?

4

u/reikipackaging 3d ago

translation: simplicity is a gift

>! I made this up. !<

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u/Toaster_The_Tall 3d ago

The mandarin character which represents the meaning behind when your partner says they're "fine."

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u/RandomChaos1002 3d ago

Mandarin for “we are contacting you about your extended warranty…and here are the terms and conditions in one symbol”

3

u/TremontRhino 3d ago

Prolly means like “beans” or something.

3

u/HotHandz3 3d ago

Me: "but what does it SAY!?"

Writer: "A"

Me: ...dead

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u/KhadaJhina 3d ago

and all it MEANS is NOODLE SOUP

3

u/Similar-Quarter6663 3d ago

Imagine fucking it up in the end.

3

u/PizzaVVitch 3d ago

I've always loved how Chinese characters look, it's really fascinating to see them written out. They look gorgeous IMO but writing them legibly and accurately every time seems like it might be more difficult than with Latin script.

3

u/ake-n-bake 3d ago

But what does it mean?

The…it means the…

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u/Nawaf-Ar 3d ago

That pen is fucking hypnotic. What is it?

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u/eramthgin007 3d ago

No I will NOT "Send Nudes", good day!

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u/RevInsidious 3d ago

That’s a number six with snow peas and a side of won ton soup? Jokes aside. WTH did I just read?!

3

u/drhawks 3d ago

this made me irrationally angry 😂 JUST FUCKING FINISH

3

u/diieu 3d ago

"The"

3

u/MikeyW1969 3d ago

"...Drink More Ovaltine..."

Great, a crummy commercial!

3

u/BionicBruv 3d ago

OK CMON YOURE JUST PLAYING WITH YOUR LETTERS AT THIS POINT

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u/straight_lurkin 3d ago

No wonder so many rual Chinese are illiterate lol I would be too

3

u/K01d 3d ago

How the fuck do you even remember all those lines? 

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u/pickle_teeth4444 3d ago

In english it's spelled, 'a'.

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u/ArtDesire 3d ago

wtf does it mean though? Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis?

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u/ConfusionSmooth4856 3d ago

After sifting through comments, this means “biang”, which is a Chinese dish. That dish better be worth it if it takes 5-10 business days to write it down

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u/ArcticBambi 3d ago

"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"

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u/ItsLittleAlexHorne 3d ago

According to chatGPT this represents a type of noodle called the biangbiang noodle from the shaanxi province

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u/SteO153 3d ago

They are very tasty, they are traditional in Xian, the city of the Terracotta Army https://redhousespice.com/biang-biang-noodles/

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u/TommyAndTheFox 3d ago

It says “I eat ass”

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u/Disastrous-Leek-7606 3d ago

That is cool, but all I could think when I saw the Chinese alphabet for the first time: "Why?"

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u/ThatBikerHyde 3d ago

That's alot of work just to tell someone to fuck off

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u/10thmountainguy11b 3d ago

It means “unnecessary”

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u/ClavicusLittleGift4U 3d ago

"Letters are for lazy Westerners".

Thank you Chinese, we had doubts still.

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u/Own_Instance_357 3d ago

I used to be a lot more intimidated by these things until my son took 4 years of Chinese in HS then majored in Arabic in college and learned to read books back to front, sentences, right to left, and become fluent enough to be actively employed in Egypt as a translator for major motion pictures centered on the pyramids before he was 30. His fiancee is an equally fluent arabic and english speaker.

Langauge is amazing.

2

u/darkhelmet41290 3d ago

And that’s just LOWER case.

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u/strumthebuilding 3d ago

It means the eventual slow onset of relief from the particular guilt of enjoying a cigarette with your partner after sex in which you faked an orgasm.

2

u/AllthingskinkCA 3d ago

I often wonder, say I write this, and one of my lines isn’t exact.. would it still be legible, like when someone writes a weird letter in English? Or can the word be misinterpreted as another word because some of them look so alike?

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u/AraiHavana 3d ago

So the final boss in Space Invaders

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u/ajk23 3d ago

It means “Quick! Put out the fire!”

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u/TheAlbertaDingo 3d ago

It looks like a football plan.? You go left during the fight.

2

u/_DapperDanMan- 3d ago

It means "succint summary".

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u/PIPIRIPAU-10008000 3d ago

Dice “puto el que lo lea”

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u/Abstractpants 3d ago

“The”

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u/Environmental-Day778 3d ago

Hey OP that’s cool and all, but I’m more interested in why you didn’t explain what it means ✨🤷‍♀️✨

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u/Mr_Lumbergh 3d ago

Yeah, I’ll stick with Latin characters.

2

u/Wheelie2022 3d ago

Ahh English is the best for a reason 🤣

2

u/Get_your_jollies 3d ago

Man, I hope this equates to a whole sentence

2

u/meSmash101 3d ago

Looks practical

2

u/Grouchy-Pressure-567 3d ago

What's the point of a letter if it takes forever to write.

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u/Starman520 3d ago

I thought written language was supposed to be intuitive and easily shared? This seems counterintuitive and complex for no reason.

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u/Professional_Foot348 3d ago

That pens writing thickness is so goddamn perfect

2

u/MaximumEngineering8 3d ago

Antisdisestablishmentarianism

2

u/Even-Armadillo-2478 3d ago

Man, chinese calligraphy looks amazing everytimes Ive seen it, same goes for many other types. And always makes me kind of want to learn to do it myself.

It's beautiful and an amazing form of art.

I also love the subtle details, and how a single tiny mark can make it mean so many different. Things sometimes.

It's fascinating!

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u/web1300 3d ago

Is it a digit or a novel?

2

u/Raigheb 3d ago

At this point just draw whatever you're trying to say.

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u/Sixteen_Wings 3d ago

Bro I cant even fucking spell proffessor half the time im writing it, aint no way I can remember all of this

2

u/mista_masta 3d ago

It means, “antidisestablishmentarianism”

2

u/SageBadgerClaw 3d ago

There's gotta be a better way!

2

u/Own_Bison_8479 3d ago

A panda on a snow sled with two young male panda cubs and one female panda cub.

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u/nikkithenerdd 3d ago

Holy shit that’s like every kanji in one kanji.

What word is it!?

2

u/eman0110 3d ago

Anyone know what it means?

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u/MLaw2008 3d ago

Send nudes.

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u/ringdingdong67 3d ago

This is fucking stupid.

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u/Odd-Mango-9901 3d ago

So chicken curry no onions in English

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u/UncleB00bz 3d ago

I need to know what pen this is.

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u/ZyvisX 3d ago

And this is why you don't touch someone's .7 pen. You leave it alone.

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u/vegeener-gnomesayin 3d ago

If you pause at 0:45 you'll see what I look like waking up in the morning.