Drainage issues
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Photograph taken in Hong Kong:
The Chinese says:
qúwù wèntí gù zhǐ néng zuò xiǎojiě jìngqǐng hézuò
渠務問題故只能作小解 敬請合作
"Since there are drainage problems, can only be used for urination. Your cooperation is respectfully requested."
BTW:
GT: "The drainage problem can only be explained briefly, please cooperate."
Baidu Fanyi: "Due to drainage issues, we can only provide a brief explanation. Thank you for your cooperation."
Bing: "The problem of drainage can only be solved slightly, please cooperate."
DeepL: "Drainage problems so only a small explanation please cooperate."
As to how and why "jiě 解" ("untie; loosen; divide; break up; split; separate; remove; eliminate; undo; cancel; resolve; solve; find an answer; explain; understand; interpret; [mathematics] solution") can also mean "excrete; go to the toilet", a usage that goes back at least two millennia, it would take a small philological treatise to adequately explain. Especially challenging is the explication of the binom "jiěshǒu 解手" ("relieve oneself" [lit. "untie / loosen hand"]).
Selected readings
- "No shitting here" (9/6/15)
- "Everywhere, anywhere" (1/29/15)
- "Please pee in the pool" (8/4/14)
- "Greater and lesser conveniences" (6/25/14) (with links to additional posts)
- "Scoop the poop" (4/15/15)
- "The big squat" (8/12/15) — makes the same request as the sign in this post; there are many scores of other relevant posts on defecation and urination (micturation)
Cuconnacht said,
June 26, 2023 @ 10:05 am
Both shit and excrement derive from roots meaning separate, split, so the similar history of jiě does not surprise me.
Paul Frank said,
June 26, 2023 @ 12:43 pm
Let's see what Perplexity Pro does with this:
https://www.perplexity.ai/search/b393cd49-c98c-4555-997e-df9aefdcea24?s=c
Subsequent questions prompted by Perplexity, not me.
Victor Mair said,
June 26, 2023 @ 4:47 pm
Well, Perplexity Pro is certainly prolix on the subject, but my suggestion of "relieve (oneself)" is more succinct and elegant, if not eloquent.
Chris Button said,
June 26, 2023 @ 6:07 pm
The word family associated with 屎 with its lateral onset ultimately seems to go back to a meaning of “separate, split” as well.
Vampyricon said,
July 2, 2023 @ 11:38 pm
Interesting that they use 小解 instead of 小便. Sad to see the continued Mandarinization of Hong Kong