| Change log entry 93218 | |
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| Processed by: | richwarm (2026-01-23 20:23:18 UTC) |
| Comment: |
<< review queue entry 85356 - submitted by 'becky82' >> The main edit I want to make here arose on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/1n5dzy9/why_are_chinese_dictionaries_so_bad_at_describing/ The issue is that dictionaries list the pronunciation of 克扣 as ke4kou4, but many people say ke1kou4. On YouGlish https://youglish.com/pronounce/%E5%85%8B%E6%89%A3/chinese I found multiple examples of the pronunciation ke1kou4 (or at least, I think they're saying ke1kou4). This pronunciation is also described as 惯用音 on Zhihu: https://www.zhihu.com/question/7490692553 However, not every native speaker in the Reddit thread accepted the pronunciation ke1kou4 as correct. And while we're here, let's look at the definitions: 指通过不正当手段减少应发放的财物或劳动报酬，常见于经济剥削场景 = Baidu Baike's definition https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%85%8B%E6%89%A3/9932685 So it's some kind of payment of money or material items, that is being reduced unfairly - "to dock" has an additional meaning in English (it's not "to dock a boat"), which we might want to avoid (is that too pedantic?); "to dock" is a good translation for when it's used in e.g. 克扣工资 (widely used) and 克扣了100元; - "to deduct" isn't a great match: 克扣 is used when something is transferred to someone else, and it's negative, whereas "to deduct" is often used in one's own finances, and doesn't have the negativity (it's better matched with 扣除); - "to embezzle", I feel, is too strong (it's criminal), so I think "to skimp" (such as in 克扣质量 "to skimp on quality") or "to misappropriate" is a better match (it still has the negativity, and 克扣 can be illegal); - I also added "to underpay" and "to shortchange" I'm not sure if this is too many translations, but I wanted something that pairs well with the collocation 克扣分量 ---------------------- Editor: As discussed, I think - what you're hearing is T4+T4 tone sandhi (as one reddit commenter wrote, "when pronouncing two consecutive 4th tone words, people usually neutralize or soften the first ones") - "to dock" is too broad, esp. as the first gloss, since it includes legitimate withholding |
| Diff: |
- 剋扣 克扣 [ke4 kou4] /to dock/to deduct/to embezzle/ # + 剋扣 克扣 [ke4 kou4] /to dock (e.g., salary); to underpay; to shortchange; to skimp; to misappropriate/also pr. [ke1kou4]/ + 剋扣 克扣 [[ke4kou4]] /to wrongfully withhold part of what is due (to sb); to shortchange; to skim (pay, rations, resources etc)/ |