# 超电脑



## twinsen

Hello.

I need to know... is that even a word? May I use it as a Chinese equivalent for "supercomputer"? I know it's a very bad practice to make up Chinese words, but maybe this time I really got lucky.

Thank you in advance.


----------



## Fungk

I think so... But I am not very sure, anyway


----------



## fyl

No, that's not a word. 超级计算机 is what usually used.


----------



## twinsen

Ok, thank you both very much.

fyl: I'm sorry for disrespecting your language the way I did.


----------



## fyl

No no, no need to say sorry. I think it's a nice try!


----------



## Fungk

twinsen said:


> Ok, thank you both very much.
> 
> fyl: I'm sorry for disrespecting your language the way I did.


No. It is very good try 

Keep up the good work!


----------



## Skatinginbc

超级電腦 is what I normally would say (In Taiwan, we usually call "computer" 電腦).  Although it is not a pre-existing word, 超電腦 CAN be a Chinese equivalent for "supercomputer" if used in a proper context (e.g., 中央研究院重金購買了一台 "超電腦", 是世界排名最快的100台超級計算機之一).


----------



## Fungk

According to above, and which I agree.
It is grammatically correct and understandable. 

超 on its own means super; and 電腦 meaning computer; you could combine them together!!!


----------



## fyl

超级电脑 is definitely understandable.
However, 超电脑 is not. In Skatinginbc's context I would consider it as a proper noun, which may not be a 电脑 at all without the following sentence.


----------



## Fungk

^
Thanks for your futher information about my mistake


----------



## fyl

^
That's just my personal opinion. There may be regional differences. 超电脑 is quite weird to my ears anyway and the structure feels not the same as 超级电脑.


----------



## Fungk

^
True True, mainland China and taiwan/Hong Kong Chinese is different


----------



## ElGarcia

Agree that 超电脑 is not understandable to my mainland ears 
I thought this post referred to some super-talented human brains outperforming computers before clicking in.


----------



## Skatinginbc

超人 "superman" is a special kind of 人 "man".
超市 "supermarket" is a special kind of 市 "market".
超導體 "superconductor" is a special kind of 導體 "conductor".
超新星 "supernova" is a special kind of 新星 "nova".
超聲波 "ultrasound" is a special kind of 聲波 "sonic wave".
超媒體 "hypermedia" is a special kind of 媒體 "media".
Just as "超媒體" 是 "超级媒体" 的缩写, so could 超電腦 possibly be a short form for 超级电脑.  To me, 超電腦, without a clear context, is ambiguous. 超 could be interpreted as either "super 超级" or "exceeding 超越".


----------



## SuperXW

超级计算机: most formal in Mainland China.
超级电脑: same thing but less formal than 超级计算机.
超电脑: use it if you are drawing a sci-fi comic, or trying to make your product sounds cooler.


----------

