# 厕 and 厕所



## Hakkar

Hello everyone and thanks for reading.

My question is not especially about 厕 and 厕所, but more about one-character words and two-character words. I mean, I have seen many many times the same meaning of a single character shared by two-character words and I'm wondering what is the difference? In this example for example, 厕 and 厕所, what is the difference if they both mean toilet?

Thank you in advance and Best regards


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## SuperXW

Two-character words are commonly used in modern colloquial language. By using two-character combination, it is easier to avoid ambiguous.
A single character is a more basic unit, usually carries some fundamental meaning(s), and has a lot of homophones. It is often combined with other single characters, to form common words, expressions or phrases.
Ancient Chinese are much more concise, and prefer single-characters. Maybe for saving paper and time for writing, I'm not sure.

Modern colloquial expression with 厕所: 上厕所
Traditional expression with 厕: 如厕
Both phrases mean "to go to the toilet". Note that the combinations are fixed. We can't say *上*厕 or *如*厕所.

We suggest learners learning Chinese in full contexts, not trying to replace an isolated word or meaning with a bunch of choices.


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## Giuseppe Romanazzi

Of each Chinese character and word, we need to learn:

Its meaning;
How to pronounce it;
How to write it;
*How to use it.*
Can we use 厕 instead of 厕所? No.


Hakkar said:


> what is the difference if they both mean toilet?


The difference is on how we use them. It's about context, as @SuperXW rightly said, along with the given clue on avoid ambiguity considered the different meanings and homophones. Generally speaking, my suggestion is to learn first how to use the 2-characters words.


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## rspcaf

Just keep in mind that "厕所" is the only word to mean toilet in modern Chinese. But we usually say "上洗手间" if we want to use the bathroom.


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## JLSHDUB

Just want to add that the character "厕", when used online, can mean something is "not of good quality."
For example, when your favourite singer released a new single but it turned out to be underwhelming or didn't perform well on the Billboard chart, you would say:
That single is really 厕.

You might not want to use it in ANY formal situation as it is only used online as far as I know. In other words, it's non-standard.


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## Giuseppe Romanazzi

JLSHDUB said:


> it is only used online as far as I know. In other words, it's non-standard.


Thank you for telling! We like non-standard!


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## T.D

JLSHDUB said:


> Just want to add that the character "厕", when used along online, can mean something is "not of good quality."
> For example, when your favourite singer release a new single but it turned out to be underwhelming or didn't perform well on a billboard chart,


LOL...so it's basically an equivalent of 'shitty'? Never heard of that though.


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## JLSHDUB

T.D said:


> LOL...so it's basically an equivalent of 'shitty'? Never heard of that though.


Check it out on "Bilibili"


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## T.D

JLSHDUB said:


> Check it out on "Bilibili"


It does sound like a fandom thing


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## Giuseppe Romanazzi

T.D said:


> Never heard of that though.


I guess @JLSHDUB must be very young and familiar with emerging new jargon.


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## JLSHDUB

Giuseppe Romanazzi said:


> Thank you for telling! We like non-standard!


Prego.


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## Giuseppe Romanazzi

JLSHDUB said:


> Prego.


感动了


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## SuperXW

JLSHDUB said:


> Just want to add that the character "厕", when used online, can mean something is "not of good quality."
> For example, when your favourite singer released a new single but it turned out to be underwhelming or didn't perform well on the Billboard chart, you would say:
> That single is really 厕.
> 
> You might not want to use it in ANY formal situation as it is only used online as far as I know. In other words, it's non-standard.


Guess the usage belongs to a rather small Internet circle...
欧美粉说的厕是什么意思


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## JLSHDUB

Giuseppe Romanazzi said:


> 感动了


Adesso imparo l'italiano. Però ci non parlo bene.


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## JLSHDUB

SuperXW said:


> Guess the usage belongs to a rather small Internet circle...
> 欧美粉说的厕是什么意思


Yes. I think it started when Katy Perry performed one of her new singles in the toilet (Can't remember which one). You can now see it in the comment section on "Bilibili". It is used more often online but, as you said, still belongs to a relatively small circle.


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## Giuseppe Romanazzi

JLSHDUB said:


> Adesso imparo l'italiano. Però ci non parlo bene.


Complimenti! So we can meet on a forum where Italian is spoken, like Italian-English or Solo Italiano otherwise here we would not be understood by the other friends.


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## SimonTsai

'*廁*所' is a word, '*鑰*匙' is another, '蝴*蝶*' is another, and '湯*匙*' is still another. Disyllabification is part and parcel of modern-day Mandarin, as @SuperXW already explained.


T.D said:


> Never heard of that though.


Same here.


rspcaf said:


> But we usually say "上洗手间" if we want to use the bathroom.


I looked up the word '_bathroom_' in the dictionary and surprisingly found that in American English, it can mean toilets. I would have expected a bath in a bathroom. The use is not my thing.


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## T.D

SimonTsai said:


> I looked up the word '_bathroom_' in the dictionary and surprisingly found that in American English, it can mean toilets. I would have expected a bath in a bathroom. The use is not my thing.


Australians also say that.  (and I would expect the same in NZ)


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## henter

JLSHDUB said:


> Just want to add that the character "厕", when used online, can mean something is "not of good quality."
> For example, when your favourite singer released a new single but it turned out to be underwhelming or didn't perform well on the Billboard chart, you would say:
> That single is really 厕.
> 
> You might not want to use it in ANY formal situation as it is only used online as far as I know. In other words, it's non-standard.


I don't think people would use this word  厕 in modern China. I just ran a check; it was mainly used by  ancient people


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