Abstract：In every dialect, there exist words that have pronunciation but no standardized written form, or whose meaning and pronunciation are difficult to interpret. Investigating the original characters and motivations of such dialectal words is an important aspect of dialect research. Current research on Chinese dialects has made marked progress, yet it also suffers from a common pitfall: studies in this field often prioritize phonology and grammar while tending to overlook the etymological origins and semantic motivations of dialectal vocabulary. This paper focuses on the Ningbo and Shaoxing dialects of Zhejiang Province, selecting four problematic dialectal words for examination, analysis, and discussion. The study finds that, from the perspective of phonetic evolution, the term meaning “leisure or not busy tiaoda (调大)” corresponds to tiaotai (调泰), The character tiao (调) conveys the notions of harmony, adaptation, and coordination, while tai (泰) denotes peace, comfort, and abundance. Tiaotai is thus a synonymous compound. In the Wu dialect, the term tiaotai carries two meanings: “comfortable, relaxed” and “composed, having ample time”. This is clearly connected to the sense of “being free, unhurried” associated with tiaoda and likely represents a split from the same lexical origin. The shift from tiaotai to tiaoda is the result of initial consonant assimilation. The term taihua (态上声话) meaning “comforting or reassuring” corresponds to taihua (泰话). The term kuntaijiao (睏态觉) meaning “to sleep soundly” is in fact kuntaijiao. The pronunciation of tai (泰) as tai (态) with a rising tone is a remnant of its literary reading, and historical evidence indicates that tai (泰) was pronounced with a rising tone, though this was probably omitted in traditional rhyme books. From the perspective of semantic development, the word Jiang (弶) in the expression qisui jiang basui (七岁弶八岁), meaning bullying, is a result of semantic extension. The character jiang originally referred to as “a tool for trapping birds or animals”, then extended to mean “to trap using such a tool”, was later further extended to signify “to deceive or swindle”, and eventually evolved to mean “to bully”. The trajectory of this semantic shift is clear. A major reason for the unclear identification of dialectal etymons is the interruption of semantic extension chains. Previous researchers failed to recover the interrupted or overlooked sense of “lure or cheat”, which consequently hindered a convincing explanation of how Jiang came to acquire the meaning “to bully”. From the perspective of folk culture, the use of langxing (榔兴) to refer to hammer may be related to the people’s psychological tendency to avoid misfortune and seek good fortune. The character lang (郎) is polysemous, serving as an official title, an honorific term for young men, and a form of address used by women for their husbands or lovers. In the Suzhou and Ningbo dialects, chui (槌) and chu (除) are homophones, while in the Shaoxing and Yuyao dialects, chui (槌) and zhi (滞) are near-homophones. The term langchui (榔槌) thus phonetically resonates with langchu (郎除) or langzhi (郎滞), both of which carry inauspicious connotations. Due to this association with misfortune, langchui came to be euphemistically referred to as xingge (兴哥). However, the literal meaning of xingge does not clearly indicate the object it refers to. To enhance semantic transparency, langchui later evolved to be euphemistically referred to as langxing. These four dialectal words represent different types of linguistic barriers compared to the common language and possess a certain degree of representativeness. In addition to tracing their origins and development, this study also attempts to summarize some underlying patterns.
周志锋. 浙江方言词考论四则[J]. 浙江大学学报(人文社会科学版), 2026, 56(7): 98-111.
Zhou Zhifeng. Four Case Studies on Dialectal Words in Zhejiang Province. JOURNAL OF ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY, 2026, 56(7): 98-111.
2026, Vol. 56 
