for son. The word 弟 tié (little brother) is a familiar appellation for boy or lad. The term 諸𠆧仔 chü nëng kiāng is used for girl or daughter. The word 妹 mwoi (little sister) is a familiar appellation for a girl. The term 男女仔 nang nü kiāng is a comprehensive one for boys and girls, or sons and daughters.
To distinguish the gender of the lower animals, the word 雄 kaëk, is placed after, and 牯 këng either before or after, the name to designate the male, and the word 牳 mó after the name to designate the female, as 牛牯 ngu këng, a bull, 牯猪 këng tü or 猪雄 tü kaëk, a boar, 雞雄 kié kaëk, a cock, 雞牳 kié mó, a hen.
There seems to be some distinction in usage between këng and kaëk, the terms for male. The work këng is restricted to quadrupeds, while kaëk, is a more general term, applied to quadrupeds, birds, &c.
Nouns of the common gender are such as 鳥 cheu, birds, 雞 kié, fowls, 獸 seu wild beasts, 頭牲 t‘au sang, animals.
Nouns not included in the above classes are neuter. But it may be observed in conclusion that the Chinese cosmogonal system supposes dual principles in nature, termed 陰陽ing yong. The yong is the superior or male principle, comprising such objects as heaven, sun, day, while the ing is the inferior and recipient or female principle, comprising such as earth, moon, water, night. This system, logically carried out, would make all nouns masculine or feminine.
Number. As Chinese nouns do not admit of inflection, the property of number is determined, (1) by the context, (2) more commonly–to form the plural–by duplicating the noun, or (3) by certain words prefixed or affixed, or (4) by the use of a numeral and classifier.
The usual suffix–mostly employed in the written language–is 等 teng, a class or collection of individuals.
In the spoken language, the following and like forms occur:–
- 𠆧𠆧 nëng nëng, all men, all persons.
- 各𠆧 kauk nëng, each one, everybody.
- 衆𠆧 chëüng nëng, the whole concourse, the multitude.
