Homophonic puns in Mandarin Chinese

Mandarin Chinese, like many Sinitic varieties, has a significant number of homophonous syllables and words due to its limited phonetic inventory. All languages have homophones, but in Chinese they are especially abundant. The Cihai dictionary lists 149 characters representing the syllable "yì". (However, since Chinese words average about two syllables, the high rate of syllable homophony does not cause a problem for communication.) Many Chinese take great delight in using the large amount of homophones in the language to form puns, and they have become an important component of Chinese culture. In Chinese, homophones are used for a variety of purposes from rhetoric and poetry to advertisement and humor and are also common in Chinese loans of foreign product names and branding more generally.

This article is intended to present a list of common or representative homophonic puns in Mandarin Chinese, though many of the examples given are often homophones in other varieties as well. Asterisks before the entry denote near homophones.

There is no common Chinese word for 'pun' in the oral language, although the phrase 一語雙關 yī yǔ shuāng guān may sometimes be used. 雙關語 shuāngguānyǔ has the same meaning as a pun but has a more formal or literary register, such as 'double-entendre' in English. It typically refers to the creation of puns in literature. Homophonic puns in particular are called 音義雙關 yīn yì shuāng guān or more simply 諧音 xiéyīn 'homophones' while homophonic characters are called 同音字 tóngyīnzì.

Chinese New Year, known in China as Spring Festival, has an abundance of unique traditions associated with it. Some of these traditions are more widespread than others. Among the many New Year's customs are a few whose meaning is derived from puns of Mandarin words.

Homophonic puns are often used to get around various forms of censorship on the internet.

Shortening words and phrases is a common and often necessary practice for internet chat and especially SMS text-messages in any language. Speakers of Mandarin Chinese have also developed conventional abbreviations for commonly used words. Some of these are based on homophony or near-homophony.

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