A Study On The Words And Phrases In Modern Chinese

There is a common and interesting kind of idioms in modern Chinese. In this kind of idioms, numbers and notional words appear alternately. They compose two types of quadword idioms-"Num1X Num2Y" and "X Num1Y Num2". Most of the idioms’patterns are fixed. There are also some specific collocations of numbers being productive, some notional words can be embedded in the collocations, and then new idioms can appear. In order to convience the quantification of the statistical results and the comparison of the information data, the thesis slects206idioms as research objects which meet the conditions from the sixth edition of modern Chinese dictionary. Comprehesively describe and explain the numberal quadword-idioms in modern Chinese.In numberal quadword-idioms, numbers can appear in not only odd places but also even places. According to this, numberal quadword-idioms can be divided into "Num1X Num2Y" and "X Num1Y Num2". There can be16numbers appearing in "Num1X Num2Y", composing61forms of numbers’symmety, and166numberal quadword-idioms in all. There can be13numbers appearing in "X Num1Y Num2", composing13forms of numbers’ symmetry, and40numberal quadword-idioms in all. According to the semantic perspective, the symmety of two numbers can be numberal meaning, or implicit meaning, refering to many, much, few, little. The metaphorical meaning even extend from many or much to infinity-the meaning of degree, or express the degree of their infinity by comparing a large number and a small number. Also, there are some special forms of numbers’symmety express some specific meaning.According to grammar,"Num1X Num2Y" typed numberal quadword-idioms can be divided into different types of semantic structure, such as coordinate, subject predicate, subordinate, verb complement and so on."X Num1Y Num2" typed numberal quadword-idioms can also be divided into different types of semantic structure, such as coordinate, linking predicate, constituent, subject predicate and so on. Two types of numberal quadword-idioms are mainly coordinate. However, most "Num1X Num2Y" typed numberal quadword-idioms are "subordinate+subordinate" coordinate structure; most "X Num1Y Num2" typed numberal quadword-idioms are "verb object+verb object" coordinate structure.In order to deepening the understanding of numberal quadword-idioms, this thesis explains the numbers from the perspective of cognitive semantics, find out the reason of the emergency of numberal quadword-idioms combining the physical experience, space experience, cultural foundation, psychological foundation and philosophy foundation, tell the difference between implicit meaning through metaphor and implicit meaning through metonymy.