Sino-Mini (小语)

Decisions & sources

Vocabulary notes

Mandarin meanings guide the vocabulary. Where Mini’s useful distinctions or grammatical machinery call for a different assignment, the difference is recorded explicitly.

Meaning departures and sound borrowings

Word Pinyin Meaning Mandarin meaning Assessment Usage
乃 nǎi noun object; identity/category; subjectless existence (literary) to be; thus; then; only Partial Introduces a noun phrase: the direct object, the subject complement, or the existential subject. Objects are optional; repeat 乃 for separate object roles, or use 和 for several items in one role. 不 乃 denies existence. The identity use is Chinese-motivated; object and existential marking are Sino-Mini extensions.
呈 chéng quality/state predicate; directly caused result; ambient quality to present; to exhibit an appearance; to assume a shape or color Partial Introduces an asserted quality or state, including location and ambient descriptions. After an object, it can describe a quality directly caused by the action; a separate or incidental outcome needs another clause. It does not imply seeming or becoming. 很 means very.
兮 xī verbal predicate marker (literary) exclamatory particle Phonetic Introduces a verbal predicate; initially without a subject it introduces a command. Shared-subject predicates each retain their own marker. A literary Chinese particle repurposed as a structural marker, not an aspect marker.
的 de phrase grouping; manner separation structural particle linking modifiers; possession / attribution Partial Separates a preceding noun modifier from the head that follows, or separates a verb stack from a following manner expression. Separates any explicit participant from a named infinitive or activity: 我 的 在 兮 读 means my reading. Ordinary possession before a noun needs no extra marker. A following preposition, 乃 object, or return comma ends the manner group; a comparative manner expression includes its own 比 standard.
这 zhè this this Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Here is a location reading not clearly distinguished in the headword.
什 shén question word; post-head finite-clause modifier introducer questioning or indefinite reference in 什么 (shénme) Partial As a question word, asks for a value in its ordinary position. After a head, introduces a complete content clause or a relative with one role supplied by that head; a relative may specify that role with a preposition. There is no closing word. A return comma closes open dependent expressions and resumes the main clause. Clause introduction is a Sino-Mini extension.
和 hé and; conjunction and; with; harmony; peace Partial Joins expressions with the same grammatical role. Predicates can share a subject, retaining their own markers, objects, and modifiers. Items in one object role share 乃; different object roles repeat it. Accompaniment uses 跟. Harmony and peace are not additional adopted senses.
但 dàn but; contrast but; only Partial Connects contrasting expressions, including predicates sharing a subject. Each predicate retains its marker. Except, meaning subtraction from a set, is not an additional adopted sense.
从 cóng from; source relation; passive-participle introduction from; follow Partial Introduces a source after its head. 从 兮 forms a passive participle whose noun head supplies the first direct object of the innermost action; the actor is unspecified. It does not mark completion or past time. Use an active relative to name the actor. There are no 从 呈 or 从 乃 forms.
在 zài location relation; progressive operator; active-participle introducer at; in; on; exist Partial Before an action in a verbal predicate: progressive. Before 兮/呈/乃: active participle, naming an activity in a noun slot or describing a preceding noun head as its subject. An explicit participant of a named activity is separated from it with 的, for pronouns and other noun expressions alike. Without 的, the participle describes the preceding head. Ordinary 在 + noun expresses location.
同 tóng same; equal same; together with Partial Exact sameness or equality. 同 quality 比 standard expresses equal degree, as in 同 大 比 你, as big as you. Loose resemblance uses 像; accompaniment uses 跟.
不 bù no, not not; no Partial Ordinary preceding modifier that negates the following word or expression; its scope follows normal grouping, including before a relation or comparison. It also supplies a short no response. 不 乃 denies existence; 不 有 denies possession. It has no inherent past or not-yet meaning.
零 líng nothing, zero zero Partial
太 tài too, too much too; excessively; very Partial
兽 shòu animal beast; animal Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Current broad animal scope differs from the narrower Chinese cue.
前 qián before; in front; forward front; forward; before; ago Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Forehead is a particular body part, not a general front relation.
味 wèi taste; flavor taste; flavor; smell Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Smell and taste share a sensory domain but are separable channels.
打 dǎ strike; hitting hit; beat; fight Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A fight/battle involves an event structure beyond a single strike.
开 kāi open; start; begin an action open; start up; begin operating Partial
难 nán difficult; difficulty difficult; hard Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Problem can mean a task or issue that is not difficult.
电 diàn electricity; electric electricity; electric; lightning Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A flash is not necessarily electrical.
家 jiā home; household home; family; household Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Individual relatives and domestication go beyond a household/place category.
火 huǒ fire; burning by fire fire Partial Excluded automatic extensions: General hot duplicates 热 and does not entail fire; its note already rejects that extension.
像 xiàng resemble; representation image; appearance; resemble; look like; seem like Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A representation, visible appearance, and apparent truth are different uses.
法 fǎ law; rule law; method Partial Excluded automatic extensions: An instruction need not be a rule or law.
能 néng ability; be able ability; be able; energy Partial Ability/capacity to perform an action. Physical energy needs an explicitly stated measurable capacity, system, and units; 能 量 has no fixed energy definition.
物 wù thing; stuff; matter; material; substance thing; object; material substance in compounds Partial
升 shēng rise; elevate rise; elevate; liter Partial Rise/elevate only. Litre uses L in the unit notation register.
做 zuò make; do; create; cause do; make Partial
许 xǔ maybe, possibility perhaps (in 也许/或许); allow Partial Perhaps/possibility.
馍 mó bread steamed bread; bun Partial
过 guò pass; cross pass; cross Partial No experiential operator or neutral guo reading.
奇 qí strange; unusual in character strange; rare; wonderful Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Statistical rarity and strangeness can diverge.
声 shēng sound; voice sound; voice; tone; noise Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Calling out is a sound action; summoning someone is a communicative purpose.
糖 táng sugar, sweet sugar; sweets Partial
地 dì earth; ground; land; territory earth; ground; land; territory Partial
虐 nüè abuse; mistreat abuse; cruel Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Violating any rule, assault, and sexual assault are not interchangeable events.
溺 nì drown drown Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Submersion alone does not assert drowning.
鹰 yīng bird of prey eagle; hawk Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Eagle and hawk are distinct members of a broad category.
龄 líng age; duration since origin age Partial Excluded automatic extensions: An eon is a large duration, not an age; age as action has unregistered argument choices.
程 chéng program, agenda, plan, computer program program; procedure; course Partial
斧 fǔ axe; hatchet ax Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Machete is another tool; chopping does not require an axe.
账 zhàng financial account; ledger account; ledger; debt Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Financial accounts and recounting a story share an English word, not a semantic core.
还 hái still; continuing to a reference point still; yet; also Partial Still; continuing to the reference point. 还 不 is not yet. No unrestricted scalar/additive even.
古 gǔ ancient; old from a remote period ancient; old Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Antiquity of an object/time and age of a living individual need not be the same.
蜂 fēng bee or wasp bee; wasp Partial Excluded automatic extensions: These are related animals, not synonyms.
望 wàng hope; hopeful expectation hope; expect; gaze Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Waiting need not involve hope; expectation need not be a wish.
域 yù area; region; domain region; domain Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Spatial extent/size is a quantity, not necessarily a region.
允 yǔn consent; agree; acceptance of a proposal; agreement; pact allow; consent Partial
酸 suān sour sour; acid Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Vinegar is one substance, and taste is not a complete chemical definition.
演 yǎn perform; enact a role perform; act Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Performance does not cover every action, behavior, or being active.
警 jǐng warn; alert warn; alert; police Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Attention need not involve a warning or danger.
湾 wān bay; gulf; cove bay; inlet Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Golf is a source typo, not a sense of the geographical word.
背 bèi back (body + adv), rear side, backward, behind back of body; back side Partial
衡 héng balance; equilibrium weigh; balance Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A balanced distribution and a fair one need not be the same.
鲸 jīng cetacean; whale, dolphin, or porpoise whale Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Whales, dolphins, and porpoises are different members of a stated class.
球 qiú ball; sphere ball; sphere Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Rolling is a motion also possible for nonspherical objects.
堵 dǔ barrage, dam, block, impede, obstruct, hinder block; obstruct Partial
基 jī base; foundation base; foundation Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Floor, ground, and a basis overlap but are not equivalent.
菌 jūn microorganism; microbe bacterium; fungus; germ Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Bacteria, fungi, and germs have overlapping but different scopes.
浸 jìn immerse; dip immerse; soak Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Baptism is a ritual that need not be identified merely by immersion.
燃 rán fuel burn; combustible; fuel-related Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Fuel is a category; gasoline and benzene cannot both be exact readings of the same bare word.
莓 méi berry; small fleshy fruit in the everyday berry category berry Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Grapes/olives are specific fruits; an exact botanical category is not established.
宝 bǎo jewel, gem, jewelry treasure; precious object Partial
忙 máng busy; occupied busy Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Hurrying can occur without being busy, and busy activity need not be fast.
商 shāng commerce; commercial activity commerce; business Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A firm and negotiation are participants/actions, not synonyms for commerce.
泡 pào bubble bubble; soak Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Boiling and making bubbles are not equivalent processes.
弓 gōng bow weapon bow (weapon) Partial Excluded automatic extensions: An architectural arch is a shape analogy; a vault adds structural meaning.
玻 bō glass glass (in 玻璃) Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Crystal and transparent material are not identical material categories.
弹 dàn projectile; ammunition projectile; bullet; bomb; pluck; spring Partial Ammunition/projectile only, read dàn. Mechanical spring is 簧; plucking is a described action.
牛 niú bovine animal ox; cow; cattle Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Cow, ox, bison, buffalo refer to different animals or life roles.
证 zhèng evidence evidence; proof; testify Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Evidence, conclusive proof, and testimony have different evidential force.
敢 gǎn dare; be bold; challenge dare Partial
恶 wù disgust, disgusting, revulsion, sicken loathe; disgust Partial
洪 hóng flood flood; vast Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Being overwhelmed psychologically or numerically need not involve water.
牙 yá tooth tooth Partial Tooth or dental concept; its grammatical role and interpretation follow context.
厚 hòu thick thick Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Bodily fatness and dietary fat differ from thickness.
忘 wàng forget forget Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Forgetting and forgiving are different acts; the note explicitly says so.
分 fēn divide; separate; division divide; separate; minute (time unit) Partial Division only. Minutes are numerical quantities in the min notation register; no second lexical sense.
痛 tòng suffer, pain, suffering, hurt, painful pain; ache Partial
奴 nú enslaved person; enslave slave Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A paid/free servant is not thereby enslaved.
响 xiǎng resound; echo resound; ring; sound; echo-related Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Optical reflection and resounding are different processes.
旋 xuán rotate; spiral/twist form spiral; rotate Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A propeller is a device, not every spiral or rotating thing.
急 jí urgent; urgency urgent; anxious Partial Excluded automatic extensions: An emergency and urging are related but not equivalent.
考 kǎo test; examination examine; test Partial Excluded automatic extensions: An interview need not be a test, and an investigation need not be an exam.
精 jīng precise; exact in the relevant dimension precise; refined; essence Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Methodical does not imply precision.
夜 yè evening, night night Partial
远 yuǎn far; remote far; distant Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Extreme is not always distance.
粉 fěn powder; flour powder; flour Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Sand need not be powder; grinding is a process rather than a synonym for powder.
豆 dòu pulse; bean, pea, or lentil seed bean Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Beans, peas, and lentils are subtypes.
喜 xǐ like; pleasure like; happy Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Doing someone a favor is not the same as favoring/liking them.
沃 wò fertile fertile; rich Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Fertilizer is an input and productive extends far beyond fertility.
仙 xiān fairy, sprite, pixie immortal; fairy-like being Partial
铁 tiě iron; iron-based metal iron Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Steel is not pure iron.
丝 sī thread; strand; fiber silk; thread-like thing; filament Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Silk, wire, and dietary roughage introduce particular materials and functions.
信 xìn believe; trust trust; believe; faith; confidence Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Loyalty is conduct/commitment, not necessarily belief.
形 xíng shape; form form; shape Partial Shape/form only. A statue or figurine needs a description of the object.
子 zǐ child; offspring child; offspring; seed Partial Child/offspring only. Plant seed uses 种.
哲 zhé philosophy, philosophical, philosophize wise; philosophy (in 哲学) Partial
叶 yè leaf; thin sheet/page leaf Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Being a sheet does not mean flat, and flat does not mean a leaf.
泉 quán natural water spring spring; fountain Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A fountain or dug well need not be a spring.
挖 wā dig; excavate dig Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Burying and digging are different acts.
满 mǎn full; filled to a relevant capacity full; fill Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Whole can mean complete rather than filled.
烟 yān smoke smoke; tobacco; cigarette Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Tobacco, cigarettes, and cigars are products/materials that generate smoke.
熔 róng melt; fuse by melting melt; fuse Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Pouring an already-liquid substance does not imply melting.
猫 māo cat; feline animal cat Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Catty as spiteful behavior is an English association, not a cat category.
承 chéng inherit; inheritance inherit; receive; undertake Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A gene is a biological unit, not inheritance itself.
府 fǔ government, govern government office; mansion Partial
意 yì meaning; intended semantic content idea; thought; intention; meaning; sense Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Meaning, intention, and an idea may differ even within one sentence.
令 lìng command; order command; order Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Empire and imperial are not synonymous with commanding.
虫 chóng bug; insect; worm-like small invertebrate insect; bug; worm Partial An ordinary broad small-creature category. This does not classify worms as zoological insects.
讽 fěng mock; satirize satirize; mock Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Situational irony need not involve sarcasm or any speaker mocking someone.
壶 hú jug; pitcher; serving pot pot; jug Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Mug and beaker overlap 杯 and lack the same shape/function.
糊 hú gel, goop, jelly, blob, paste, mush paste; mush Partial
金 jīn metal; metallic gold; metal Partial General metal. No automatic exact gold reading. Name or define the specific metal in a precision context.
乐 lè joy; happy joy; happy; music Partial Joy/happiness only; the yuè music reading is not adopted. Describe music with pitched sounds and artistic performance.
碳 tàn carbon carbon Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Coal is a material containing carbon, not the element itself.
卡 kǎ card; flat card-like token card Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Cardboard is material and charter is a legal document, neither guaranteed by card.
质 zhì property; quality quality; substance Partial Excluded automatic extensions: English -ness and the verb attribute imply operations not defined by the word.
热 rè heat; hot heat; hot Partial Heat/hot only. A caloric unit, if needed, is identified explicitly in technical notation.
田 tián field; agricultural land field Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Camping and a campsite are activities/places that need not be fields.
桂 guì cinnamon cassia; cinnamon tree Partial
炮 pào cannon; artillery cannon Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A gun barrel is part of a weapon, not the whole weapon.
房 fáng house; building; housing house; building; housing Partial
马 mǎ equine animal horse Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Horse, donkey, mule are related but distinct.
角 jiǎo angle; corner horn; angle; corner Partial Excluded automatic extensions: An animal horn is a separate referent.
互 hù cross; intersect; intersection interlocking; mutual; crosswise Partial Excluded automatic extensions: An intersection shape and a crucifix used as a religious object should not be automatically equivalent.
蝗 huáng grasshopper, cricket, or locust locust Partial Excluded automatic extensions: An informal animal grouping is not necessarily a single exact taxon.
山 shān mountain; hill mountain; hill Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Any bump/protrusion greatly broadens the category.
柱 zhù column; pillar pillar; column Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A spine is a particular anatomical structure.
逗 dòu comedy, humor, funny funny; amuse; tease Partial
公 gōng community, communal, public public; common Partial
厨 chú kitchen, to cook kitchen; cook-related Partial
盖 gài cover; covering cover; lid Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Blanket, cloak, and shawl are types of covers/clothes, not exact synonyms.
肘 zhǒu elbow elbow Partial Elbow only; nudging is a specified contact action. No cubit unit meaning.
块 kuài block; lump block; lump; piece Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A cube is a geometric subtype, and a brick a construction product.
文 wén culture, cultural culture; writing Partial
湖 hú lake; natural inland body of standing water lake Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Pond overlaps 池.
毛 máo animal hair; fur hair; fur; wool; down Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Wool is a particular fiber source.
懒 lǎn disinclined to exert effort; lazy lazy Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Inactivity need not be laziness.
宽 kuān wide; width wide; broad Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Latitude is a geographic coordinate or figurative freedom, not width.
镜 jìng mirror mirror; lens; optical glass Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A lens and a mirror perform different optical functions.
狮 shī big cat lion Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Lion, tiger, panther are different members.
蜗 wō snail or slug snail Partial Excluded automatic extensions: All mollusks would include animals outside that everyday grouping.
柠 níng lemon or lime lemon-related (in 柠檬) Partial Excluded automatic extensions: All citrus is broader than lemon and lime.
软 ruǎn soft; limp/flaccid material soft; limp; weak Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Walking with a limp is English homonymy.
脂 zhī fat; grease fat; grease Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Fattening and frying do not follow from a substance name alone.
字 zì written character; letter written character; letter Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Literature is a body of work, not a written symbol; spelling is an action over symbols.
长 cháng long; length long; length Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Longitude is a specific coordinate, not general length.
失 shī lose; loss; failure lose; loss Partial Loss or losing; the intended relationship and participants follow context.
机 jī machine; apparatus; motor; engine machine; mechanism; engine-related Partial
香 xiāng fragrant; aromatic fragrant; aromatic; spice Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A spice is a substance that may be aromatic; it is not fragrance itself.
瓜 guā melon or gourd fruit melon; gourd Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Melon, pumpkin, gourd are related subtypes.
减 jiǎn lower degree; less/fewer; subtract; minus reduce; subtract Partial Marks a lower degree before a quality; 比 introduces the comparison standard. 减 好 means less good, not necessarily bad. 最 减 selects the minimum degree. The arithmetic use remains subtraction.
谎 huǎng lie; deliberate deception lie; falsehood Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A false statement can be a sincere mistake.
缺 quē lack; absence; missing constituent lack; be short of Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Missing a target, missing a train, and failing to notice are not the same as lacking something.
米 mǐ rice grain uncooked rice grain; metre Partial Rice grain only. The unit metre is written m in the SI notation register; no second lexical sense.
式 shì manner; mode; form style; form; pattern Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Emotional mood is not necessarily a mode; fashionable is not every manner.
蚊 wén mosquito mosquito Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Mosquito and fly are distinct; not every fly bites.
猴 hóu monkey or ape monkey Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Monkey, gorilla, chimpanzee are distinct animals.
德 dé morality; virtue virtue; morality Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Morale is not morality.
死 sǐ die; death; dead die; death Partial Death or dying. 做 什 can make causation explicit.
动 dòng move; motion move; motion Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A movie is not motion itself; the note rejects it.
鼠 shǔ rodent; mouse; rat mouse; rat; rodent in names such as 松鼠 Partial The broad rodent category, with mouse and rat as familiar instances. Specify species when needed.
化 huà transform; turn into; change into transform; turn into; change into Partial
呼 hū breathe, breath exhale; breathe out; call Partial
星 xīng star; celestial point of light star; celestial body; planet-related in 行星 Partial Astronomical star/point of light. A planet requires a description of the kind of celestial body, not this bare word alone. No celebrity/highlight meaning.
窄 zhǎi narrow narrow Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Thin may mean thickness rather than width; a strait is a geographical feature.
膏 gāo thick paste; ointment cream; paste; fat Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Food cream, ointment, and other pastes are different substances.
预 yù predict, prophecy, prediction, prophetic beforehand; anticipate Partial
淡 dàn mild; bland; low sensory intensity bland; mild; light Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Political neutrality, grammatical neuter, impartiality, and boredom are distinct.
局 jú bureau; administrative department bureau; office; department; situation Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A situation is not an administrative unit.
葱 cōng onion/scallion category onion; scallion Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Every plant bulb is not an onion.
钟 zhōng hour; clock time clock; hour-related Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A duration unit and a clock reading need distinct numerical constructions.
橙 chéng orange fruit orange; orange color Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A one-word English gloss hides orange's fruit/color ambiguity.
阴 yīn shade; shadow shade; hidden; overcast Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Hiding is an act and hidden need not mean shaded.
恕 shù forgive; pardon forgive; pardon Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Forgiving, approving/condoning, and making excuses differ.
蝶 dié butterfly or moth butterfly Partial Excluded automatic extensions: These are related kinds of insect.
烤 kǎo grill; roast roast; grill; bake Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A grid or grate is not the act of grilling.
鸭 yā waterfowl; duck, goose, or swan duck Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Duck, goose, swan are subtypes.
刷 shuā brush brush Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Combing and sweeping need not use the same tool or action.
苹 píng apple apple-related (in 苹果) Partial
民 mín people; population people; population Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Populous and popular are different claims.
运 yùn transport; carry transport; carry; fortune Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Port is a place, cargo a transported thing.
崇 chóng worship; venerate revere; worship Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Ordinary praise or affectionate adoration need not be worship.
塑 sù plastic material plastic; mold Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Malleability is a property not limited to plastic.
拳 quán fist; punch with a fist fist; boxing Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Knob, hilt, and handgrip are not fists.
点 diǎn point; dot; decimal point point; dot Partial A point or dot; before decimal digits it supplies the decimal point. Fractional digits are read individually. Indicating something and being physically sharp are not additional adopted senses.
纯 chún pure; unmixed pure Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Clean is not necessarily pure, and cleansing may mean removing dirt rather than impurities.
射 shè emit/project a ray; ray/beam emit rays; radiate; shoot Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Mathematical radius is not radiation.
架 jià rack; frame; framework; support rack; frame; framework; support Partial
臂 bì arm arm Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A tree branch and every kind of limb are not arms.
随 suí arbitrary; chosen without a specified criterion follow; as one pleases; random-related Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Randomness in probability and arbitrary choice are not identical.
第 dì ordinal position ordinal-number prefix Partial Precedes a number to express ordinal position: 第 三 书, the third book. Social status is not implied without a stated ranking.
率 lǜ ratio; rate rate; ratio Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A fraction may mean a number representation, an arbitrary part, or a ratio.
答 dá answer; respond answer; reply Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A physical or chemical reaction is not necessarily a reply.
叛 pàn rebel; rebellion rebel; betray Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Revolution may name a major change without rebellion, and treason is a legal category.
备 bèi ready; prepared prepare; ready Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Available is not the same as prepared.
规 guī rule; regulate rule; regulate Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A measuring ruler is English homonymy with rule.
轨 guǐ rail; track rail; track Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A train is a vehicle on tracks, not the track.
桨 jiǎng oar/paddle oar; paddle Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A rudder steers without necessarily propelling.
租 zū rent; lease rent; lease Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Borrowing need not involve payment.
流 liú flow; current flow; current Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Rhythm and influence are not automatically flow.
爬 pá crawl; creep crawl; climb Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Reptiles are a biological class, not anything that crawls.
收 shōu receive receive; collect Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Acknowledging is an act that may occur without receiving an object.
鼾 hān snore snore Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Grunting does not imply sleep or snoring.
玫 méi rose flower rose-related (in 玫瑰) Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Pink is a color and rose a plant.
谣 yáo gossip, rumor, rumored rumor; ballad Partial
旅 lǚ travel; journey journey; travel Partial Excluded automatic extensions: An adventure can occur without travel and travel need not be adventurous.
故 gù story; narrative story-related (in 故事); cause; former Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A narrative need not be fictional.
盐 yán salt; salty salt Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Not all seasoning is salt.
嗨 hāi greeting hello; hey Partial Hello/greeting on meeting. Farewell is expressed by an explicit wish or leaving statement; no goodbye sense.
夹 jiā sandwich sandwich between; press from two sides Partial
救 jiù rescue; save from danger/loss rescue; save Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Retrieving an object need not rescue it; theological salvation is domain-specific.
野 yě wild; not domesticated wild; untamed Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Uncivilized and savage carry social/evaluative meanings unrelated to biological wildness.
坐 zuò sit sit Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A seat/chair is an object used for sitting; not every sit event implies a chair.
胞 bāo biological cell cell (biology) Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A prison/small room is English homonymy.
种 zhǒng seed; sow in context seed (zhǒng); sow/plant commonly zhòng in Mandarin Partial Seed or sowing in context, always pronounced zhǒng in Sino-Mini. This fixed reading is a deliberate regularization, not a noun/verb pronunciation alternation.
半 bàn half half Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Partial and incomplete may be any fraction, not specifically one half.
君 jūn mr., ms., sir, madam, lord, master gentleman; lord; polite address Partial
句 jù sentence; phrase sentence; phrase Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A judicial sentence/verdict is not a linguistic sentence.
兄 xiōng sibling, neutral in age and gender elder brother Partial A sibling of any gender or age relative to the speaker. This neutralization is a deliberate Sino-Mini extension. State age or gender when relevant.
哨 shào whistle whistle Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Hissing, fizzing, and whizzing differ acoustically and by source.
科 kē science; scientific field in context branch; department; scientific field in compounds Partial Science or a scientific field in context. There is no grammatical -ology suffix.
傻 shǎ foolish foolish; silly Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Trivial/unimportant need not mean foolish.
然 rán so; thus; such so; thus; such Partial
独 dú alone; sole alone; sole Partial Alone in a stated set/context; sole occupant/member when that set has one member. Not a free focus particle meaning only anywhere. Cardinal one is 一.
些 xiē some; unspecified amount some; a few Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Few asserts a small amount, whereas some need not.
脏 zāng dirty; grime dirty Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Institutional corruption is not physical dirt.
总 zǒng total; sum total; overall Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Calculate already has 算; score may be a measure other than a sum.
虽 suī although; concessive introducer although Partial Introduces a concession with a noun phrase or 虽 什 clause. An opening concessive clause is followed by a comma. No matching 但 is required; however and nevertheless do not add separate syntax.
税 shuì tax tax Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A generic fee, bill, and charge need not be taxation.
剧 jù theater, theatrical drama; theater-related Partial
张 zhāng stretch; tension stretch; tense; open Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Grammatical tense is English homonymy.
医 yī medical; treat; therapy medical; treat; therapy Partial
锡 xī tin tin (metal) Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A can need not be made of tin.
墨 mò ink ink Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Tint/hue is a color property, not the substance used for writing.
类 lèi kind; category type; kind; category Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Quality is a property, not a class; typicality is relative to a category.
容 róng contain; accommodate physically contain; accommodate; tolerate Partial Containing or accommodating; the intended application follows context.
帽 mào hat; cap/headwear hat; cap Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A mountain summit is not headwear.
咳 ké cough cough Partial Excluded automatic extensions: An animal barking is not coughing.
永 yǒng always; throughout the stated time interval forever; always Partial Throughout the stated interval. 永 不 is ordinary interval-wide negation; it does not add a lexical never word or existential ever reading.
瘤 liú tumor tumor Partial Excluded automatic extensions: An arbitrary swelling/bulge does not identify a tumor.
钝 dùn blunt; not sharp blunt; dull Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Dumb can mean unable to speak or unintelligent; neither follows from bluntness.
仁 rén kind; humane benevolence; humaneness Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Solidarity is collective alignment/support, not necessarily kindness.
虾 xiā shrimp or lobster shrimp; prawn Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Crab is also a crustacean but has 蟹.
钩 gōu hook hook Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Mitre has several English senses, none supplied just by hook.
谦 qiān modest; humble humble; modest Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Shame does not entail humility.
爪 zhǎo claw; hard pointed nail of an animal claw; talon Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Related keratinous body parts have different forms.
宇 yǔ universe; cosmos universe-related; eaves Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Universal may mean applicable to all, rather than cosmic.
空 kōng empty; unoccupied empty; space Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Outer space and vacuum are related but not equivalent; vacuous can be evaluative.
醒 xǐng awake; awaken wake; awake Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Awareness of a fact is not necessarily wakefulness.
窗 chuāng window window Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Mirror and screen were already assigned separate words, but remain in this gloss.
翼 yì wing wing Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Hat brim and arbitrary vanes are shape/function extensions.
品 pǐn product; article/item article; product; goods; kind; grade Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Kind and grade import independent classifier/evaluation senses.
楼 lóu multi-storey building multi-storey building; storey Partial Excluded automatic extensions: A storey is a part rather than the building.
消 xiāo dissipate; diminish dissipate; eliminate; consume Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Eliminating something and consuming it are different processes beyond generic decrease.
理 lǐ principle; rationale principle; reason; order Partial Excluded automatic extensions: Order may mean sequence, command, or systematic organization.
院 yuàn institutional establishment institution; courtyard; enclosed establishment Partial An institutional establishment; courtyard uses 庭. 医 院 is simply a medical establishment, not a guaranteed hospital type.
音 yīn musical tone; pitched sound sound; tone Partial Pitched or musical sound. General sound/voice uses 声. 音 艺 is art involving such sounds; it has no special dictionary meaning.
们 men explicit plurality of a pronoun plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals Partial Follows 我, 你, 他, or 它 to make plurality explicit: 我 们, 你 们, 他 们, 它 们. Not used with ordinary nouns. These are grammatical sequences, not additional dictionary words.
最 zuì extreme-degree selector most; greatest degree Partial Selects an extreme together with a direction word: 最 更 quality for the maximum, 最 减 quality for the minimum. Both words are required. Context supplies the comparison set; ties are possible.
明 míng bright; clear to sight bright; clear to sight Partial Bright/visually clear only. The succeeding day is 继 日; tomorrow when anchored to today. No future helper.
赚 zhuàn earn; earnings to earn; to make a profit Partial Earning or earnings. Net profit means income minus costs.
权 quán institutional authority; entitlement under an institution or rule authority; power; rights Partial State the institution and authorized action. Authority and entitlement remain a deliberately related institutional family, not practical ability or physical force.
优 yōu excellent relative to a stated or contextual criterion excellent; superior Partial Criterion-relative excellence, not inherent moral goodness. Comparative forms still require 更/减/同 and a standard where stated.
资 zī funds; capital; material means funds; capital; resources Partial Material or financial means only. General resources may be described broadly as 用 物, or by naming the actual time, abilities, goods, or other means.
他 tā third-person personal pronoun, gender-neutral; he, she, singular they he; him Partial Refers to a person of any gender. Unchanged as subject, object, or possessor: 他 书 = his/her/their book. 他 们 makes personal plurality explicit. Use 它 for inanimate referents. The gender-neutral written use is a Sino-Mini assignment.

Vocabulary changes

Sino-Mini has 1,000 words. 小语 (xiǎo yǔ), “little language,” is the language’s name.

Structural particles

The three structural particles are replaced. Their functions and ordering remain unchanged. 乃 covers identity, noun objects, and existence; 很 remains very.

Former word New word Before After Explanation
啊 乃 啊 ā — noun object; identity/category; subjectless existence 乃 nǎi — noun object; identity/category; subjectless existence Introduces a noun expression: identity or category after a subject, an object after a verbal expression, and existence without a subject. 不 乃 denies existence. The identity use is Chinese-motivated; object and existential marking are Sino-Mini extensions.
诶 呈 诶 ēi — quality/state predicate; directly caused result; ambient quality 呈 chéng — quality/state predicate; directly caused result; ambient quality Introduces an asserted quality or state, including location, ambient descriptions, and directly caused result qualities. It does not imply seeming, becoming, or visible appearance. 很 retains its meaning very.
咿 兮 咿 yī — verbal predicate marker 兮 xī — verbal predicate marker Introduces a verbal predicate; initially without a subject it introduces a command. A literary Chinese particle repurposed as a structural marker, not an aspect marker.

Meaning distinctions and vocabulary choices

First, 舌 tongue was separated from 语 language. The remaining approved vocabulary revisions followed. All 64 review decisions are resolved, including the explicit keep/omit decisions; H36 and H62 are one coordinated change.

proposal_ids character action before after decision
H64 舌 Modify tongue; language tongue; bodily tongue The bodily tongue. Language uses 语. 小语 is now the established proper name of Sino-Mini, literally little language.
H64 语 Add language; system of linguistic communication Language as a system of communication, spoken, written, or signed. 说 concerns saying/speaking, 话 speech/conversation, and 词 an individual word. The fixed reading is yǔ.
H03 性 Add sexuality; sexual activity The sexual concept. Gender, biological sex classification, and arbitrary properties are not automatic synonyms; state the intended distinction when needed.
H04 兄 Add sibling, neutral in age and gender A sibling of any gender or age relative to the speaker. This neutralization is a deliberate Sino-Mini extension. State age or gender when relevant.
H05 孕 Add pregnant; pregnancy Pregnancy. The gestational organ can be described anatomically; pregnancy and the uterus are not the same referent.
H07 主 Add main; primary Primary status or role, distinct from importance 重. Ownership and hosting are described through their relationships rather than assumed from 主.
H10 进 Add enter; go in Movement into an interior. Replaces 入 for entry. Uses ordinary grammatical constructions without importing Mandarin directional-complement rules.
H12 组 Add group; set A group or set in context, including objects or people. 队 centers on a team or formation, and 合 on joining/together.
H13 弃 Add discard; abandon; give up Deliberately relinquishing something. 离 concerns leaving or separation; 废 concerns waste or discarded material.
H14 告 Add tell; inform; notify Communicating information to someone. 说 concerns saying/speaking, and 讯 information or a message. Accusation requires the alleged wrongdoing to be stated; it is not an automatic meaning.
H15 哭 Add cry; weep Crying or weeping. 泪 centers on tears. These are lexical centers, not fixed noun/verb classes.
H16 臭 Add foul-smelling; stinky An unpleasant smell, contrasting with 香 fragrant. The fixed reading is chòu.
H18 相 Add mutual; reciprocal; one another Ordinary modification expressing reciprocity. 他 们 咿 相 帮 means they help one another. Participants and scope follow context; no separate clause construction is introduced.
H19 次 Add occurrence; occasion; time an event happens An occurrence for counting events. 三 次 means three occurrences in context; it does not measure three hours or require classifiers for other nouns.
H20 认 Add recognize; recognition Recognition of a person, pattern, or other referent. 知 remains knowing/understanding; acknowledgement is not automatically required.
H21 活 Add alive; live; life Being alive or living. 生 concerns birth or origination, rather than continued life.
H23 受 Add undergo; be affected by Undergoing an effect or experience. 收 concerns receiving something. This is an ordinary semantic word, not a passive particle.
H24 期 Add period; term An extended time interval. Does not automatically name an expectation or deadline.
H25 边 Add edge; side A physical edge or side in context. 限 remains a limit, restriction, or boundary.
H26 调 Add adjust; tune Adjustment or tuning. Use the fixed tiáo reading; tone and transfer senses associated with diào are not included.
H27 党 Add political party An organized political party. A social gathering or celebration is a different concept.
H28 级 Add level; grade; rank A discrete level in a stated hierarchy or scale, distinct from physical height or undifferentiated quantity.
H30 查 Add check; inspect Checking or inspecting. 找 centers on searching and 考 on examination; the intended activity follows context.
H31 标 Add mark; label A mark or label used to identify or indicate something. 图 concerns pictures and diagrams; 示 concerns showing.
H01 重 Modify weight, weigh, heavy heavy; weight; weighty; important Physical weight or figurative importance, distinguished by context. A weight measurement makes the physical sense explicit. The fixed reading remains zhòng; repeated/again is not included.
H02 表 Modify cousin express; show outwardly Outward expression or display. Cousin, table, form, and watch are not automatic meanings. Describe a cousin as a parent's sibling's child when that relationship matters.
H06 亲 Modify relative; kin parent A parent. More distant kin are described through their relationships, such as a parent's sibling. Gender or a biological, adoptive, or other parental relationship can be specified when relevant.
H12 队 Modify team; group in formation; queue team; group in formation; queue An organized team or formation. 组 names a neutral group or set; a procession is described through the group's movement.
H12 合 Modify join, group, together join; together; joined Joining or being together. Use 组 for a neutral group/set and 队 for a team or formation.
H13 离 Modify leave, quit, abandon, exit leave; depart; separate Departure or separation. Deliberately abandoning or giving something up uses 弃.
H14 说 Modify say; tell; speak; utter say; speak; utter Saying or speaking. 告 centers on informing a recipient; the two may apply to the same event from different perspectives.
H14,H42 讯 Modify information, inform, informative information; message Information or a bounded communicative message in context. 告 centers on informing someone. No separate message-only entry is required.
H15 泪 Modify tears, to cry tear; tears Tears as the lexical center. 哭 is the ordinary crying concept; grammatical role remains contextual for both words.
H17 真 Modify true, truth, really true; truth; genuine; real; really Truth, genuineness, or reality in context. State the particular claim when truth and existence must be distinguished. 实 is not a separate word.
H21 生 Modify life, live birth; be born; originate; origination Coming into life or existence. Continued living uses 活. Raw, unfamiliar, student, and other Mandarin senses are not automatic meanings.
H29 近 Modify near; spatial/contextual proximity near; close; approximate in context Spatial or contextual proximity, including approximation to a stated number or value. No separate 约 approximation word is added.
H33 假 Modify vacation, holiday false; fake False or fake. The fixed reading is now jiǎ. Vacation or leave is described through time off or rest; it is not a remaining meaning of 假.
H36,H62 释 Modify freedom, free, liberate release; liberation; set free Release or liberation. 解 centers on explanation. Physical unbinding can be described as releasing the binding; the intended relationship follows context.
H36,H62 解 Modify untie; loosen; release a binding explain; interpret; explanation Explanation or interpretation. Physical untying uses a release description where appropriate. Solve, melt, dissolve, and other Mandarin senses are not automatically added.
H37 工 Modify industry, industrial work; labor Work or labor as a general concept. Industry can be described through production, factories, and the relevant sector. No separate work/toil distinction is required.
H38 种 Modify seed seed; sow in context Seed or sowing in context, always pronounced zhǒng in Sino-Mini. This fixed reading is a deliberate regularization, not a noun/verb pronunciation alternation.
H38 植 Modify plant; biological plant plant; biological plant The biological plant concept, with ordinary contextual action uses permitted. 菜 names vegetables. Grammatical position and context determine the intended role.
H39 存 Modify exist, existence, existent exist; remain; preserve; store; save A related persistence/preservation family. 我 咿 存 啊 钱 can mean I save/store money; context distinguishes existence from keeping a specified thing.
H40 灰 Modify gray ash; gray Ash and the associated gray color. Context distinguishes the substance from the color; 烬 is no longer a separate entry.
H57 指 Modify finger or toe; digit of a hand or foot finger Finger as the lexical center. A toe can be described as a foot finger/digit in context. Pointing is not automatically added as another meaning.
H58 导 Modify guide; lead; direct; conduct lead; guide; direct Leading or guidance, including a leader as a contextual participant use. 引 attraction remains distinct; no separate 领 entry is required.
H59 术 Modify method, procedure, technique, means, methodical method; technique; procedure A way of doing something. Technology can be described through applied methods, devices, and systems; 巧 covers skillfulness.
H60 议 Modify suggest; propose; proposal discuss; deliberate; propose Considering and putting forward ideas. 论 centers on an articulated position or theory rather than the discussion itself.
H60 论 Modify theory, theorize theory; articulated position A theory or articulated position. Discussion and proposal-making center on 议.
H01 要 Merge important, importance, to matter 重 Give 重 the related heavy/weighty/important senses; retire 要.
H03 交 Replace sexual activity; copulate 性 Replace 交 with 性 xìng for sexuality/sexual activity. Exclude automatic gender and general-property senses.
H04 昆 Replace sibling, brother, sister 兄 Replace 昆 with 兄 xiōng for sibling, explicitly neutral in age and gender in Sino-Mini.
H05 宫 Replace womb, uterus 孕 Replace 宫 womb with 孕 yùn pregnant/pregnancy.
H10 入 Replace enter; go into 进 Prefer 进 jìn to newly added 入 for enter/go in; do not keep both.
H34 盗 Remove pirate contextual description Remove 盗 and use 偷 for stealing; describe piracy or forcible taking when needed.
H37 劳 Merge work, labor, hard-working 工 Use 工 for work/labor and retire 劳. Describe industry through production, factories, and the relevant sector.
H40 烬 Merge cinder, ash, ashy 灰 Give 灰 ash and gray; retire 烬.
H42 息 Merge message, notification, notify 讯 Remove 息; let 讯 cover information/message and 告 informing.
H43 娱 Remove amuse, entertain, fun, entertainment contextual description Remove 娱; use play, humor, performance, pleasure, or the particular entertaining activity in context.
H44 庇 Remove asylum, refuge, shelter contextual description Remove 庇; describe shelter/refuge/protection and its place or institution.
H45 偶 Remove doll, puppet contextual description Remove 偶; describe a toy human/animal representation or a manipulated figure.
H46 酥 Remove butter, buttery contextual description Remove 酥 as a dedicated butter word; use a contextual dairy-fat description, elaborated by preparation if needed.
H47 袄 Remove jacket, coat contextual description Remove 袄; describe the outer garment, warmth, material, or cut when relevant.
H48 候 Remove weather, climate contextual description Remove 候; describe atmospheric conditions with the sky/air/environment vocabulary and their qualities.
H49 殖 Remove colony, colonial, colonize contextual description Remove 殖; describe settlement and territorial domination in the relevant historical context.
H50 籍 Remove citizenship; civic membership contextual description Remove 籍; describe civic membership and rights under the specified country or institution.
H51 怪 Remove monster contextual description Remove 怪; describe an unusual/frightening creature or the particular supernatural being.
H52 砼 Remove concrete contextual description Remove 砼; describe the construction mixture, naming its binder and aggregate when precision matters.
H53 鸮 Remove owl contextual description Remove 鸮; describe the nocturnal bird of prey and distinguishing appearance as needed.
H54 喙 Remove beak contextual description Remove 喙; describe the hard mouth structure of the bird or other animal.
H55 踵 Remove heel contextual description Remove 踵; describe the rear part of the foot using the spatial vocabulary.
H56 榻 Remove sofa contextual description Remove 榻; describe a long padded seat intended for several people.
H58 领 Merge lead, leader, direct, guide 导 Merge 领 into 导 for lead/guide/direct.
H59 技 Merge technology, technological, technical 术 Merge 技 into 术 for technique/method; describe technology through applied methods and their devices/systems.

Earlier vocabulary changes

All 83 recommended rows are covered; the 64 held rows are not adopted. Multiple word-level changes can implement one review row.

proposal_ids character action before after decision
A01 也 Add also; too Adds another participant, action, or description to one understood from context. Ordinary modifier: 也 读 means also read; 再 读 means read again.
A02 只 Add only; merely Restricts the following expression in context. 只 我 names only me; 只 读 names only reading. 独 remains alone or sole within a stated set.
A03 少 Add few; little in quantity A small quantity, distinct from 减 comparing a lower quantity or degree.
A04 加 Add add; plus; increase Additive change and arithmetic addition. 合 joins and 总 expresses a total; neither is an automatic synonym for addition.
A05 老 Add old; aged; long-standing Age or long duration. Context distinguishes an aged friend from a friendship of long standing. 古 remains ancient.
A06 回 Add return; go back Returning to a place or earlier position. 再 means again; 背 refers to a bodily back or rear.
A07 入 Add enter; go into Movement into an interior, distinct from 中 inside and 往 toward. Uses the ordinary grammar; no result-complement construction is added.
A08 出 Add go out; emerge Movement outward, distinct from the broader departure or abandonment expressed by 离.
A09 直 Add straight; direct Spatial straightness or directness in context. Does not automatically mean morally right or geometrically flat.
A10 湿 Add wet; damp Moisture or wetness, contrasting with 干 dry.
A11 净 Add clean; free of dirt Cleanliness. 纯 means pure or unmixed; 明 concerns brightness or visual clarity.
A12 苦 Add bitter in taste The bitter taste. Hardship and suffering are not automatic meanings of this word.
A13 温 Add warm; moderately hot Temperature between cool and hot in context. No automatic gentle-personality or review/revise sense.
A14 薄 Add thin in thickness Counterpart to 厚. Use 瘦 for bodily leanness. The fixed reading is báo.
A15 胖 Add fat; plump in body shape Bodily shape, distinct from material thickness 厚 and fatty material 脂.
A16 瘦 Add thin; lean in body shape Bodily leanness, contrasting with 胖. Sheet thickness uses 薄.
A17 杀 Add kill Causing death. Also expressible through 做 and 死; this word gives the common concept a concise form.
A18 害 Add harm; harmful Harm or damaging effects, contrasting with 益 benefit.
A19 建 Add build; construct Building or construction. Does not automatically mean every kind of establishment or accomplishment. The former suggestion sense remains retired.
A20 成 Add succeed; accomplish; successful completion Successful accomplishment. An ordinary semantic word, not an aspect marker or result particle. 完 concerns completion without necessarily asserting success.
A21 藏 Add hide; conceal Concealment. Shade 阴 and submerging 潜 are different concepts. No automatic storage sense.
A22 词 Add word; linguistic word A unit of language. 字 names a written character or letter; 句 names a phrase or sentence.
A23 客 Add guest; visitor; customer in a service setting The visitor role, including a customer in a service setting. The particular relationship follows context.
A24 筷 Add chopstick A chopstick. Context or ordinary number expressions indicate one stick or a pair.
A25 落 Add fall; drop Falling or dropping, distinct from the downward direction 下. Participants and any object follow the ordinary grammar.
S01 邀 → 请 Replace invite, invitation invite; invitation Invitation. No special politeness particle or unrestricted request meaning is introduced.
S02 凳 → 椅 Replace stool; bench chair; seated furniture in context Centered on chairs. Specify a backless stool or bench when the distinction matters; these are contextual descriptions, not automatic exact synonyms.
S03 庸 → 常 Replace ordinary; usual usual; customary; often; usually Usual or recurring behavior. Being frequent need not mean being unremarkable; describe the latter explicitly when needed. 永 means throughout the stated interval.
S04 壤 → 土 Replace soil; earth material soil; earth material Soil or earth material. Does not automatically mean clay, mud, native, rustic, or unsophisticated.
S05 迈 → 步 Replace step, stride, pace step; pace A step or pace. 走 remains walking. The former general-walking allocation of 步 remains historical.
S06 悬 → 挂 Replace hang; suspended hang; suspend Physical hanging or suspension; no narrative-suspense sense.
S07 待 → 等 Replace wait; remain pending an event wait; await Waiting or awaiting, without asserting hope, belief, or eventual occurrence. No equality or etcetera meaning.
S08 助 → 帮 Replace help; assistance help; assist; assistance Assistance. Concern, care, and advocacy need not be the same relationship.
S09 裹 → 包 Replace package, parcel, packet, bundle wrap; package; wrapping or container in context The wrapping or packaging family. A container is interpreted through this use; no automatic bun, guarantee, or include sense.
S10 袍 → 裙 Replace dress, robe skirt; dress Centered on skirts and dresses. A robe needs a contextual garment description when the distinction matters.
S11 垃 → 废 Replace trash, garbage, waste, to throw away waste; discarded or unusable material Waste and discarded material. Discarding need not involve throwing; 扔 remains physical throwing. No general depose or abolish meaning.
S12 闭 → 关 Replace close, shut, seal close; shut; switch off Closing or shutting off. No mountain-pass, checkpoint, or border sense.
S13 绘 → 画 Replace draw; depict; drawing; sketch; graphical design; blueprint draw; depict; make a picture; drawing Depiction or making a picture. 涂 describes applying paint or a coating to a surface.
M01 即 Modify soon immediately; at once Immediate occurrence. Does not mean soon in general.
M02 队 Modify parade, march, procession team; group in formation; queue The organized group or formation. Describe marching or a procession through the participants and their movement.
M03 方 Modify square, plaza square in shape Square geometry. A public plaza requires a place description; direction uses 向 and method uses 式 or 术.
M04 中 Modify center middle; center; inside; within The middle or interior. Inside/within is the location use already present in the grammar.
M05 转 Modify turn, gyrate, spin, whirl turn; change orientation Turning or changing orientation. The fixed reading is zhuǎn; unqualified spinning or whirling is not automatically included.
M06 欠 Modify yawn, gape owe; be indebted Debt or indebtedness. The former yawn/gape allocation is retired.
M07 排 Modify steak; chop; substantial cut of meat arrange in a row; line up Arranging in a row. 列 remains a series or list. Does not name a steak, chop, or every kind of ordering.
M08 票 Modify vote ticket; ballot; token of admission or entitlement in context A ticket or ballot interpreted by its institutional use. A vote can be described through ballot use; 选 covers choosing or electing.
M09 控 Modify accuse, accusation, charge (legal) control; regulate Control or regulation. An accusation is expressed by stating the claimed wrongdoing; accuse is not an automatic meaning.
M10 巡 Modify police patrol; make rounds Patrolling. A police role requires its institutional enforcement relationship to be described.
M11 烧 Modify fever, feverish burn; apply burning heat Burning heat. 火 already covers fire/burning, 焦 the scorched result, and 烤 roasting. Does not mean fever or all cooking.
M12 核 Modify nut core; kernel; nucleus A core or kernel. Does not generically name every edible nut; a hard-fruit description needs further context for precision.
M13 投 Modify invest, investment cast or direct into or toward a target A directed placement or commitment toward a target, physically or contextually. 扔 is physical throwing. Investment and voting require the funds or ballot context; combinations have no separate lexical definitions.
M14 幻 Modify magic, magical, conjure illusory; imaginary; illusion Illusion or imagined appearance. Does not automatically mean magic; describe the intended magical event explicitly.
M15 录 Modify video record; recording Recording, with sound or moving images specified when the medium matters. No video-only meaning.
M16 暂 Modify pause, break, interruption temporary; for a while Temporary duration. 暂 停 describes a temporary stop without defining another word.
M17 暴 Modify storm, stormy, typhoon, hurricane violent; fierce force or behavior Violent force or behavior. Storms require meteorological descriptions; sudden events do not automatically follow from this word.
M18 异 Modify foreign, alien different; differ; variation Difference or variation. Foreign origin needs a country or origin description.
M18 别 Modify other, different other; another Another member or alternative. Use 异 when asserting a difference in properties.
M19 羊 Modify sheep sheep; goat The sheep/goat category. Specify the animal when the distinction matters; 羚 remains antelope.
M19 羚 Modify goat or antelope antelope Antelope. Goat belongs with 羊; the two categories are not interchangeable.
M20 鼠 Modify mouse, rat rodent; mouse; rat The broad rodent category, with mouse and rat as familiar instances. Specify species when needed.
M21 虫 Modify insect, bug bug; insect; worm-like small invertebrate An ordinary broad small-creature category. This does not classify worms as zoological insects.
M22 礼 Modify rite, ceremony, ceremonial ritual; socially conventional courtesy Conventional social conduct, including ritual and courtesy. Does not mean general gentleness.
M23 廊 Modify hall, corridor corridor A corridor or passage, distinct from a large shared room 厅.
M23 厅 Modify salon, parlor hall; large shared room A hall or shared room. A living-room interpretation depends on use and context.
M24 涂 Modify paint, painting, painted apply paint or coating; smear Applying a material to a surface. 画 is depiction or making a picture.
M25 根 Modify root, rooted, rhizome, tuber root Root. Rhizomes and tubers are different plant structures and require appropriate descriptions.
M26 台 Modify scene, stage stage; platform A stage or platform. Does not automatically name any scene, view, or event setting.
M27 历 Modify calendar, schedule, timetable calendar Calendar. A program or agenda can use 程; schedule and timetable are not automatic meanings here.
M28 突 Modify sudden, suddenly, abrupt, to precipitate sudden; abrupt Suddenness or abruptness. Does not mean causing an arbitrary event to happen or precipitating a substance.
M29 科 Modify science, scientific, -ology science; scientific field in context Science or a scientific field in context. There is no grammatical -ology suffix.
M30 明 Clean Mandarin note Ming Dynasty (1368–1644); surname Ming; Ming (c. 2000 BC), fourth of the legendary Flame Emperors, 炎帝[Yan2 di4] descended from Shennong 神農|神农[Shen2 nong2] Farmer God bright; clear to sight Keep the relevant Mandarin sense note separate from the adopted Sino-Mini definition.
M30 最 Clean Mandarin note (before an adjective or verb) to the highest degree; (the) most ...; -est; (after 之[zhi1]) best or most extreme example (e.g. 世界之最[shi4 jie4 zhi1 zui4] "the greatest in the world") most; greatest degree Keep the relevant Mandarin sense note separate from the adopted Sino-Mini definition.
M30 很 Clean Mandarin note very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) very Keep the relevant Mandarin sense note separate from the adopted Sino-Mini definition.
M30 完 Clean Mandarin note to finish; to be over; whole; complete; entire finish; complete Keep the relevant Mandarin sense note separate from the adopted Sino-Mini definition.
M30 变 Clean Mandarin note to change; to become different; to transform; to vary; rebellion change; become Keep the relevant Mandarin sense note separate from the adopted Sino-Mini definition.
M30 吗 Clean Mandarin note (question particle for "yes-no" questions) yes/no question particle Keep the relevant Mandarin sense note separate from the adopted Sino-Mini definition.
M30 沙 Clean Mandarin note granule; hoarse; raspy; sand; powder; CL:粒[li4]; abbr. for Tsar or Tsarist Russia sand Keep the relevant Mandarin sense note separate from the adopted Sino-Mini definition.
M30 硬 Clean Mandarin note hard; stiff; solid; (fig.) strong; firm; resolutely; uncompromisingly; laboriously; with great difficulty; good (quality); able (person); (of food) filling; substantial hard; firm Keep the relevant Mandarin sense note separate from the adopted Sino-Mini definition.
M30 平 Clean Mandarin note flat; level; smooth; to make even; to level; equal; on the same level; (bound form) fair; impartial; to tie; to draw; (bound form) average; ordinary; (bound form) calm; peaceful; (bound form) to quell; to suppress; to put down; (abbr. for 平聲|平声[ping2 sheng1]); (coll.) square meter (abbr. for 平方米[ping2 fang1 mi3]) flat; level Keep the relevant Mandarin sense note separate from the adopted Sino-Mini definition.
M30 到 Clean Mandarin note to reach; to arrive; to leave for; to go to; to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point); (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point); considerate; thoughtful; thorough reach; arrive Keep the relevant Mandarin sense note separate from the adopted Sino-Mini definition.
M30 倒 Clean Mandarin note to invert; to place upside down or frontside back; to pour out; to tip out; to dump; inverted; upside down; reversed; to go backward; contrary to what one might expect; but; yet pour (dào); also fall or reverse with other readings/uses Keep the relevant Mandarin sense note separate from the adopted Sino-Mini definition.
M30 借 Clean Mandarin note to borrow; (used in combination with 給|给[gei3] or 出[chu1] etc) to lend; to make use of; to avail oneself of; (sometimes followed by 著|着[zhe5]) by; with borrow; lend in Mandarin Keep the relevant Mandarin sense note separate from the adopted Sino-Mini definition.
M30 奖 Clean Mandarin note prize; award; bonus; reward; (bound form) to encourage; to commend; to praise; to award; to give as a reward reward; award Keep the relevant Mandarin sense note separate from the adopted Sino-Mini definition.
M30 权 Clean Mandarin note authority; power; right; (literary) to weigh; expedient; temporary authority; power; rights Keep the relevant Mandarin sense note separate from the adopted Sino-Mini definition.
M30 资 Clean Mandarin note resources; capital; to provide; to supply; to support; money; expense funds; capital; resources Keep the relevant Mandarin sense note separate from the adopted Sino-Mini definition.
M30 轻 Clean Mandarin note light; easy; gentle; soft; reckless; unimportant; frivolous; small in number; unstressed; neutral; to disparage light in weight; gentle in force Keep the relevant Mandarin sense note separate from the adopted Sino-Mini definition.
D01 使 Merge messenger; envoy 代 Use 代 for representative/envoy. Duplicate allocation; 做 already supplies causation.
D02 具 Remove furniture description Use 器 and a description of domestic use or the actual furnishing. Furniture need not have a separate misleading character; “house implement” remains a broad description.
D03 券 Merge ticket; token granting a specified claim 票 Use revised 票. Keep the ticket/claim concept in one entry.
D04 凶 Merge violence, violent 暴 Use revised 暴. Consolidates violent behavior/force.
D05 殊 Merge vary; variation 异 Use revised 异. Variation is contextual difference; no second near-synonym needed.
D06 柔 Merge soft; yielding 软 Use 软 for material softness/yielding; 轻 where gentle force is meant. Remove the substantial softness overlap without making gentle force identical to soft material.
D07 谑 Merge joke, jest 逗 Use 逗 for humor/joking. A separate literary joke word adds little.
D08 彬 Merge polite, gentle, gracious, courteous 礼 Use revised 礼 for courteous conduct. Exclude the old unrelated general gentleness gloss.
D09 哪 Remove where description Use 什 with a location expression, following the existing grammar. Eliminates a separate where word and its conflict with Mandarin which.
D10 健 Remove sport, athletic, physical exercise description Use 康 for health and descriptions involving movement, training, or competition. Exercise and competitive sport are not identical, so use the appropriate description.
D11 澒 Remove infinity, infinite description Describe absence of a bound or unbounded quantity explicitly. Do not substitute 永 indiscriminately: always is temporal, not mathematical infinity.
D12 辎 Remove luggage, baggage, gear, personal effects, to lug description Describe travel belongings or name the bags/items. Removes an obscure general-luggage allocation. Travel belongings and one travel box remain different descriptions.
D13 啮 Merge rodent (non-mouse), squirrel, beaver 鼠 Use the explicit broader rodent category. Do not preserve 啮 as non-mouse rodents under a character associated with gnawing.
D14 豸 Merge worm 虫 Use revised 虫 and describe the creature when needed. Avoid the obscure worm allocation.
D15 喃 Remove murmur; whisper description Describe speaking quietly or in a low voice. Whispering specifically excludes normal voicing; add that detail if it matters rather than claiming every quiet utterance is a whisper.

Inanimate pronoun

它 (tā) replaces 其 (qí) for objects, ideas, and situations. Its grammatical uses are unchanged: 它 色 means “its color,” and 它 们 is an explicit plural. 他 remains the gender-neutral personal pronoun. Both are pronounced tā.

Polite requests with 请

请 (qǐng) includes invite, invitation, request politely, and please. It adds optional politeness within an ordinary verb stack: 兮 请 来 means “Please come.”

Current design decisions

Exposition. The three structural particles are replaced without rule changes; see predicate patterns.

Word inventory. 1,000 single-character words. No compound dictionary entries or special whole-phrase meanings/readings.

Semantic words. Ordinary words denote concepts, not fixed parts of speech. Any semantic word can be used nominally, verbally, adjectivally, or adverbially in context. Grammar determines relationships through particles and position. No per-word object requirements or transitivity permissions apply. Objects can be left unstated, understood from context, or made explicit with 乃.

的. A separator with two uses: grouping a preceding noun modifier, and introducing manner after a verb stack. Both determine how the surrounding words are interpreted.

Going and direction. 去 (qù) means go. 往 (wǎng) means toward and retains infinitive introduction in 往 兮 / 往 呈 / 往 乃. Infinitives do not use 去.

Phrase examples. The former Compounds tab is now a migration guide to ordinary expressions. A broad description is not an exact substitute for its former English gloss.

Nonfinite constructions. 往 + 兮/呈/乃 forms infinitives. 在 + 兮/呈/乃 forms active participles, both activity nouns and descriptions of a preceding participant. 从 + 兮 forms passive participles of the first direct object. None marks tense or adds dictionary words. Bare verb stacks remain sufficient.

Participants and grouping. Noun-modifying active participles and infinitives take the head as subject. Predicate-modifying infinitives share that predicate's subject, including through an event-purpose 为. 的 separates an explicit participant from a named activity or infinitive, for pronouns and other noun expressions alike: 我 的 在 兮 names my activity. Without 的, the infinitive or participle describes the preceding head: 我 在 兮 describes me as its participant. A different actor in a predicate complement uses a full 什 clause.

Writing and names. Each word has one character. Spacing is a presentation choice. Proper names such as 小语 retain their spelling.

Semantic changes. 兮 xī replaces 咿 yī; 乃 nǎi replaces 啊 ā; 呈 chéng replaces 诶 ēi. Identity and existence continue to use the same marker as noun objects. No separate 是 or 个 is introduced.

Added words. 兮 乃 呈 (replacements)

Retired words. 咿 啊 诶

Source coverage. 998 original Mini source keys preserved in 1,056 mapping records. Original glosses remain verbatim; selected senses and contextual descriptions are identified.

Units. Use explicitly labeled technical notation such as m, L, min, s, J. 米 means rice; 分 division; 升 rise. Unit identifiers are not Sino-Mini words.

Readings. Each word has one listed reading. 过 is guò, pass/cross, without a neutral experiential reading. 乐 is lè (joy); 弹 is dàn (ammunition).

Core predicates. 兮 introduces verbs; 呈 quality predicates; 乃 objects and category complements. These are the three structural particles.

Third-person reference. 他 is the personal pronoun for any gender; 他 们 makes personal plurality explicit. 其 refers to inanimate objects, ideas, and situations, with number supplied by context or made explicit by 其 们. Both keep their form as subjects, objects, and possessors. 们 follows 我, 你, 他, or 其.

Aspect and interjections. 在 remains the progressive operator. Perfective 了 and experiential 过 are removed. Ordinary action predicates, time expressions, and completion stacks express occurrences and their timing; 完 means finish and 已 means already. 嗯 is an affirmative interjection.

Word order. SVO. Any opening topic, including a prepositional phrase, time expression, or adverb, ends with a comma before the subject. Inside the clause, introduced modifiers precede direct objects; verb stacks follow the same ordering.

Modifier scope. Ordinary modifiers precede the word or phrase they modify. 不 follows this same rule: 不 后 一 钟 means not after one hour. Modifier phrases may continue or contrast with a preceding statement without forming a new finite clause, as in 其 早 叶 乃 花。但 不 后 一 钟。 This is ordinary grammar, not a poetic exception.

Clauses. 什 introduces post-head clauses without a closing particle. The return-boundary rule resolves continuation of an outer clause.

Prepositional relatives. noun + 什 + relation + explicit subject + predicate. The head supplies the selected relation's complement; other expressed participants follow ordinary order, and other objects can remain unstated without becoming additional head references. No stranded preposition or multiple recovered roles.

Possessive relatives. A complete noun-relative clause contains exactly one third-person possessive modifier at its own clause level. 他 / 其 (optionally with 们) refers to the relative head in that possessive position. No other role is recovered from the head; ordinary contextual omission of other objects remains possible. Other possessors are named explicitly. This does not change 自 or add a word for “whose.”

Moloch translation review. The proposed additions 铝, 氢, 癌, and 氧 were declined. Use contextual descriptions from existing words; precision losses remain explicit. Exact arithmetic and scientific identification conventions remain separate working proposals. Verb-specific object requirements are removed.

Predicate coordination. A stated subject can govern predicates joined with 和, 或, or 但. Every predicate keeps its marker 兮, 呈, or 乃 and its own objects, negation, and aspect. An explicit new subject starts a coordinated clause. A full stop ends subject sharing.

Question and reference expressions. 什 / 这 / 那 / 每 / 任 combine with 人 / 物 / 处 / 时 / 式 / 因 by ordinary modification. A reference table illustrates these phrases; it does not add words.

Retained limits. No role-disambiguating reduplication, optional predicate-marker dropping, tense auxiliaries, or lexicalized compound entries are adopted.

Existence and negation. Subjectless 乃 noun asserts existence; 不 乃 noun denies it. 不 remains the single negator.

Comparisons. 更/减/同 + quality, followed by 比 + standard when stated. 最 更 and 最 减 mark extremes. 同 means exact equality, not resemblance.

Purpose and results. 为 introduces purpose; 做 supplies explicit causation/result constructions. A post-object 呈 quality describes a quality directly produced in the affected object. A subject quality can belong to the predicate itself, as in feeling or becoming. These interpretations depend on meaning and context, not a verb whitelist. A separate outcome uses coordinated predicates or clauses, or a comma-separated trailing relation + 什 clause with its own subject and predicate. Neither purpose nor result constructions inherit hidden compound-specific verb frames.

Uncertainty. Technical identity, botanical species, political institutions, and other precise meanings may require explanation. No opaque loan is silently adopted as a phrase.

Chinese reference. CC-CEDICT / MDBG, https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=cc-cedict . Dictionary meanings are documentary, not normative Sino-Mini definitions.

Mini source. S. C. Gruget, https://minilanguage.com/name-seri.txt ; retained snapshot 7 September 2026.

License. Language materials and dictionary adaptations: CC BY-SA 4.0. Reading sources are credited separately.

Readings. The complete Meditations on Moloch translation uses the current grammar and vocabulary. It is presented in Sino-Mini alone, with occasional English glosses for technical referents. Proper names and technical notation retain their spelling. Earlier translation versions remain historical.

Full reference · Vocabulary adoption

思 (sī) is the word for think/thought, replacing 想. 欲 (yù) remains want/desire; 要 remains important/importance, and 重 remains physical weight/heavy.

Mandarin review. 什 replaces 可 in both grammatical roles; 臀 replaces 屁; 议 replaces 建. 植 names plants generally; 菜 names vegetables. 库 names storage places, 粒 particles or granules, 琴 stringed musical instruments, and 弦 their strings. 杏 闻 狱 灌 单 叔 琵 报 are retired. Descriptions remain ordinary phrases.

Conversational vocabulary. 找 怕 脚 脖 肚 扔 走 看 饿 replace their earlier literary counterparts. 读 (dú) means read; its former boundary meaning is eliminated. 吃 means eat, 食 means food, and 什 时 asks when. Written commas and corresponding pauses keep their grammatical functions.

Descriptive expressions. 轻 金, 轻 气, 呼 气, and 承 部 identify aluminum, hydrogen, oxygen, and genes in the Moloch translation through context. They remain ordinary phrases, not extra vocabulary words or fixed definitions. 咎 (jiù) already means blame, fault, and guilt; 自 咎 expresses self-blame.

Relatives retained. Subject/object gaps, fronted prepositional roles, and the existing possessive-relative construction are retained. The proposed uniform resumptive-pronoun replacement was rejected.

Sources & downloads

The source ledger preserves all 998 original Mini keys and their original definitions. It records selected senses and precision gaps; it does not claim exact translation coverage for every original meaning.

Mappings and dictionary adaptations are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Sino-Mini is an editorial adaptation, not an official Mini standard.