Kvasir ([info]reclamationzone) wrote,
@ 2005-08-17 19:06:00
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Current mood: weird
Entry tags:general query

Bodily Discharge
Wondering outloud on a disgusting question...

Cantonese - English
汗 - sweat
尿 - pee/urine etc
屎 - shit/poop etc
耳屎 - ear wax
鼻屎 - booger
牙屎 - plaque
眼屎 - ??

What is that crusty stuff that sometimes "glue" your eyes shut when you get up in the morning? What is it called?

As you can see 屎 in Cantonese can be used for a wide variety of bodily discharge. Even for the substance in question.


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[info]bennett
2005-08-18 04:55 am UTC (link)
I just call it crust....

牙屎 is a rather interesting term, ie tooth shit. I've never heard of it expressed that way.

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[info]reclamationzone
2005-08-19 12:33 am UTC (link)
Yep, that is what my dentist told me when i was in Grade 6. Asked him what is that white semi-solid stuff that i can scrap off the surface of my teeth with my fingernail. And he said "牙屎" and i was a bit grossed out when i heard it since it is was referred to as "屎". Apparently that was the term technical enough.

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[info]wisclassic
2005-08-18 06:38 am UTC (link)
i've called it goobers, or "sleep" (as in you have sleep in your eyes) or junk or ... yeah. the japanese dictionary close at hand called it "eye gum" which I certainly have never used.

japanese its

汗
糞
鼻糞
耳糞
目脂or目糞

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[info]reclamationzone
2005-08-19 12:36 am UTC (link)
Interesting! Again, Japanese is quite similar to Chinese (or Cantonese for that matter). 糞 is a more polite term for "shit" in Cantonese. There is even a euphemism on that term: 米田共.

目 is another word for "eye". It's not surprising that it's also the radical for most of the characters that deal with eyes and vision, including the word eye: 眼.

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[info]neuy
2005-08-18 09:22 am UTC (link)
i think that 屎 really means a general "discharge".. for in the "shit" sense, at the very core of it, it is still nothing but a, well discharge.

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[info]jdm314
2005-08-18 03:00 pm UTC (link)
I know I read the technical name for the eye stuff somewhere, but I can't remember it.

By some amazing coincidence, I received an poem from a friend in this mornings email, in which this discharge is referred to as "sleepy stuff" ;)

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[info]reclamationzone
2005-08-19 12:37 am UTC (link)
There must be a Latin medical term I'm sure. :P

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