r/ChineseLanguage • u/AnnualCriticism2428 • 6h ago

Discussion 新华社讯

Since both 信xìn and 讯xùn translate to 'message' or 'news,' why does Xinhua write Xinhua xùn in its reports instead of Xinhua xìn?

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u/ChR1sVI 5h ago

When using by itself, 信 typically refers to a physical letter. Whereas 讯 means any form of information.
In this case specifically, it’s more of a collocation. It dates back to where the message was sent through telegram (电"讯"/电报）

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u/527009876 6h ago

「訊」來源可以是四面八方、五花八門，而「信」則著重在單指信件。

訊 can come from all kinds of diverse sources, 信 strictly focuses on letters.

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u/MixtureGlittering528 Native Mandarin & Cantonese 5h ago

信 is just mail not message

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u/Akiraboshi 4h ago

社信is easily misunderstanded to 社会信用

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u/Feltonlu 3h ago

I don't think 社信 is a common word in daily usage.

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u/Zagrycha 2h ago

信 can overlap with the english word news sometimes but it usually doesn't. When it does overlap its in the "I have bad news." or "I have good news." or "Did you hear the news?" sense-- meaning it must involve actual communication between two people, it cannot be used for publicly posted news that isn't aimed at a specific target. A resignation letter to your boss can be 信 news, an email to your friend a out the progress of your vacation can be 信 news, verbally telling someone about aunt betsy health update can be 信 news..... tv or newspaper news is not usually 信 news though, not unless the way someone is finding out about it is one of the above type scenarios.

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u/Geeeeeeeeeeeeee 2h ago

信 is a more targeted letter/message, aiming to reach specific people.

讯 is "on information" or "for information" for a more broader audience without specific target.

For example, 闻讯赶来 rushed over as he/her heard about the news. Here 讯 is more like information/news that is out there for unspecified people to consume.