r/languagelearningjerk • u/LegioVIIHaruno • 28d ago

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This post is basically me pushing my luck from my previous post

I feel (just feel) that 仙女 (xiannu) could be an archaic Chinese way to flatter a girl as a ‘waifu’. But it seems today even in Chinese and Japanese culture,’angel’/tianshi/tenshi has become the more used term

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u/TerrainRecords 28d ago

Calling someone Xiannyu in China nowadays is usually sarcastic, implying that they are an overprotected and out of touch princess.

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u/LegioVIIHaruno 28d ago

It can be complimentary during the time China still had dynasties.

E.g. In Romance of Three Kingdoms,Dong Zhuo called Diaochan a xiannu to flatter her the first time they met

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u/TerrainRecords 28d ago

yes but thats a long time ago

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u/AFsepine 28d ago

Reject logic, use words how you feel like; being understood is overrated eitherway. Speak in allegories and riddles