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洗手間 vs. 廁所 the bathroom?


geek_frappa

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does XI SHOU JIAN sound more cultured?

I think so. Another term you can use in the Mainland is 衛生間.

I think I've read from somewhere that the korean term for lavatory, if written in Chinese characters, is 解憂所. I think this is COOL (but not sure if it is true).

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Also common in Taiwan (well only on signs really) is 化妝室. Like Powder Room, but it works for the Gents as well.

廁所 isn't the toilet seat, not even the toilet itself, which is 馬桶. 廁所 is definitely the room the toilet is found in.

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cesuo's not rude or anything, but it doesn't feel as good coming off the lips eh? How shall I say it... it's not poetic.

I think it's probably similar to saying bathroom (you can say bathroom in a restaurant, but it feels better to say wash room because of the implications).

Anyone know what the actual porcelain toilet is called?

They don't call it ma3 tong2 do they?

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posted for reference:

 全省面積最大設施齊全

  地點:深汕高速惠來商旅服務中心

  記者在深汕高速公路東段看到了一座全省面積最大的高速公路服務區———惠來商旅服務中心,佔地面積28萬多平方米。

  據悉,這座服務區將出現面積約3200平方米的汽車旅館,還有美容、美發、浴足、桑拿、按摩等配套服務。這為喜歡自駕車遊的有車一族提供了休息站。服務區內的廁所取名叫“解憂所”,共有6個廁所,可以同時容納200多人同時使用,還設有殘疾人專用廁位、通道以及嬰兒哺乳室。服務區還配備商場、超市、生態農莊,客人可以到生態農莊直接挑選品種,然後做菜。這裡甚至還提供傳真、寬帶上網等服務。

more examples here:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=Big5&safe=off&q=解憂所&lr=lang_zh-TW

very interesting...

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isn't 馬桶 a whole in the ground??

No, 馬桶 is a wooden bucket. In the old days, the 馬桶 was indeed put into a pit in the ground. You can use your imagination how people used it. For cleaning they usually hired the town's 馬桶 cleaning people. I believe there were 馬桶 for #1 emergency and a separate one for #2.

They don't call it ma3 tong2 do they?

They still call the western toilet 馬桶 because it's fun to call it that. The proper terms are 坐厕/厕座(toilet), 厕板(toilet seat).

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oooh yea :) i forgot.

it's just so funny to call them the "sitting" vs "squatting" toilets :)

haha

I think for public bathrooms I like the "keng1" type much more. It's simply more sanitary. However I don't see those being adopted here in the US any time soon :

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