"walking stick"

[tooironic]

When I was editing Wiktionary today I discovered there are a number of synonyms for walking stick in Mandarin:

• 青藜 (qīnglí)
  
• 拐棍 (guǎigùn)
  
• 拐杖 (guǎizhàng)
  
• 手杖 (shǒuzhàng)
  

And 拐 guǎi itself has two alternative forms: 柺 & 枴.

1) Are there any subtle (or not subtle) differences between them?

2) What measure words do they take? Apparently 根, 个 and 把 are all appropriate, but I'm not sure.

Thanks.

Edited April 18, 2010 at 01:12 PM by tooironic

[rivercao]

青藜 (qīnglí) : Classic Chinese, not uesd anymore nowadays, too complex in spelling.

拐棍 (guǎigùn) :speaking Chinese, sort of informal.

拐杖 (guǎizhàng) : the most commonly used word.

手杖 (shǒuzhàng) : Seems uesd in some stories and online games, this kind of hand stick is usually kind of magical.

So, the 3rd one with no doubt.

The most accurate measure word is "根", other options are:"把","条",and"个" of course.

eg:这位老先生拄着一根拐杖。

This old gentleman is holding a hand stick.

Notice that in terms of using a hand stick as an assistance, the verb that goes with it is always "拄".

Edited April 18, 2010 at 05:15 AM by rivercao

[skylee]

other options are:"把","条",and"个" of course.

條? Really?

How about 枝？

[rivercao]

條? Really?

How about 枝？

Yes, it's ok.

[tooironic]

Thank you, rivercao. Very interesting. Conversations with other native speakers confirm what you said.

To sum up, 拐杖 guǎizhàng is the most commonly used term for walking stick. By contrast, 手杖 shǒuzhàng can be used to describe a cane that has other uses, such as hiking or scaring away wild snakes. I've added all that info on Wiktionary. Cheers!