- 月底 niöh ’tí, end of the month.
- 年底 níen ’tí, end of the year.
- 私底下 sz ’tí ’au, secretly.
- 底裡 ’tí ’li, at the bottom.
- 底下挽通 ’tí ’au ’wan t’óng, to inform secretly.
- 底面不和 ’tí míen‘ peh ú, heart and looks not agreeing.
- 直到底 dzuk tau‘ ’tí, to the end.
- 脚底下 kiák ’tí ’au, under the feet.
152. The following substantives combine with the cardinal points to form nouns of place. They are arranged in the order of their frequency. 沿, 半爿, 面, 邊, 首, 頭, 方, han‘, pén‘ ban, míen‘, píen, ’seu, teu, fong. One or two examples will suffice to explain this usage.
- 東半爿, 東面 tóng pén‘ ban, tóng míen‘, on the eastern side.
The combinations with 裏 ’lí, within, include two other words which here appended, 向, 勢, 面, 邊, 頭, h’iáng‘, sz‘, míen‘, píen, teu.
- Thus, 裏向, 裏面, ’lí h’iáng‘, ’lí míen‘, inside.
Obs. Other words, such as the demonstrative pronouns, and some of the prepositions form similar combinations, as will be afterwards seen.
Section 4. On numeral particles and auxiliary substantives.
153. Under his head, are included the classifying particles, called by some writers numerals, with weights and measures, and any parts not being themselves full appellative nouns, into which substantives admit of being divided.
Obs. i The distinctive numeral particles applied to different substantives, belonging as they do themselves to that class of words, could not be placed with propriety among or after the adjectives; yet their Syntax is sufficiently unlike that of the substantive to require them to be placed apart.
Obs. ii. A comprehensive classification of substantives has been presented to philologists, by Dr. Legge in his “Letters on the rendering of the name God in Chinese,” Hongkong, 1850. Several useful terms are there introduced, partly from Nordheimer, but a place for the nouns now under discussion is not provided for except under class (4). The classes into which common or nouns not proper are there divided, are—