<p>和 is a mathematical term &quot;sum&quot;.</p>
<p>差 is also a mathematical term &quot;difference&quot;.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-26T04:25:38.553Z
It seems there's also 积 for "product".  I'm not sure if there's a character for "quotient".
Becky 李蓓
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-26T04:27:24.307Z
@Becky李蓓 商 means quotient.  A similar character is 比, which means ratio.
L. F.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-26T20:43:02.980Z
also 方 for power, as in 平方, 立方, 四次方...
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-26T01:12:59.060Z
2022-07-26T01:12:59.060Z
monalisa
<p>Let me give some complements.
First, these terms are quite general. For example, 和 is also used in direct sum,  积 is also used for tensor product, Cartesian product and product space. 商 is also used for quotient space, quotient topology and so on.</p>
<p>Similarly, the result of $a^b$ is called 幂mi4 where &quot;a&quot; is called 底数 and &quot;b&quot; is called 指数.</p>
<p>These are really traditional terminology in chinese before the modern time, therefore more or less related to some ancient chinese convention or grammar. For example, in division, 3/2 can be stated as 二除三 or equivalently 三除以二, pay attention to the word &quot;以&quot; which means &quot;by&quot;.</p>
<p>Perhaps you will be interested in some other traditional chinese words in mathmatics. In ancient chinese, the mathematics is called “算术”, namely the &quot;technique of computation&quot;, but now we call it &quot;数学&quot;, namely the &quot;study of number&quot;.</p>
<p>And one of my favourite Chinese theorems goes like “缘幂势既同，则积不容异”, concise and precise.
See <a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hans/%E7%A5%96%E6%9A%85%E5%8E%9F%E7%90%86" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hans/%E7%A5%96%E6%9A%85%E5%8E%9F%E7%90%86</a>.</p>
<p>For elementary mathematics terminology, it is sufficient to look up something like &quot;mathematics dictionary for primary students&quot;, which I think more efficient for you.</p>
<p>Personally, I strongly recommend you read the book by Li Wenwei who has both deep knowledge to algebra and elegant style of chinese math writing. See <a href="https://wwli.asia/index.php/zh/books-item-zh" rel="nofollow noreferrer">李文威的学术主页</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-26T21:50:27.653Z
2022-07-26T21:50:27.653Z
sicheng mao
<p>In Maths terms, 和 as in '总和'(n) means 'sum'</p>
<blockquote>
<p>两次所得的<strong>和</strong>相同吗</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Are <strong>the sums</strong> from the two calculations the same?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>e.g. 2 + 2 = 4 --&gt; 二加二的<strong>得数</strong>(count)是四 ; 二加二的<strong>和</strong>(sum)是四</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-26T20:43:19.423Z
Add: This would be very obvious in spoken Chinese with intonation. One would very likely put a stress on 和, indicating it's a content word than a function word.
iBug
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-26T01:11:07.737Z
2022-07-26T19:10:33.047Z
2022-07-26T19:10:33.047Z
Tang Ho
<p>This is a photo from my year-7 maths textbook (click to enlarge; <a href="https://i.ibb.co/mtJD7gY/1913915552.jpg" rel="noreferrer">alternative version</a>):</p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/86riz.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/86rizm.jpg" alt="year-7 maths textbook photo" /></a></p>
<p><strong>两次所得的和相同吗</strong>？换几个加数再试一试．<br />
从上述计算中，你能得出什么结论？</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I understand what it's saying: calculate <code>30+(-20)</code> and <code>(-20)+30</code> and check if they give the same result (i.e., commutativity = 交换率).  But I don't understand why there is a 和 in 两次所得的和相同吗？ If I were to rewrite the question, I'd write 两次所得的<strong>都是</strong>相同<strong>的</strong>吗？  I'm tempted to think the 和 is incorrect, but it might be something specific to mathematics.</p>
<p><strong>Question</strong>: In my maths textbook, what is 和 doing in the question 两次所得的和相同吗？</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-26T01:11:48.923Z
和 sum；差 difference.
joehua
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-26T01:40:58.080Z
Haha!  I can't believe I just asked a question, and the answer is basically "you don't know a meaning of a HSK1 word".
Becky 李蓓
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-27T10:57:35.267Z
@Becky李蓓 That's not a HSK1 word. The character is from HSK1, but certainly not the word. :)
Olle Linge
<grammar><word-choice><usage>
In my maths textbook, what is 和 doing in the question 两次所得的和相同吗？
# In my maths textbook, what is 和 doing in the question 两次所得的和相同吗？

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-07-26)

This is a photo from my year-7 maths textbook (click to enlarge; [alternative version](https://i.ibb.co/mtJD7gY/1913915552.jpg)):

> [![year-7 maths textbook photo](https://i.sstatic.net/86rizm.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/86riz.jpg)
>
> **两次所得的和相同吗**？换几个加数再试一试．  
> 从上述计算中，你能得出什么结论？

I understand what it's saying: calculate `30+(-20)` and `(-20)+30` and check if they give the same result (i.e., commutativity = 交换率). But I don't understand why there is a 和 in 两次所得的和相同吗？ If I were to rewrite the question, I'd write 两次所得的**都是**相同**的**吗？ I'm tempted to think the 和 is incorrect, but it might be something specific to mathematics.

**Question**: In my maths textbook, what is 和 doing in the question 两次所得的和相同吗？

**Tags:** grammar, word-choice, usage
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 和 sum；差 difference.  
> **username_0**: Haha!  I can't believe I just asked a question, and the answer is basically "you don't know a meaning of a HSK1 word".  
> **username_2**: @Becky李蓓 That's not a HSK1 word. The character is from HSK1, but certainly not the word. :)  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2022-07-26. Score: 10 | Accepted answer

In Maths terms, 和 as in '总和'(n) means 'sum'

> 两次所得的**和**相同吗

> Are **the sums** from the two calculations the same?

e.g. 2 + 2 = 4 --> 二加二的**得数**(count)是四 ; 二加二的**和**(sum)是四

> **Comments:**
> **username_7**: Add: This would be very obvious in spoken Chinese with intonation. One would very likely put a stress on 和, indicating it's a content word than a function word.  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2022-07-26. Score: 5

和 is a mathematical term "sum".

差 is also a mathematical term "difference".

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: It seems there's also 积 for "product".  I'm not sure if there's a character for "quotient".  
> **username_4**: @Becky李蓓 商 means quotient.  A similar character is 比, which means ratio.  
> **username_5**: also 方 for power, as in 平方, 立方, 四次方...  

---

### Answer by username_6 on 2022-07-26. Score: 1

Let me give some complements.
First, these terms are quite general. For example, 和 is also used in direct sum, 积 is also used for tensor product, Cartesian product and product space. 商 is also used for quotient space, quotient topology and so on.

Similarly, the result of $a^b$ is called 幂mi4 where "a" is called 底数 and "b" is called 指数.

These are really traditional terminology in chinese before the modern time, therefore more or less related to some ancient chinese convention or grammar. For example, in division, 3/2 can be stated as 二除三 or equivalently 三除以二, pay attention to the word "以" which means "by".

Perhaps you will be interested in some other traditional chinese words in mathmatics. In ancient chinese, the mathematics is called “算术”, namely the "technique of computation", but now we call it "数学", namely the "study of number".

And one of my favourite Chinese theorems goes like “缘幂势既同，则积不容异”, concise and precise.
See <https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hans/%E7%A5%96%E6%9A%85%E5%8E%9F%E7%90%86>.

For elementary mathematics terminology, it is sufficient to look up something like "mathematics dictionary for primary students", which I think more efficient for you.

Personally, I strongly recommend you read the book by Li Wenwei who has both deep knowledge to algebra and elegant style of chinese math writing. See [李文威的学术主页](https://wwli.asia/index.php/zh/books-item-zh)


---

