<p>One of the more common one in Cantonese is substitute 空 with 吉. </p>

<p>'空' sounded like '凶', to avoid saying 空屋 (凶屋) , people would call an available house '吉屋' instead. As in "吉屋招租"</p>

<p>吉 is also used as a verb for 'leave blank' . For example: "唔識嘅題目就吉咗佢" instead of "唔識嘅題目就空咗佢"</p>

<p>Also:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%81%BF%E8%AE%B3" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%81%BF%E8%AE%B3</a></p>
  
  <p>改字法：遇到要避諱的字時使用其他別字代替。例如：</p>
  
  <p>2 避漢高祖劉邦諱，“<strong>相邦</strong>”改“<strong>相國</strong>” (I only knew, in ancient time,  there's an government official title 相國 . Never heard of 相邦)</p>
  
  <p>6 避漢昭帝劉弗陵諱，否定詞“<strong>弗</strong>”改“<strong>不</strong>” (不 replaced 弗. Now, no one use 弗 anymore )</p>
  
  <p>20 孔子之名丘曾經是金朝的聖人諱，所以有些<strong>丘</strong>姓人士改为<strong>邱</strong>姓。( All because of 孔子's first name was 丘, now we have the 邱 family name co-exist with the 丘 family name )</p>
  
  <p>21 避明太祖朱元璋諱，「元年」改為「始年」、「原年」，「<strong>元來</strong>」改為「<strong>原來</strong>」。(I didn't even know the term 元來 existed)</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-27T10:50:57.310Z
The popular use of 相國, 不 and 原來 are all results of 避讳.
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-27T10:56:36.730Z
Okay, my bad...
Mou某
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-27T10:42:43.217Z
2018-02-27T11:18:19.897Z
2018-02-27T11:18:19.897Z
Tang Ho
<p>A lot of dialectical words are actually just taboo renditions of common words.</p>
<p>For instance:</p>
<p>旺子 [<em>wang zi</em>] in Sichuanese comes from taboo on saying the ominous, inauspicious word blood <strong>血</strong> and probably morphed from the actual character 衁.</p>
<p>Obviously blood <strong>血</strong> could have been used and could have been said but out of taboo a new &quot;word&quot; was created.</p>
<hr />
<p>I found one in <strong>汉语大词典</strong>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>倒头</p>
<p>谓人死。旧俗忌讳“死”字，讳称死为“倒头”。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I would imagine that 死 isn't as taboo as it used to be though.</p>
<hr />
<p>What common MSM words now are the result of taboo?</p>

<etymology>
What common words in MSM actually come from taboo?
# What common words in MSM actually come from taboo?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-02-27)

A lot of dialectical words are actually just taboo renditions of common words.

For instance:

旺子 [*wang zi*] in Sichuanese comes from taboo on saying the ominous, inauspicious word blood **血** and probably morphed from the actual character 衁.

Obviously blood **血** could have been used and could have been said but out of taboo a new "word" was created.

---

I found one in **汉语大词典**:

> 倒头
>
> 谓人死。旧俗忌讳“死”字，讳称死为“倒头”。

I would imagine that 死 isn't as taboo as it used to be though.

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What common MSM words now are the result of taboo?

**Tags:** etymology

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-02-27. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

One of the more common one in Cantonese is substitute 空 with 吉.

'空' sounded like '凶', to avoid saying 空屋 (凶屋) , people would call an available house '吉屋' instead. As in "吉屋招租"

吉 is also used as a verb for 'leave blank' . For example: "唔識嘅題目就吉咗佢" instead of "唔識嘅題目就空咗佢"

Also:

> <https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%81%BF%E8%AE%B3>
>
> 改字法：遇到要避諱的字時使用其他別字代替。例如：
>
> 2 避漢高祖劉邦諱，“**相邦**”改“**相國**” (I only knew, in ancient time, there's an government official title 相國 . Never heard of 相邦)
>
> 6 避漢昭帝劉弗陵諱，否定詞“**弗**”改“**不**” (不 replaced 弗. Now, no one use 弗 anymore )
>
> 20 孔子之名丘曾經是金朝的聖人諱，所以有些**丘**姓人士改为**邱**姓。( All because of 孔子's first name was 丘, now we have the 邱 family name co-exist with the 丘 family name )
>
> 21 避明太祖朱元璋諱，「元年」改為「始年」、「原年」，「**元來**」改為「**原來**」。(I didn't even know the term 元來 existed)

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: The popular use of 相國, 不 and 原來 are all results of 避讳.  
> **username_0**: Okay, my bad...  

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