<p>Why the word <strong>weather</strong> and <strong>whether</strong> pronounced the same but meanings are different?<br/>
Why the word <strong>steel</strong> and <strong>steal</strong> pronounced the same but meanings are different?<br/>
Why the word <strong>see</strong> and <strong>sea</strong> pronounced the same but meanings are different?<br/></p>

<p>Why the word <strong>for</strong> and <strong>four</strong> pronounced the similar but meanings are entirely different?<br/>Why the word <strong>to</strong> and <strong>two</strong> pronounced the similar but meanings are entirely different?</p>

<p>Why is English so strange? Is there any relationship between these pairs of words?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-17T12:26:39.153Z
2019-07-17T12:26:39.153Z
xenophōn
<p>I am not an expert on morphemes and cognates. My two cents, that it is just coincidental. So are other words, such as 输血 and 数学，水饺 and 睡觉，事实 and 石狮. To make it a bit gross, 食 and 屎. </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-16T19:28:11.277Z
the end made me lol
OLIVER.KOO
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-23T10:48:24.607Z
2019-06-23T10:48:24.607Z
Xuehong Zhang
<p>It's a coincidence as Mandarin Chinese evolved from Medieval Chinese.<br>
In Korean, whose pronunciation is close to Medieval Chinese, 努力 is pronounced "noryeok", and 奴隸 is pronounced "no(r)ye".<br>
Mandarin Chinese is a mixture of Medieval Chinese and Manchurian phonetic system. When you trace many phonetically similar characters and words to 500 to 1000 years ago, you may find them totally different in pronunciation.  </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-16T09:27:27.183Z
2019-07-17T02:04:28.207Z
2019-07-17T02:04:28.207Z
Winfred Huang
<p>They don't sound similar, the tones are different for <code>努力</code> and <code>奴隶</code>. You're just viewing it as a foreigner so consider them to be similar. With this kind of logic, countless words sound similar in Chinese, especially single character words.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-19T08:23:08.380Z
2019-07-19T08:23:08.380Z
Hasen
<p>I find it interesting that these two are phonetically similar. Is there a historical background to this? </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-20T11:37:20.227Z
They don't sound similar in Cantonese: 努力 nou5 lik6 vs 奴隸 nou4 dai6
Michaelyus
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-20T11:42:04.033Z
Are you familiar with the concepts of [*morphemes*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morpheme) and [*cognates*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognate)? The first step to solving an issue like this is to determine whether the *morphemes* in the words that you're comparing and that you think sound alike are *cognates* of each other.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-20T15:45:05.933Z
Well, I should've said, it's mandarin Chinese I'm talking about. And yeah they do sound similar. Also, I don't think I've gotten the answer I'm looking for, but thanks anyway, guys!
Amin Widyatama
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-16T18:32:04.493Z
They only sound similar but the character themselves defines the word
Huangism
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-20T16:44:56.023Z
If you learn Cantonese as well, you would not ask this kind of questions. But if you ask about the relation between 努 and 奴, it would be more interesting.
OmniBus
<pronunciation><writing>
Why does 努力 which means "to make a great effort" sound so similar to 奴隸 which means "slave"?
# Why does 努力 which means "to make a great effort" sound so similar to 奴隸 which means "slave"?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-06-20)

I find it interesting that these two are phonetically similar. Is there a historical background to this?

**Tags:** pronunciation, writing

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: They don't sound similar in Cantonese: 努力 nou5 lik6 vs 奴隸 nou4 dai6  
> **username_2**: Are you familiar with the concepts of [*morphemes*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morpheme) and [*cognates*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognate)? The first step to solving an issue like this is to determine whether the *morphemes* in the words that you're comparing and that you think sound alike are *cognates* of each other.  
> **username_0**: Well, I should've said, it's mandarin Chinese I'm talking about. And yeah they do sound similar. Also, I don't think I've gotten the answer I'm looking for, but thanks anyway, guys!  
> **username_3**: They only sound similar but the character themselves defines the word  
> **username_4**: If you learn Cantonese as well, you would not ask this kind of questions. But if you ask about the relation between 努 and 奴, it would be more interesting.  

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## 4 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2019-07-17. Score: 2

Why the word **weather** and **whether** pronounced the same but meanings are different?  
Why the word **steel** and **steal** pronounced the same but meanings are different?  
Why the word **see** and **sea** pronounced the same but meanings are different?

Why the word **for** and **four** pronounced the similar but meanings are entirely different?  
Why the word **to** and **two** pronounced the similar but meanings are entirely different?

Why is English so strange? Is there any relationship between these pairs of words?


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### Answer by username_6 on 2019-06-23. Score: 2

I am not an expert on morphemes and cognates. My two cents, that it is just coincidental. So are other words, such as 输血 and 数学，水饺 and 睡觉，事实 and 石狮. To make it a bit gross, 食 and 屎.

> **Comments:**
> **username_7**: the end made me lol  

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### Answer by username_8 on 2019-07-16. Score: 1

It's a coincidence as Mandarin Chinese evolved from Medieval Chinese.  
In Korean, whose pronunciation is close to Medieval Chinese, 努力 is pronounced "noryeok", and 奴隸 is pronounced "no(r)ye".  
Mandarin Chinese is a mixture of Medieval Chinese and Manchurian phonetic system. When you trace many phonetically similar characters and words to 500 to 1000 years ago, you may find them totally different in pronunciation.


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### Answer by username_9 on 2019-07-19. Score: 0

They don't sound similar, the tones are different for `努力` and `奴隶`. You're just viewing it as a foreigner so consider them to be similar. With this kind of logic, countless words sound similar in Chinese, especially single character words.


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