The Semantic Characteristics of the Counter-Expectation Adverbs “Fǎn’ér” and “Ohiryo” in Chinese and Korean from the Perspective of Comparison

The adverbs “Fǎn’ér” in Chinese and “Ohiryo” in Korean are typical expressions of counter-expectation. Previous studies have given relatively less attention to the semantic comparison between these two expressions. This paper mainly conducts a preliminary analysis of their internal semantic features using the magnitude model theory. It is observed that although the two expressions directly correspond, their internal semantics differ. Through comparison, we hierarchy in semantic relations: ‘inversion relation > anti-recursion relation > opposition(juxtaposition) relation’, ‘inversion relation > opposition(juxtaposition) relation > anti-recursion relation’. Moreover, there is a difference in sensitivity; Chinese “Fǎn’ér” tends to be more sensitive to the magnitude, whereas Korean “Ohiryo” exhibits lower sensitivity. The different typicality of the two expressions is closely related to the synchronic level of use, interuse characteristic and subjective emphasis, as well as the diachronic level of grammaticalization and internal semantic transfer.