Chinese is written without word breaks. I would guess that to specify several keywords for google you would need put in the spaces between words, and the + - NOT operators would function for these separated words just like in other languages.
Now, how about the exact phrases which in most languages are written in quotes? Would such a phrase in Chinese google query be written as separate words in quotes also? Or would it be written as a sequence of characters without spaces between them in quotes? Or a sequence of characters without spaces and without quotes?
Also, any other unusual tidbits about mechanics of searching in East Asian languages are most welcome. Let a thousand ignorances wither
I think if you’re specifying an exact phrase (between quotes), that’s equivalent to specifying how the phrase is supposed to appear in the searched-for document. What’s the problem?
Maybe not exactly what you are looking for, because I don’t know Chinese.
But there are spaces between the words in some Chinese websites, I am unsure about their usage though…
When I search for quotes in Japanese I use the normal quotation marks and they work fine. Using the actual Japanese quote marks also works -> 「何とか」
Search for instances of 枝豆 and exclude 豆しば:
“枝豆” -豆しば → Ok
“枝豆”-豆しば → Ok. Note the lack of space between the terms
“枝豆” ー豆しば → Not ok. Note the longer minus, which is the character used to extend the sound.
So, the rules for English seems to be generally valid. Except for the spaces bit.
Thats usually all I need, so I haven’t investigated more, but now that my interest is piqued, I will be asking some colleagues tomorrow!
