Abstract:
When sharing the meaning of “meeting with”, “碰” and “撞” are synonymous. “撞” meaning “meeting with” occurred in the Song Dynasty, while “碰” meaning “meeting with” arose in the Qing Dynasty. Both were extended from the meaning “撞击” and the object of “meeting with” gradually extended from humans to things. In Beijing dialects, “碰” has thoroughly replaced “撞”. In other dialect areas, however, there is always a mixed use of the two words, only the southern use remaining classical but the northern use seeking change.
