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This is in the spirit of the What is a Word/Phrase™ series started by JLee with a special brand of Phrase™ and Word™ puzzles.


If a word conforms to a special rule, I call it an IHC. Word™.
Use the examples below to find the rule.

$$ % set Title text. (spaces around the text ARE important; do not remove.) % increase Pad value only if your entries are longer than the title bar. % \def\Pad{\P{0.0}} \def\Title{\textbf{ IHC.}\ } % \def\S#1#2{\Space{#1}{20px}{#2px}}\def\P#1{\V{#1em}}\def\V#1{\S{#1}{9}} \def\T{\Title\textbf{Words}^{\;\!™}\Pad}\def\NT{\Pad\textbf{Not}\T\ } \smash{\lower{29px}\bbox[#fcce8d]{\phantom{\rlap{rubio.2019.05.15}\S{6px}{0} \begin{array}{cc}\Pad\T&\NT\\\end{array}}}}\atop\def\V#1{\S{#1}{5}} \begin{array}{|c|c|}\hline\Pad\T&\NT\\\hline % \text{ women}&\text{ lady}\\ \hline \text{ like}&\text{ love}\\ \hline \text{ Bali}&\text{ Bintan}\\ \hline \text{ nine}&\text{ ten}\\ \hline \text{ mile}&\text{ kilometer}\\ \hline \text{ Sudan}&\text{ Kenya}\\ \hline \text{ side}&\text{ corner}\\ \hline \text{ piping}&\text{ plumbing}\\ \hline \hline \end{array}$$

CSV version:

IHC. Words™, Not IHC. Words™
women;lady
like;love
Bali;Bintan
nine;ten
mile;kilometer
Sudan;Kenya
side;corner
piping;plumbing

These are not the only examples of IHC. words™, many more exist. I'm sorry that I gave too few words but IHC. words™ are REALLY hard to find. What is the special rule these words conform to?

Hint 1:

Nothing to do with English or anything like letters, vowels, etc.

Hint 2:

More specifically, the language can ONLY be derived from the title

Hint 3:

Think backwards (Referring to the title)

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    $\begingroup$ Sice I don't know how to answer the puzzle, I'll just leave this here istead: CSV = Comma separated values :P $\endgroup$
    – CG.
    Commented May 15, 2020 at 7:42
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    $\begingroup$ @WilliamPennanti right click on the table and select "Show Math as" -> "Tex commands", or just click "edit" and have a look at the raw text of the puzzle. $\endgroup$
    – CG.
    Commented May 15, 2020 at 7:45
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    $\begingroup$ @William Pennanti I also don’t know, I just copy pasted it from somewhere else $\endgroup$
    – user65687
    Commented May 15, 2020 at 9:36
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    $\begingroup$ In light of your hint, does this puzzle need a 'language' tag? $\endgroup$
    – Stiv
    Commented May 16, 2020 at 5:23
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    $\begingroup$ @Stiv Added, thanks :) $\endgroup$
    – user65687
    Commented May 16, 2020 at 7:13

1 Answer 1

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An IHC. word is

a word that forms a valid Mandarin word when read in Pinyin phonetics

Example:

Women --> Wǒmen --> 我们

Title hint:

IHC backwards is CHI (Chinese)

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    $\begingroup$ Nice spot sedrick :) As well as 'women', could you list how the other IHC words meet this criterion? It would be interesting to see and would make for a nice well-rounded solution. Thanks! $\endgroup$
    – Stiv
    Commented May 18, 2020 at 11:40
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    $\begingroup$ Nice! Good job finding the answer :) $\endgroup$
    – user65687
    Commented May 18, 2020 at 11:55
  • $\begingroup$ @Stiv I'm actually not familiar with some of the Mandarin words in the clue since I'm not a native speaker. Also, with Mandarin, a pinyin word can correspond to many different characters. I'm actually also curious about some of the words, so if someone could fill it in, that would be great :) $\endgroup$
    – sedrick
    Commented May 18, 2020 at 12:20