Bridging numerical and verbal probabilities: Construction and application of the Chinese Lexicon of Verbal...

Probabilities are typically expressed in two forms: numerical (e.g., 50%) and verbal (e.g., likely). In this regard, understanding how verbal probabilities map to their numerical equivalents is crucial for examining the probabilistic language used in various texts. This study addresses this issue by introducing the Chinese Lexicon of Verbal Probability (CLVP), comprising 343 verbal probability phrases that are each paired with corresponding numerical probabilities, membership functions, and frequency data from three corpora. We analyze the distribution of subjective values of verbal probability phrases in Chinese based on the CLVP, compare them with their English counterparts, and create a benchmark of seven high-frequency verbal probability phrases for organizational use. Overall, this study provides a valuable tool for converting verbal probabilities into numerical equivalents, contributing to cross-linguistic and cross-cultural research.