List of loanwords in Chinese
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Loanwords have entered written and spoken Chinese from many sources, including ancient peoples whose descendants now speak Chinese. In addition to phonetic differences, varieties of Chinese such as Cantonese and Shanghainese often have distinct words and phrases left from their original languages which they continue to use in daily life and sometimes even in Mandarin. Similarly, northern dialects include relatively greater numbers of loanwords from nearby languages such as Mongolian and Manchu.
Throughout China, Buddhism has also introduced words from Sanskrit and Pali. More recently, foreign invasion and trade since the First and Second Opium Wars of the mid-nineteenth century has led to prolonged contact with English, French, and Japanese. Although politically-minded language reform under the Republic and People's Republic of China have generally preferred to use calques and neologisms in place of loanwords, a growing number – particularly from American English – have become current in modern Chinese. On the mainland, transcription into Chinese characters in official media and publications is directed by the Proper Names and Translation Service of the Xinhua News Agency and its reference work Names of the World's Peoples.[1]
Foreign businesses and products are usually free to choose their own transliterations and typically select ones with positive connotations and phonetic similarity to their products: for example, 宜家 (IKEA) is "proper home". Owing to antonomasia and genericization, these can then enter general Chinese usage: for example Coca-Cola's 可口可乐 ("delicious fun") has led to 可乐 becoming the common Chinese noun for all colas.
Sanskrit
| Chinese Word | Pronunciation | Meaning | Original Word | Pronunciation | Original Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 剎那 | chànà | moment | क्षण | kṣaṇa | moment |
| 蘋果 | píngguǒ | apple | बिम्बा | bimbā | apple |
| 涅槃 | nièpán | nirvana | निर्वाण | nirvānā | nirvana |
| 舍利子 | shèlìzi | relic | शरीर | śarīra | body |
| 曇花 | tánhuā | epiphyllum | उदुम्बर | udumbara | cluster fig tree |
| 須彌山 | xūmíshān | Mt. Sumeru | सुमेरु | sumeru | Mt. Sumeru |
| 波羅蜜多 | bōluómìduō | Pāramitā | पारमिता | pāramitā | perfection |
Persian
| Chinese Word | Pronunciation | Meaning | Original Word | Pronunciation | Original Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 巴扎 | bāzhā | bazar (market) | بازار | bāzār | bazar (market) |
| 巴旦木 | bādànmù | almond | بادام | bādām | almond |
| 獅子 | shīzi | lion | شیر | šīr | lion |
English
Chinese words of English origin have become more common in mainland China during its reform and opening and resultant increased contact with the West. Note that some of the words below originated in other languages but may have arrived in Chinese via English (for example "pizza/披萨" from Italian). English acronyms are sometimes borrowed into Chinese without any transcription into Chinese characters; for example "IT" (information technology), "GDP" (Gross domestic product), or "DVD". A rarer occurrence is the blending of the Latin alphabet with Chinese characters, as in "IP卡" ("internet phone card").[2] In some instances, the loanwords exists side by side with neologisms that translate the meaning of the concept into existing Chinese morphemes. For instance, while the loanword for 'penicillin' is 盘尼西林 (pánníxīlín), a neologism that 'translates' the word was later coined, 青霉素 （qīngméisù), which means 'blue/green mold extract/essence'. In contemporary Chinese, neologisms using native Chinese morphemes tend to be favored over loanwords that are transliterations. In the case of penicillin, the term 青霉素 is used almost exclusively, while 盘尼西林 is viewed as an early 20th century relic. Similarly, 'science' is now known as 科学 (kēxué) 'subject/specialty study' rather than 赛因斯 (sàiyīnsī), though it should be pointed out that the characters 科学 were actually coined in the late 19th century by the Japanese as a kanji compound.
| English | Pinyin | Chinese | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amen | āmen | 阿们 | |
| ammonia | āmóníyà | 阿摩尼亚 | Science |
| amoeba | āmǐbā | 阿米巴 | Science |
| amoxicillin | āmòxīlín | 阿莫西林 | Science |
| ampere | ānpéi | 安培 | Science |
| amphetamine | ānfēitāmìng | 安非他命 | Science |
| ampoule | ānbù | 安瓿 | Science |
| angel | ānjí'ěr | 安吉尔 | |
| antitrust | fǎntuōlāsī | 反托拉斯 | |
| Apollo | Ābōluó | 阿波罗 | |
| Arcadia | Ākǎdíyà | 阿卡迪亚 | |
| aspartame | āsībātián | 阿斯巴甜 | Food and drink |
| Aspirin | āsīpílín | 阿斯匹灵 | Science |
| avatar | āfàndá | 阿梵达 | Computing |
| baby | běibí | 北鼻 | |
| Baccarat | Bǎijiālè | 百家乐 | Arts and entertainment |
| bacon | péigēn | 培根/烟肉 | Food and drink |
| bagel | bèiguǒ | 贝果 | Food and drink |
| ballet | bālěi | 芭蕾 | Arts and entertainment |
| bandage | bēngdài | 绷带 | |
| banjo | bānzhuóqín | 班卓琴 | Arts and entertainment |
| bar | bā | 吧 | |
| Baroque | bāluókè | 巴罗克 | Arts and entertainment |
| bass | bèisī | 贝司 | Arts and entertainment |
| bassoon | bāsōng | 巴松 | Arts and entertainment |
| bazooka | bāzǔkǎ | 巴祖卡 | |
| beer | píjiǔ | 啤酒 | Food and drink |
| beta | bèitǎ | 倍塔 | Computing |
| bikini | bǐjīní | 比基尼 | |
| bingo | bīnguǒ | 宾果 | Arts and entertainment |
| bit (unit of information) | bǐtè | 比特 | Science |
| blog | bókè | 博客 | Computing |
| blues | bùlǔsī | 布鲁斯 | Arts and entertainment |
| bolero | bōláiluó | 波莱罗 | Arts and entertainment |
| bourgeois | bù'ěrqiáoyà | 布尔乔亚 | |
| bow tie | bāotāi | 褒呔 | |
| brandy | báilándì | 白兰地 | Food and drink |
| brownie | bùlǎngní | 布朗尼 | Food and drink |
| buffet | bǔfěi | 布斐 | Food and drink |
| bullying | bàlíng | 霸凌/欺负 | |
| bungee jumping | bèngjí | 蹦极 | Arts and entertainment |
| bus | bāshì | 巴士 | |
| butter | báituō | 白脱/牛油 | Food and drink |
| bye-bye | bàibài | 拜拜 | |
| caffeine | kāfēiyīn | 咖啡因 | Food and drink |
| calorie | kǎlùlǐ | 卡路里 | Science |
| camera | kāimàilā | 开麦拉 | Arts and entertainment |
| cancan | kāngkāngwǔ | 康康舞 | |
| cannon | jiānóng | 加农 | |
| carat | kèlā | 克拉 | Science |
| carbine | kǎbīnqiāng | 卡宾枪 | |
| carnival | jiāniánhuá | 嘉年华 | Arts and entertainment |
| cartel | kǎtè'ěr | 卡特尔 | |
| cartoon | kǎtōng | 卡通 | Arts and entertainment |
| cashmere | kāishìmǐ | 开士米 | |
| cellophane | sàilùfēn | 赛璐玢 | Science |
| celluloid | sàilùluò | 赛璐珞 | Science |
| cement | shìmǐntǔ | 士敏土 | |
| cha-cha | qiàqiàwǔ | 恰恰舞 | Arts and entertainment |
| Champagne | xiāngbīn | 香槟 | Food and drink |
| cheese | qishì | 奇士 | Food and drink |
| cherry | chēlízi | 车厘子 | Food and drink |
| chiffon | xuěfǎng | 雪纺 | Food and drink |
| chocolate | qiǎokèlì | 巧克力 | Food and drink |
| cholera | hǔlièlā | 虎列拉 | Science |
| cider | xīdá | 西打 | Food and drink |
| cigar | xuějiā | 雪茄 | |
| clone | kèlóng | 克隆 | Science |
| coca | kějiā | 可加 | Food and drink |
| cocaine | kěkǎyīn | 可卡因 | Science |
| cocktail | jīwěijiǔ | 鸡尾酒 | Food and drink |
| cocoa | kěkě | 可可 | Food and drink |
| codeine | kědàiyīn | 可待因 | Science |
| coffee or café | kāfēi | 咖啡 | Food and drink |
| combine harvester | kāngbàiyīn | 康拜因 | |
| condom | kǒngdōng | 孔东/安全套 | |
| cookie | qǔqí | 曲奇 | Food and drink |
| cool | kù | 酷 | |
| copy | kǎobèi | 拷贝/复制 | |
| couch or sofa | shāfā | 沙发 | |
| coup d'état | kǔdiédǎ | 苦迭打/政变 | |
| coupon | kùpéng | 酷鹏/兑换券 | |
| craton | kèlātōng | 克拉通 | |
| cream | kèlínmǔ | 克林姆/奶油 | Food and drink |
| crêpe | kělìbǐng | 可丽饼 | Food and drink |
| croissant | kěsòng | 可颂 | Food and drink |
| cubic centimeter | xīxī | 西西/立方厘米 | |
| cumin | kūmíng | 枯茗 | Food and drink |
| curry | gālí | 咖喱 | Food and drink |
| cyanide | shān'āi | 山埃 | Science |
| Dacron | díquèliáng | 的确良 | Science |
| daddy | diēdì | 爹地 | |
| didgeridoo | díjílǐdùguǎn | 迪吉里杜管 | Arts and entertainment |
| disco | dísīkě | 迪斯可 | Arts and entertainment |
| dogfish | duōfēishí | 多菲什 | |
| domino | duōmǐnuò | 多米诺 | |
| doughnut | duōnázī | 多拿滋 | Food and drink |
| drive-thru | déláisù | 得来速 | Arts and entertainment |
| dynamite | dàinámǎitè | 代拿买特/炸药 | Science |
| Yīmèier | 伊妹儿/电子邮件 | Computing | |
| motor | mótuó | 摩托 | Science |
| Eucalyptus | yóujiālì | 尤加利 | |
| fantasy | fàntèxī | 范特西 | Arts and entertainment |
| fascism | fǎxīsī | 法西斯 | |
| fillet | fēilì | 菲力 | Food and drink |
| film | fēilín | 菲林/胶卷 | Arts and entertainment |
| fuck | fǎkè | 法克 | |
| geek | jíkè | 极客 | Computing |
| ghetto | gédōu | 隔都 | |
| go-kart | gāokǎchē | 高卡车 | Arts and entertainment |
| golf | gāoěrfū | 高尔夫 | Arts and entertainment |
| Gǔgē | 谷歌 | Computing | |
| guitar | jítā | 吉他 | Arts and entertainment |
| Gypsy | Jípǔsài | 吉普赛 | |
| hacker | hēikè | 黑客 | Computing |
| hallelujah | hālìlùyà | 哈利路亚 | |
| hamburger | hànbǎobāo | 汉堡包 | Food and drink |
| hate | hēitè | 黑特 | |
| hello | hālóu | 哈喽 | |
| heroin | hǎiluòyīn | 海洛因 | |
| hippie | xīpí | 嘻皮 | |
| honey (the term) | hāní | 哈尼 | |
| hot dog | règǒu | 热狗 | Food and drink |
| index | yǐndé | 引得 | |
| information technology (IT) | ĀiTī | 挨踢 | Computing |
| insurance | yànshū | 燕梳/保险 | |
| jacket | jiākè | 夹克 | |
| jazz | juéshìwǔ | 爵士舞 | |
| Jeep | jípǔchē | 吉普车 | |
| jitterbug | jítèbā | 吉特巴 | |
| Kentucky Fried Chicken | Kěndéjī | 肯德基 | Organizations |
| ketamine | kètāmìng | 克他命 | Science |
| khaki | kǎjī | 咔叽 | |
| koala | kǎolā | 考拉 | |
| lace | lěisī | 蕾丝 | |
| lacquer | làkè | 腊克 | |
| laser | léishè | 镭射 | Science |
| latte | nátiě | 拿铁 | Food and drink |
| lemon | níngméng | 柠檬 | Food and drink |
| lesbian | lěisībiān | 蕾丝边 | |
| limbo | língbōwǔ | 凌波舞 | Arts and entertainment |
| lime | láimǔ | 莱姆 | Food and drink |
| liquor | lìkǒujiǔ | 利口酒 | Food and drink |
| logic | luóji | 逻辑 | Science |
| lottery | lètòu | 乐透/彩票 | Arts and entertainment |
| mankini | nánjīní | 男基尼 | |
| marathon | mǎlāsōng | 马拉松 | |
| margarine | màiqílín | 麦淇淋 | Food and drink |
| marker | mǎkèbǐ | 马克笔 | |
| Martini | mǎdīngní | 马丁尼 | Food and drink |
| massage | mǎshājī | 马杀鸡 | |
| McDonald's | Màidāngláo | 麦当劳 | Organizations |
| meme | míyīn | 迷因 | |
| Mensa | Ménsà | 门萨 | Organizations |
| microphone | màikèfēng | 麦克风 | |
| milkshake | xuěkè | 雪克/奶昔 | Food and drink |
| Mister | mìsītuō | 密斯脱 | |
| model | mótè | 模特 | Arts and entertainment |
| modern | módēng | 摩登 | |
| mohair | mǎhǎimáo | 马海毛 | |
| mommy | māmi | 妈咪 | |
| montage (film) | méngtàiqí | 蒙太奇 | Arts and entertainment |
| mosaic | mǎsàikè | 马赛克 | |
| motif | mǔtí | 母题 | Arts and entertainment |
| motor | mótuō | 摩托 | |
| mousse | mùsī | 慕丝 | Food and drink |
| mozzarella | mòzālǐlā | 莫扎里拉 | Food and drink |
| muffin | mǎfēn | 玛芬 | Food and drink |
| mug | mǎkèbēi | 马克杯 | |
| mummy | mùnǎiyī | 木乃伊 | |
| nazi | Nàcuì | 纳粹 | Organizations |
| negro | nígéluó | 尼格罗 | |
| neon lamp | níhóngdēng | 霓虹灯 | |
| nicotine | nígǔdīng | 尼古丁 | |
| Nylon | nílóng | 尼龙 | |
| ohm | ōumǔ | 欧姆 | Science |
| Olympics | àolínpǐkè | 奥林匹克 | Organizations |
| Opec | ōupèikè | 欧佩克 | Organizations |
| opium | āpiàn | 阿片 | |
| parfait | bāfēi | 芭菲 | Food and drink |
| parka | pàikèdàyī | 派克大衣 | |
| party | Pàiduì | 派对 | |
| penicillin | pánníxīlín | 盘尼西林 | Science |
| Pharaoh | fǎlǎo | 法老 | |
| pickup truck | píkǎ | 皮卡 | |
| pizza | pīsà/bǐsà | 披萨／比萨 | Food and drink |
| poker | pūkè | 扑克 | Arts and entertainment |
| polka | bō'ěrkǎ | 波尔卡 | Arts and entertainment |
| pudding | bùdīng | 布丁 | Food and drink |
| pump | bèngpǔ | 泵浦 | |
| punk | péngkè | 朋克 | Arts and entertainment |
| rabbi | lābǐ | 拉比 | |
| radar | léidá | 雷达 | Science |
| roller | luólā | 罗拉 | |
| romance | luómànsī | 罗曼司 | |
| rum | lǎngmǔjiu | 朗姆酒 | Food and drink |
| rumba | lúnbā | 伦巴 | |
| salad | shālà | 沙拉 | Food and drink |
| salmon | sānwényú | 三文鱼 | Food and drink |
| salon | shālóng | 沙龙 | |
| sandwich | sānmíngzhì | 三明治 | Food and drink |
| sardine | shādīngyú | 沙丁鱼 | Food and drink |
| sauna | sāngná | 桑拿 | |
| saxophone | sàkèsīfēng | 萨克斯风 | Arts and entertainment |
| science | sàiyīnsī | 赛因斯 | Science |
| scooter | sùkèdá | 速克达 | |
| shampoo | xiāngbō | 香波/洗发露 | |
| sherry | xuělìjiǔ | 雪利酒 | Food and drink |
| shirt | xùshān | 恤衫 | |
| shit (exclamation) | xiètè | 谢特 | |
| sirloin | shālǎng | 沙朗 | Food and drink |
| snooker | Sīnuòkè | 斯诺克 | |
| soda | sūdá | 苏打 | Food and drink |
| Starbucks | Xīngbakè | 星巴克 | Organizations |
| strawberry | shìduōpílí | 士多啤梨/草莓 | Food and drink |
| sundae | shèngdài | 圣代 | Food and drink |
| ping-pong | pīngpāng | 乒乓 | Arts and entertainment |
| talk show | tuōkǒuxiù | 脱口秀 | |
| tango | tàngē | 探戈 | Arts and entertainment |
| tank | tǎnkè | 坦克 | |
| tannic acid | dānníngsuān | 单宁酸 | |
| tarot | tǎluó | 塔罗 | |
| Teflon | tèfùlóng | 特富龙 | |
| ten-pin bowling (or the ball) | bǎolíngqiú | 保龄球 | Arts and entertainment |
| TNT | tī'ēntī | 梯恩梯 | |
| tobacco | dànbāgū | 淡巴菰/烟草 | |
| toefl | tuōfú | 托福 | |
| toffee | tàifēitáng | 太妃糖 | Food and drink |
| toolbar (software) | tùbà | 兔爸/工具栏 | Computing |
| tuna | tūnnáyú | 吞拿鱼 | Food and drink |
| turquoise | Tǔ'ěrqíshí | 土耳其石 | |
| Valve | fá | 阀 | |
| Vaseline | fánshìlín | 凡士林 | |
| violin | fànyǎlíng | 梵哑铃 | Arts and entertainment |
| vitamin | wéitāmìng | 维他命 | Food and drink |
| vodka | fútéjiā | 伏特加 | Food and drink |
| waltz | huá'ěrzī | 华尔兹 | Arts and entertainment |
| watt | wǎtè | 瓦特 | Science |
| whisky | wēishìjì | 威士忌 | Food and drink |
| yoga | yújiā | 瑜迦 | Arts and entertainment |
| yogurt | yōugé | 优格/酸奶 | Food and drink |
| yo-yo | yōuyōuqiú | 悠悠球 | Arts and entertainment |
| yuppie | yǎpíshì | 雅皮士 |
See also
- List of English words of Chinese origin
- List of English words of Japanese origin
- List of Spanish words of Chinese origin
- List of English words of Cantonese origin
- Chinglish
- Gairaigo
- Sino-Japanese vocabulary
Further reading
- Daniel Kane (15 September 2006). The Chinese Language: Its History and Current Usage. Tuttle Publishing. pp. 162–166. ISBN 978-0-8048-3853-5. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
- Robert S. Bauer; Paul K. Benedict (1997). Modern Cantonese Phonology. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 347–405. ISBN 978-3-11-014893-0. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
- Wendy Yeun-wen Pao (1983). A Study of English Loanwords in Chinese Through Chinese Newswriting. South Dakota State University. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
- Janet Zhiqun Xing (30 March 2006). Teaching And Learning Chinese As a Foreign Language: A Pedagogical Grammar. Hong Kong University Press. pp. 120–124. ISBN 978-962-209-763-6. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
- 胡兆云 (2001). Language contact and lexical borrowing of English and Chinese: A comprehensive study. Shandong University Press. ISBN 978-7-5607-2382-2. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
- Kate Parry; Xiaojun Su (3 April 1998). Culture, literacy, and learning English: voices from the Chinese classroom. Boynton/Cook Publishers. p. 119. ISBN 978-0-86709-448-0. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
References
- ^ Xinhua News Agency. Names of the World's Peoples: a Comprehensive Dictionary of Names in Roman-Chinese [世界人名翻译大辞典, Shìjiè Rénmíng Fānyì Dà Cídiǎn].
- ^ Zuo, X. (2005). Language planning with respect to English into China. Terminology, 11(2), 283-292.