List of loanwords in Chinese
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. As a result of long-term direct relationships with northern peoples, starting from the pre-Christ period, there are many exchanges of words. In addition, there were times when northern tribes dominated China. Similarly, northern dialects include relatively greater numbers of loanwords from nearby languages such as Turkic, Mongolian, and Manchu(Tungusic).
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]
Since Hong Kong was under British control until 1997, Hong Kong Cantonese borrowed many words from English such as 巴士 (from the word "bus", Mandarin: bāshì, Cantonese: baa1 si2), 的士 (from "taxi", Man.: dīshì, Can.: dik1 si2), 芝士 (from "cheese", Man.: zhīshì, Can.: zi1 si6), and 麥當勞/麦当劳 (from "McDonald's", Man.: Màidāngláo, Can.: Mak6 dong1 lou4), and such loanwords have been adopted into Mandarin, despite them sounding much less similar to the English words in the Cantonese versions.[2]
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.
Since the Kuomintang retreated to Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War, relations between the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China had been hostile, thus communication between Taiwan and mainland China became limited. For that reason, many loanwords and proper names became quite different from each other. For example, "cheese" in mainland China is 芝士 zhīshì, while cheese in Taiwan is 起司 qĭsī.
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 | nirvāna | 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 |
| 葡萄 | pútáo | grape | باده or Bactrian *bādāwa | bāde | wine |
| 獅子 | shīzi | lion | شیر | šīr | lion |
| 百里香 | Bǎilǐxiāng | Thyme | آویشن | Avišan | Thyme |
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), "PPT" (PowerPoint), "GDP" (Gross domestic product), "APP" (mobile app), "KTV" (karaoke), or "DVD". A rarer occurrence is the blending of the Latin alphabet with Chinese characters, as in "卡拉OK" ("karaoke"), “T恤” ("T-shirt"), "IP卡" ("internet phone card").[3] 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.
In the chart below, loanwords in Taiwan will be written in traditional characters and loanwords in mainland China will be written in simplified characters.
| English | Pinyin | Chinese | Category | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amen | āmen | 阿们 | Religion | |
| 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 | |
| antitrust | fǎntuōlāsī | 反托拉斯 | Business and law | |
| aspartame | āsībātián | 阿斯巴甜 | Food and drink | |
| Aspirin | āsīpílín | 阿斯匹林 | Science | |
| Baccarat | Bǎijiālè | 百家乐 | Arts and entertainment | |
| bacon | péigēn | 培根 | Food and drink | |
| bagel | bèiguǒ | 贝果 | Food and drink | |
| ballet | bālěi | 芭蕾 | Arts and entertainment | |
| bandage | bēngdài | 绷带 | Health | |
| banjo | bānzhuóqín | 班卓琴 | Arts and entertainment | |
| bar | bā | 吧 / 酒吧 | ||
| Baroque | bāluókè | 巴罗克 | Arts and entertainment | |
| basketball | lánqiú | 篮球 | Arts and entertainment | |
| bass | bèisī | 贝司 | Arts and entertainment | |
| bassoon | bāsōng | 巴松 | Arts and entertainment | |
| bazooka | bāzǔkǎ | 巴祖卡 | Weapons | |
| beer | píjiǔ | 啤酒 | Food and drink | |
| bikini | bǐjīní | 比基尼 | Clothing | |
| 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 | Politics | |
| brandy | báilándì | 白兰地 | Food and drink | |
| brownie | bùlǎngní | 布朗尼 | Food and drink | |
| bullying | bàlíng | 霸凌 | ||
| bungee jumping | bèngjí | 蹦极 | Arts and entertainment | |
| bus | bāshì | 巴士 | Transportation | |
| bye-bye | bàibài | 拜拜 | ||
| caffeine | kāfēiyīn | 咖啡因 | Food and drink | |
| calorie | kǎlùlǐ | 卡路里 | Science | |
| cancan | kāngkāngwǔ | 康康舞 | Arts and entertainment | |
| cannon | jiānóngpào | 加农炮 | Weapons | |
| carat | kèlā | 克拉 | Science | |
| carbine | kǎbīnqiāng | 卡宾枪 | Weapons | |
| card | kăpiàn | 卡片 | ||
| carnival | jiāniánhuá | 嘉年华 | Arts and entertainment | |
| cartel | kǎtè'ěr | 卡特尔 | ||
| cartoon | kǎtōng | 卡通 | Arts and entertainment | rarely used in mainland China |
| cashmere | kāishìmǐ | 开士米 | ||
| celluloid | sàilùluò | 赛璐珞 | Science | |
| cha-cha | qiàqiàwǔ | 恰恰舞 | Arts and entertainment | |
| Champagne | xiāngbīn | 香槟 | Food and drink | |
| cheese | qǐsī/qishì/zhīshì | 起司 / 奇士 / 芝士 | Food and drink | First two loanwords used in Taiwan, last used in mainland China |
| cherry | chēlízi | 车厘子 | Food and drink | rarely used in mainland China |
| chiffon | xuěfǎng | 雪纺 | Food and drink | |
| chocolate | qiǎokèlì | 巧克力 | Food and drink | |
| 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 | |
| cookie | qǔqí | 曲奇 | Food and drink | |
| cool | kù | 酷 | ||
| copy | kǎobèi | 拷贝/复制 | ||
| couch or sofa | shāfā | 沙发 | Housing | |
| coup d'état | kǔdiédǎ | 苦迭打 | Politics | |
| craton | kèlātōng | 克拉通 | ||
| cream | jìlián, qílín | 忌廉／淇淋 | Food and drink | |
| crêpe | kělìbǐng | 可丽饼 | Food and drink | |
| croissant | kěsòng | 可颂 | Food and drink | |
| 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 | 迪斯科 | Arts and entertainment | |
| domino | duōmǐnuò | 多米诺 | Arts and entertainment | |
| drive-thru | déláisù | 得来速 | Food and drink | |
| einsteinium | ài/āi | 鑀 / 锿 | Science | first loanword used in Taiwan, second used in mainland China |
| Eucalyptus | yóujiālì | 尤加利 | Botany | |
| eureka | yóulǐkǎ | 尤里卡 | ||
| fantasy | fàntèxī | 范特西 | Arts and entertainment | |
| fascism | fǎxīsī | 法西斯 | Politics | |
| fillet | fēilì | 菲力 | Food and drink | |
| 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 | |
| guitar | jítā | 吉他 | Arts and entertainment | |
| Gypsy | Jípǔsài | 吉普赛 | Culture and society | |
| hacker | hēikè | 黑客 | Computing | |
| hallelujah | hālìlùyà | 哈利路亚 | Religion | |
| hamburger | hànbǎobāo | 汉堡包 | Food and drink | |
| hello | hālóu | 哈喽 | ||
| heroin | hǎiluòyīn | 海洛因 | Narcotics | |
| hippie | xīpí | 嘻皮 | Culture and society | |
| honey (the term) | hāní | 哈尼 | Slang | |
| hot dog | règǒu | 热狗 | Food and drink | translation |
| hysteria | xiēsīdǐlǐ | 歇斯底里 | Science | |
| ice cream | bīngqílín | 冰淇淋 | Food and drink | |
| jacket | jiākè | 夹克 | Clothing | |
| jazz | juéshìwǔ | 爵士舞 | Arts and entertainment | |
| Jeep | jípǔchē | 吉普车 | Transportation / organizations | |
| jitterbug | jítèbā | 吉特巴 | ||
| ketamine | kètāmìng | 克他命 | Science | |
| khaki | kǎqí | 卡其 | Clothing | |
| koala | kǎolā | 考拉 | Animals | |
| lace | lěisī | 蕾丝 | Clothing | |
| lacquer | làkè | 腊克 | ||
| laser | léishè | 镭射 | Science | |
| latte | nátiě | 拿铁 | Food and drink | |
| lemon | níngméng | 柠檬 | Food and drink | |
| limbo | língbōwǔ | 凌波舞 | Arts and entertainment | |
| liquor | lìkǒujiǔ | 利口酒 | Food and drink | |
| logic | luóji | 逻辑 | Science | |
| lottery | lètòu | 乐透 | Arts and entertainment | |
| mankini | nánjīní | 男基尼 | Clothing | |
| marathon | mǎlāsōng | 马拉松 | Arts and entertainment | |
| margarine | màiqílín | 麦淇淋 | Food and drink | |
| marker | mǎkèbǐ | 马克笔 | ||
| massage | mǎshājī | 马杀鸡 | rarely used in mainland China | |
| meme | míyīn | 迷因 | Arts and entertainment | |
| microphone | màikèfēng | 麦克风 | Science | |
| milkshake | nǎixī | 奶昔 | Food and drink | |
| model | mótèr | 模特儿 | 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 | mǔtǐ, mú | 母体，模 | Arts and entertainment | |
| motor | mótuō | 摩托 | Transportation | |
| mousse | mùsī | 慕斯 | Food and drink | |
| mozzarella | mòzālǐlā, mǎsūlǐlā | 莫扎里拉，马苏里拉 | 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 / politics | |
| neon | níhóng | 霓虹 | ||
| nicotine | nígǔdīng | 尼古丁 | ||
| Nylon | nílóng | 尼龙 | ||
| ohm | ōumǔ | 欧姆 | Science | |
| Olympics | Àolínpǐkè | 奥林匹克 | Organizations | |
| opium | yāpiàn | 鸦片 | Narcotics | |
| parfait | bāfēi | 芭菲 | Food and drink | |
| parka | pàikè dàyī | 派克大衣 | Clothing | |
| party | pàiduì | 派对 | ||
| penicillin | pánníxīlín | 盘尼西林 | Science | rarely used in mainland China |
| Pharaoh | fǎlǎo | 法老 | ||
| pickup truck | píkǎ | 皮卡(车) | Transportation | |
| pizza | pīsà/bǐsà | 披萨／比萨 | Food and drink | |
| plutonium | bù/bù | 鈽 / 钚 | Science | |
| poker | pūkè | 扑克 | Arts and entertainment | |
| polka | bō'ěrkǎ | 波尔卡 | Arts and entertainment | |
| pudding | bùdīng | 布丁 | Food and drink | |
| pump | bèng | 泵 | ||
| punk | péngkè | 朋克 | Arts and entertainment | |
| rabbi | lābǐ | 拉比 | Religion | |
| radar | léidá | 雷达 | Science | |
| roller | luólā | 罗拉 | ||
| romance | luómànshǐ, làngmàn | 罗曼史，浪漫 | ||
| rum | lǎngmǔjiu | 朗姆酒 | Food and drink | |
| rumba | lúnbā | 伦巴 | Arts and entertainment | |
| salad | shālà, shalǜ | 沙拉，沙律 | Food and drink | |
| salmon | sānwényú | 三文鱼 | Food and drink | |
| salon | shālóng | 沙龙 | Health | |
| sandwich | sānmíngzhì | 三明治 | Food and drink | |
| sardine | shādīngyú | 沙丁鱼 | Food and drink | |
| sauna | sāngná | 桑拿 | Health | |
| saxophone | sàkèsī(fēng) | 萨克斯，萨克斯风 | Arts and entertainment | |
| scooter | sùkèdá | 速克达 | Transportation | |
| shampoo | xiāngbō | 香波 | Health | |
| sherry | xuělìjiǔ | 雪利酒 | Food and drink | |
| shirt | T-xù | Ｔ恤 | Clothing | |
| sirloin | shālǎng | 沙朗 | Food and drink | |
| snooker | sīnuòkè | 斯诺克 | ||
| soda | sūdá | 苏打 | Food and drink | |
| strawberry | shìduōpílí | 士多啤梨 | Food and drink | |
| sundae | shèngdài, xīndì | 圣代，新地 | 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 | Transportation | |
| tannic acid | dānníngsuān | 单宁酸 | ||
| tarot | tǎluó | 塔罗 | ||
| Teflon | tèfùlóng | 特富龙 | ||
| telephone | délǜfēng | 德律风 | rarely used in mainland China | |
| ten-pin bowling (or the ball) | bǎolíngqiú | 保龄球 | Arts and entertainment | |
| TOEFL | tuōfú | 托福 | ||
| toffee | tàifēitáng | 太妃糖 | Food and drink | |
| tuna | tūnnáyú | 吞拿鱼 | Food and drink | |
| turquoise | tǔ'ěrqíshí | 土耳其石 | Color | |
| valve | fá | 阀 | Mechanics | |
| Vaseline | fánshìlín | 凡士林 | Health | |
| 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 | 瑜钾 | Arts and entertainment | |
| yogurt | yōugé | 优格 | Food and drink | |
| yo-yo | yōuyōuqiú | 悠悠球 | Arts and entertainment | |
| yuppie | yǎpíshì | 雅皮士 | Culture and society |
Malay
| Malay | Pinyin | Chinese | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| tolong | duōlóng | 多隆 | help | |
| kampung | gānbǎng | 甘榜 | village | |
| sagu | xīgǔmǐ | 西谷米 | sago (starch) | sagu+米 (mǐ, 'grain') |
| tumpang | lóngbāng | 隆帮 | to stay with somebody | |
| tanjung | dānróng | 丹戎 | cape |
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.
- Martin Haspelmath; Uri Tadmor (22 December 2009). Loanwords in the World's Languages: A Comparative Handbook. De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 576–580. ISBN 9783110218442. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
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].
- "8 Chinese Words Borrowed From English That Will Finally Make Sense to You". www.yoyochinese.com. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
- Zuo, X. (2005). Language planning with respect to English into China. Terminology, 11(2), 283-292.