List of English words of Chinese origin

Bok choy

Cantonese

白菜

baak6 coi3

A Chinese cabbage: lit. 'white vegetable'

Brainwash

Semantic borrowing

洗腦

xǐnǎo

A calque of Chinese 洗腦, consisting of the characters 洗; 'wash' and 腦; 'brain'. A term first used by the People's Volunteer Army during the Korean War, then picked up by the American media. It may refer to a forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up basic political, social, or religious beliefs and attitudes and to accept contrasting regimented ideas; or persuasion by propaganda or salesmanship. The term "brainwashing" came into the mainstream English language after Western media sources first utilized the term to describe the attitudes of POWs returning from the Korean War.

Cha

Cantonese

茶

cha4

tea, see 'tea' below

Char siu

Cantonese

叉燒

cha1 siu1

lit. fork roasted

Cheongsam

Cantonese

長衫（旗袍）

cheung4 saam1

lit. 'long clothes', popularly used during the 19th and early 20th centuries

Chin chin, chin-chin

Mandarin

請

qǐng

lit. 'please', 'invite', an exclamation used to express good wishes before drinking—cf. Mandarin 乾杯; gānbēi; 'empty the glass', Sino-Japanese kanpai. While occasionally used in American English, chin-chin is an informal and outdated British English usage, for instance, the TV sitcom As Time Goes By.

China

Mandarin

秦 or 晉

qín

Via Latin Sina, Persian چین Cin, and Sanskrit चीन Chinas; ultimately either from the name of the 秦; 'Qin' or 晉; 'Jin' state

Chop chop

Cantonese

速速

chuk1 chuk1

lit. 'hurry', 'urgent'

Chopsticks

Pidgin

筷子

Kuai zi

from Chinese Pidgin English chop chop.

Chop suey

Cantonese

雜碎

jaap6 seui3

'mixed pieces'

Chow

Cantonese

炒

caau2

From meaning 'cook', perhaps based on Cantonese. lit. 'to stir fry'

Chow chow

Cantonese

any of a breed of heavy-coated blocky dogs of Chinese origin

Chow mein

Cantonese (Taishanese)

炒麵

chau2 mein6

lit. 'stir fried noodle', from initial Chinese immigrants from Taishan came to the United States

Confucius

Jesuit Latinization

孔夫子

kǒngfūzǐ

Latinization of 'Master Kong'

Cumshaw

Hokkien (Amoy)

感謝

kám siā

feeling gratitude

Dim sum, Dim sim

Cantonese

點心

dim2 sam1

lit. '(slightly) touches the heart, skimming the heart, igniting the heart', generally an idiom meaning 'desserts, pastry (accomponied to green tea), light refreshments'

Fan-tan

Cantonese

番攤

faan1 taan1

'take turns scattering'

Feng shui

Mandarin

风水

fēngshuǐ

from 風; 'wind' and 水; 'water', denotes some form of aesthetic balance, generally in rooms or objects

Foo dog

Mandarin

佛

fó

Refers to the statues of lions that serve as guardians of Buddhist temples: combination of 佛; 'Buddha' and 'dog', due to the statues resembling dogs

Ginkgo

Sino-Japanese

銀杏

ginkyō

From Japanese ginkyō or ginnan

Ginseng

Hokkien

人參

jîn sim

From the name of the plant: some say the word came via the Japanese pronunciation, though 人参 now means 'carrot' in Japanese, while the modern word for 'ginseng' is 朝鮮人參, 'Korean carrot'.

Go

Sino-Japanese

圍棋

igo

Japanese name for the Chinese board game, cf. Mandarin wéiqí.

Guanxi

Mandarin

關係

guānxi

lit. 'relationship', refers to such in Chinese culture—occasionally a reference to nepotism or cronyism in Chinese business and bureaucracy

Gung-ho

Mandarin

工合

gōnghé

Short for 工業合作社; 'Chinese Industrial Cooperatives'

Gweilo

Cantonese

鬼佬

gwai2 lou2

Literally 'ghost guy', used as a common slur for Westerners. Absent modifiers, it refers to white people and has a history of deprecatory and pejorative use, though it has been argued that it has since acquired a more neutral connotation.

Gyoza

Sino-Japanese

餃子

gyōza

From Chinese jiǎozi; 'stuffed dumpling'. In English, refers to the fried dumpling style, as opposed to the style boiled in water.

Hanfu

Mandarin

漢服

hànfú

lit. 'Han clothing': traditional Chinese clothes, includes several varieties for both men and women.

Har gow

Cantonese

蝦餃

ha1 gaau2

'shrimp dumpling'

Hoisin

Cantonese

海鮮

hoi2 sin1

'seafood'

Junzi

Mandarin

君子

jūnzǐ

lit. 'person of high stature'; translatable as "respectable person" or simply "gentleman"

Kanji

Sino-Japanese

漢字

kanji

Name for Chinese characters within Japanese, cf. Mandarin hànzì.

Kaolin

Mandarin

高嶺

gāolǐng

lit. 'high mountain peak', the name of a village or suburb of Jingdezhen in Jiangxi, the site of a mine from which kaolin clay (高嶺土; gāolǐngtǔ) was taken to make the fine porcelain produced in Jingde.

Keemun

Cantonese

祁門

kei4 mun4

tea from Qimen

Ketchup

Hokkien (Amoy)

茄汁

In the 17th century, the Chinese mixed a concoction of pickled fish and spices, called kôe-chiap or kê-chiap in the Amoy dialect, whose meaning refers to(鮭汁) the brine of pickled fish or shellfish (鮭; 'salmon', 汁; 'juice'). By the early 18th century, the sauce had made it to the Malay peninsula, where it was later discovered by English explorers. That word then gradually evolved into the English word "ketchup", and was taken to the American colonies by English settlers.

Koan

Sino-Japanese

公案

kōan

cf. Mandarin 公案; gōng'àn; 'public record'

Kowtow

Cantonese

叩頭

kau3 tau4

'knock head'

Kumquat, cumquat

Cantonese

柑橘

gam1 gwat1

'tangerine'

Kung fu

Cantonese

功夫

gung1 fu1

lit. 'efforts', used in English to collectively describe Chinese martial arts

Lo mein

Cantonese

撈麵

lou1 min6

'scooped noodle'

Longan

Cantonese

龍眼

lung4 ngaan5

lit. 'dragon's eye'

Long time no see

Semantic borrowing from Mandarin

好久不見

hǎojiǔbùjiàn

—

Loquat

Cantonese

蘆橘

lou4 gwat1

Archaic name for the fruit

Lychee

Cantonese

荔枝

lai6 ji1

twigs of cat-tail like grass

Mao-tai, moutai

Mandarin

茅台酒

máotáijiǔ

liquor from Maotai, Guizhou

Mahjong

Cantonese

麻將

ma4 jeung3

sparrow checkmate, short for 'hemp sparrow warfare, hemp sparrow being the term for house sparrow, and sparrow warfare (麻雀戰, 麻雀战) a form of guerilla warfare tactics.

Monsoon

Cantonese

滿水

mun5 seoi2

'full of water'

Mu shu

Mandarin

木須

mùxū

'wood shredded pork'

Nankeen

Mandarin

南京

Nánjīng

The name for city, sometimes used in English to refer to the durable, buff-colored cotton cloth originally produced there

No can do

Semantic borrowing

唔可以 (Cantonese), 不可以 (Mandarin)

m4 ho2yi5; bù kěyǐ

Calque, though also possibly a calque of Mandarin 不能做; bùnéng zùo; 'no can do'.

Nunchuk

Hokkien (Taiwan, Fujian)

雙節棍, 兩節棍

nng-chat-kun

Via Okinawan Japanese, lit. 'pair of joined sticks, double jointed sticks'

Oolong

Hokkien (Amoy)

烏龍

oo liong

'dark dragon'

Pai gow

Cantonese

排九

paai4 gau2

lit. 'row of nine', 'line of nine'

Paper tiger

Semantic borrowing

纸老虎

zhǐlǎohǔ

Calque of an idiom referring to something or someone whose claims or appearances of threat or power are paper-thin, actually being ineffectual and unable to withstand challenge. Became well known internationally by its use by Mao Zedong to refer to his political opponents, particularly the American government.

Pekin

Cantonese

北京

bak1 ging1

From an older romanization of the Cantonese reading of Beijing

Pidgin

Mandarin

皮钦语

píqīnyǔ

lit. 'naughty respect language, case-hardened ('thick-skinned') respect language'

Pinyin

Mandarin

拼音

pīnyīn

'put together sounds', 'spelled-out sounds'

Pekoe

Hokkien (Amoy)

白毫

pe̍khô

'white downy hair'

Pongee

Cantonese

本機

lit. 'our own loom', 'homespun', a kind of thin silk

Pu'er, puerh

Mandarin

普洱

pǔ'ěr

Named after a city

Qi, ch'i

Mandarin

氣

qì

Energy of an object or person, lit. 'air', 'spirit'.

Qipao

Mandarin

旗袍

qípáo

—

Ramen

Sino-Japanese

拉麵

rāmen

cf. Mandarin lāmiàn

Rickshaw

Sino-Japanese

人力車

rénlìchē

Japanese neologism, jinrikisha (c. 1887) composed of semantic elements 人; 'human', 力; 'power' and 車; 'vehicle'.

Sampan

Cantonese

舢舨

saan1 baan2

—

Shanghai

Mandarin

上海

Shànghǎi

The city name, used in English as a verb meaning 'to put someone aboard a ship by trickery or intoxication', or generally 'to put someone in a bad situation by trickery'. From an old practice of deceitful acquiring sailors for voyages to Shanghai

Shantung

Mandarin

山東

Shāndōng

The Wade-Giles romanization of the province's name, used in English to refer to a wild silk fabric, usually undyed.

Shaolin

Mandarin

少林

shàolín

—

Shar pei

Cantonese

沙皮

sa1 pei4

'sand skin'

Shih tzu

Taiwanese Mandarin

獅子狗

shih tzu3 kou3

lit. 'lion child dog', Chinese lion

Shogun

Sino-Japanese

將軍

shōgun

lit. 'military general', the full Japanese title was 征夷大将軍, Seii Taishōgun, 'generalissimo who overcomes the barbarians'

Siu mai

Cantonese

燒賣

siu1 maai2

pork dumplings, lit. 'to cook and sell'

Sifu

Cantonese

師傅

si1 fu2

'master'

Souchong

Cantonese

小種茶

siu2 jung2 cha4

'small kind of tea

Soy

Sino-Japanese

醬油

shōyu

cf. Mandarin pinyin: jiàngyóu

Struggle session

Semantic calque from Mandarin

批斗大会

pīdòudàhuì

According to Lin Yutang, the expression comes from 批判; pīpàn; 'to criticize and judge' and 鬥爭; dòuzhēng; 'to fight and contest', so the whole expression conveys the message of 'inciting spirited judgment and fighting'. It was often shortened to 批鬥; pīdòu.[citation needed] The term refers to a phenomenon especially prevalent during the Cultural Revolution, where public sessions were ostensibly held for the benefit the target, intending to eliminate counterrevolutionary, reactionary thinking.[citation needed]

Tai chi

Mandarin

太極

tàijí

From the Wade-Giles romanization of taijiquan (i.e., "tʻai chi chʻüan"), meaning 'great ultimate boxing'

Tai-pan

Cantonese

大班

daai6 baan1

equivalent to "big shot"

Tangram

Compound word

唐

táng

from Tang + English gram

Tao, Dao

Mandarin

道

dào

'way', path'

Tea

Hokkien

茶

tê

In most European languages, where the word resembles te, tea generally originated in the Amoy port. The other common word for tea worldwide, usually in places where tea generally came via the Silk Road, derives from the Mandarin pronunciation with the same Old Chinese etymology.

Tofu

Sino-Japanese

豆腐

tōfu

cf. Mandarin dòufu

Tong

Cantonese

堂

tong4

—

Tung oil

Cantonese

桐油

tung4 yau4

—

Tycoon

Sino-Japanese

大君

taikun

'great nobleman'

Typhoon

Hokkien (Taiwanese), Cantonese, or Mandarin

颱風

thai-hong

lit. 'wind coming from Taiwan', usually hong-thai in contemperary Taiwanese, cf. Cantonese toi4 fung1

Wok

Cantonese

鑊

wok6

—

Wonton

Cantonese

雲吞

wan4 tan1

homophone in Cantonese with the original 餛飩, cf. Mandarin húntún, lit. 'cloud swallow', describing its shape

Wushu

Mandarin

武術

wǔshù

—

Wuxia

Mandarin

武俠

wǔxiá

—

Yamen

Mandarin

衙門

yámén

'court'

Yen

Cantonese

癮

yan5

Craving, usually in reference to opium addition, lit. 'addiction'

Yen

Sino-Japanese

圓

en

cf. Mandarin yuán, lit. 'round', 'name of currency unit'

Yin yang

Mandarin

陰陽

yīnyáng

Yin meaning 'feminine', 'dark' and yang meaning 'masculine', 'bright'

Yuanfen

Mandarin, Vietnamese

緣分

yuánfèn

lit. 'fateful coincidence'—similar conceptually to karma, but interactive instead of individualized, predestination without divine implications

Zen

Sino-Japanese

禪

zen

cf. Mandarin chán, originally from Sanskrit ध्यान Dhyāna, Pali झन jhāna.