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List of English words of Chinese origin Wikipedia

Words of Chinese origin, i.e. loanwords that come from any member of the Chinese branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family, have entered the English language and many European languages.

Though the original terms originated from China, the spelling of the English words depends on which dialect the transliterations came from.

; bok choy : (Cantonese) baahk-choi 白菜, a Chinese cabbage: white vegetable
; bonsai : via Japanese 盆栽, lit. tray gardening
; cheongsam : from Cantonese 長衫, lit. long clothes.
; China : via Latin from the name of the Ch'in Dynasty 秦
; chop chop : from Cantonese gup 急, lit. hurry, urgent
; chopstick : chop is from the Cantonese gaap (夾), literally 'to squeeze'. Notice the two man radicals (人) sandwich another man radical in the middle.
; chop suey : from Cantonese 雜碎, lit. mixed pieces.
; chow mein : from Cantonese 炒麵, lit. stir fried noodle
; chow : from Chinese Pidgin English chowchow which means food, perhaps based on Cantonese 炒, lit. stir fry (cooking)
; coolie : questionably Chinese 苦力, lit. suffering labor. Some dictionaries say the word came from Hindi kull.
; cumshaw : from Amoy 感謝, feeling gratitude
; dim sum : from Cantonese 點心, lit. touch of heart
; feng shui : from feng, wind and shui, water 風水
; ginkgo : via Japanese 銀杏
; ginseng : from Mandarin 人參, name of the plant
; Go (board game)|go : via Japanese name 碁 of a Chinese board game
; gung-ho : from Mandarin 工合, short for 工業合作社
; kanji : via Japanese 漢字, lit. Chinese characters
; kaolin : from 高嶺, lit. high mountain peak
; ketchup : possibly from Amoy 茄汁, lit. tomato sauce/juice
; kowtow : from Chinese 叩頭, lit. knock head
; kumquat : from Cantonese name of the fruit 柑橘
; kung fu : a martial art; from Cantonese 功夫, lit. efforts
; longan : from Cantonese 龍眼, name of the fruit
; loquat : from Cantonese 蘆橘, old name of the fruit
; lychee : from Cantonese 荔枝, name of the fruit
; mahjong : from Ma Jeuk 麻將, lit. sparrow/the mahjong game
; ni hao : how are you in Chinese Mandarin 你好
; oolong tea|oolong : oolong 烏龍, lit. black dragon
; Orange Pekoe|pekoe : from Amoy 白毫, lit. white downy hair
; pinyin : from Mandarin 拼音, lit. put together sounds
; ramen : from 拉麵 via Japanese, lit. pulled noodle
; rickshaw : via List of English words of Japanese origin|Japanese 人力車, lit. 'human-powered vehicle'
; sampan : from Cantonese 舢舨, the name of such vessel.
; Shar Pei : from Cantonese 沙皮, lit. sand skin.
; Shih Tzu : from Mandarin 獅子狗, lit. Chinese lion dog
; silk : from 'si' 絲, lit. silk
; soy sauce|soy : via Japanese shoyu 醤油
; Tai Chi : from Mandarin 太極
; Tai-Pan : from Cantonese 大班, lit. big rank (similar to big shot)
; Tangram : from Chinese Tang (唐) + English gram
; tangsoup
; Tao : from Mandarin 道
; tea : from Amoy 茶
; tofu : via Japanese 豆腐, lit. bean rot
; tong : from Cantonese 堂
; tycoon : via Japanese 大官, lit. high official
; typhoon : 颱風 not to be confused with the monster typhon. See also other possible Arabic origin.
; wok : from Cantonese 鑊
; won ton : from Cantonese 雲吞, lit. 'cloud swallow' as a description of its shape, similar to Mandarin 餛飩
; wushu : from Mandarin 武術, lit. martial arts
; yamen : from Mandarin 衙門, lit. government gate
; yen (craving) : from Cantonese 癮, lit. addiction (to opium)
; Yen (Japanese currency) : via Japanese 円 (used to be Chinese writing 圓, lit. round, name of currency unit)
; Yin Yang : 陰陽 from Mandarin 'Yin' meaning feminine, dark and 'Yang' meaning masculine and bright
; zen : 禪 via Japanese

wiktionarycat|type=with Chinese language origins|category=Chinese derivations

Last Modified:   2005-04-13