Origin of Chinese Phonetic

English Word Description

Word Word transliteration

A calque of Chinese 洗腦 (where 洗 literally means "wash", while 腦 means "brain", hence brainwash), a

term and psychological concept first used by the People's Volunteer Army during the Korean War. It may
Literal refer to a forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up basic political, social, or religious beliefs
Brainwashing 洗腦 xǐnǎo
translation 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.[1]

Energy of an object or person, literally air or spirit. (This word is correctly represented in Wade–Giles
Ch'i or "qi" Mandarin 氣 qì romanization by "ch'i," but the rough breathing mark (replaced by an apostrophe in most texts) has
disappeared in colloquial English.)

An exclamation used to express good wishes before drinking, lit. "please; to invite". While occasionally
Chin-chin Mandarin 請 qǐng used in American English, chin-chin is an informal and outdated British English usage, for instance, the
TV sitcom As Time Goes By.[2]

China Mandarin 秦 or 晉 qín Via Latin Sina, Persian ‫چین‬ Cin, and Sanskrit चीन Chinas; ultimately from the name of the Qin 秦 or Jin 晉

Jesuit
Confucius 孔夫子 kǒngfūzǐ Latinized form of 'Master Kong'
Latinization

Coolie 苦力 kǔlì

Feng shui Mandarin 風水 fēngshuǐ from feng, wind and shui, water; (slang) Denotes an object or scene which is aesthetically balanced
 Origin of Chinese Phonetic
English Word Description
Word Word transliteration

(generally used in construction or design)

Combination of '佛' (literally 'Buddha') and dog due to the statues resembling dogs. Refers to statues of
Foo dog Mandarin 佛 fó
lions that serve as guardians of Buddhist temples.

Refers to connections or relationships in Chinese culture. It is occasionally a reference to nepotism or

Guanxi Mandarin 關係 guānxi
cronyism among Chinese businesses and bureaucracies.

Gung-ho Mandarin 工合 gōnghé Short for 工業合作社

Hanfu Mandarin 漢服 hànfú lit. Han clothing. Traditional Chinese clothes; it includes several varieties for both men and women.

Junzi Mandarin 君子 chün1tzu3 lit. person of high stature; preferred translation 'respectable person'

lit. high mountain peak, the name of a village or suburb of Jingde Town, in Jiangxi Province, that was the
Kaolin Mandarin 高嶺 gāolǐng site of a mine from which kaolin clay (高嶺土 gāo lǐng tǔ) was taken to make the fine porcelain produced
in Jingde.[4]

Mao-tai or moutai Mandarin 茅台酒 máotái jiǔ liquor from Maotai (Guizhou province)

 Origin of Chinese Phonetic
English Word Description
Word Word transliteration

Mu shu Mandarin 木須 mùxū lit. wood shredded pork

Durable cotton, buff-colored cloth originally made in the city Nanjing (Nánjīng, previously romanized as
Nankeen Mandarin 南京 Nán Jīng
Nanking).

Literal 不可以 Literal translation of no [3] Though more likely a literal translation from mandarin 不能做 bù néng zùo,
No can do Bù kěyǐ
translation (Mandarin) literally “no can do”.

"Paper tiger" is a literal English translation of the Chinese phrase zhǐlǎohǔ (纸老虎). The term refers to
Literal something or someone that claims or appears to be powerful or threatening, but is actually ineffectual
Paper tiger 纸老虎 zhǐlǎohǔ and unable to withstand challenge. The expression became well known internationally as a slogan used
translation
by Mao Zedong, leader of the People's Republic of China, against his political opponents, particularly the
U.S. government.

a language used for communication between people not sharing a common language, made in an effort
Pidgin Mandarin 皮钦语 pí qīn yǔ
to communicate better

Pinyin Mandarin 拼音 pīnyīn lit. put together sounds; spelled-out sounds[6]

Pu'er or puerh Mandarin 普洱 pǔ'ěr Type of tea, named after a city in China

 Origin of Chinese Phonetic
English Word Description
Word Word transliteration

Qi Mandarin 氣 qì air

Qipao Mandarin 旗袍 qípáo lit. Manchurian dress. Manchurian ethnic female clothing

city of Shanghai, used as slang, meaning: to put someone aboard a ship by trickery or intoxication; to put
Shanghai Mandarin 上海 shànghǎi someone in a bad situation or press someone into work by trickery. From an old practice of using this
method to acquire sailors for voyages to Shanghai.

"shantung" (or sometimes "Shantung") is a wild silk fabric made from the silk of wild silkworms and is
Shantung Mandarin 山東 shāndōng
usually undyed.

Shaolin Mandarin 少林 shàolín One of the most important Kungfu clans.

Taiwanese
Shih Tzu 獅子狗 shih tzu3 kou3 lit. lion child dog (Chinese lion)
Mandarin

T'ai chi "Great Ultimate" or T'ai Chi Ch'üan, usually miswritten as Tai Chi Chuan, a form of physical
Tai Chi Mandarin 太極 tàijí
discipline, from Mandarin 太極拳, lit, "Great Ultimate(fist =) Fighting."

Compound
Tangram 唐 tang from Tang + English gram
word
 Origin of Chinese Phonetic
English Word Description
Word Word transliteration

Tao/Dao
Mandarin 道 dào Hybrid word from "way; path" and -ism suffix
and Taoism/Daoism

Wushu Mandarin 武術 wǔshù lit. martial arts

Wuxia Mandarin 武俠 wǔxiá lit. martial arts and chivalrous

Yamen Mandarin 衙門 yámén lit. court

Yin Yang Mandarin 陰陽 yīnyáng 'Yin' meaning feminine, dark and 'Yang' meaning masculine and bright

lit. fateful coincidence; similar to karma although interactive instead of individual and similar to
Yuanfen Mandarin 緣分
predestination without the divine implications.