9 English Words “Borrowed” from Chinese

从汉语里“借用”的9个英语单词

文/江节明

今天人们广泛使用的OK已有170年的历史了，它是oll correct的缩略形式，最初《波士顿晨报》（The Boston Morning Post）使用这个词只是当做笑料，没想到几个政客们使用后便流行开来。如今，人人都在使用OK，从美国总统候选人到北京的出租车司机。

现在西方人“借用”“中国制造”的产品可谓不计其数，但西方语言“借用”中国的汉字却屈指可数，不过英语从汉语里“借用”的9个单词却很常用，你知道是哪9个单词吗？

Brainwash （= 洗脑）

Not quite a borrow word but a literal translation of the Chinese term – 给……洗脑 (gěi…xǐnǎo) – meaning to wash somebody’s brain. The word is thought to have become popular in the English language after its usage in the film Manchurian Candidate and by returning GIs.

Casino （= 开始了[意为“赌场”]）

Probably very few of the viewers of the film “Casino” are aware they have China to thank for the name. Quite a few of the Chinese borrow words come via the Fujian dialect and apparently casino does too. Fujian immigrants to the US did quite a lot of rowdy gambling together and before each bet they would shout out “开始了” which means “it begins” - in the Fujian dialect kāishǐle sounds like “casino”. Somehow it became the name of gambling houses and the place where “it begins” is – for many – where their money ends.

Gungho （= 工合[意为“狂热的”]）

This Chinese inspired word actually comes from Evans Carlson, a US Marine Lieutenant Colonel during WWII. Impressed by the enthusiasm and work ethic of the Communist soldiers, or the “Zhongguo gongye hezuo shi” (Chinese Industrial Cooperatives Society), he decided he would try to get some of their mojo working on his troops by borrowing the “gong” and “he” parts from their name and using them to describe his own troops. The enthusiasm may or may not have caught on but the term caught fire like the CCTV tower and is used frequently today.

Honcho （= 班长[主管，老板]）

Honcho came, like quite a few Chinese words, to the English language by way of Japan. However the original term – meaning leader of a squad – derives from the Middle Chinese words han and cho which meant squad and chief, respectively.

Ketchup （= 番茄酱）

Although Heinz may have invented the 57 varieties and tomato ketchup seems to be an American invention, the word for this common condiment traces back to China and Malaysia. The Chinese version of the word comes derives from koechiap which, in the Amoy dialect, means fish sauce. Ingredients were added by western visitors and eventually the first tomato ketchup (or catsup) like the kind Americans squirt all over hot dogs and burgers was invented in America during the early 19th Century.

Kowtow （= 磕头）

Coming from the Chinese word ke tou (磕头), or ‘bump head’ the term originally described an action of respect – getting on one’s knees and lowering your head until it almost knocked the ground. In English the respectful connotation has been consumed by a derogatory term used to describe someone extremely obsequious – or, to use the vernacular, a real suck up.

Tea （= 茶）

Not surprisingly, almost every word for “tea” comes from China. I know you’re thinking, “But tea in Chinese is cha.” That’s correct but the word filtered into English, as well as Dutch, German, French, Malay, and Spanish, through the Fujian dialect where it is pronounced “te”. Iranians, Vietnamese, and Japanese all call tea “cha”, while Russians and Indians sip “chai”.

Tycoon （= 大款）

This word arrives by way of Fujian and Cantonese dialects with a bit of Japanese thrown in. It originally sprung from the word “大款” (dàkuǎn) – which now describes someone with a lot of money but in its origina Canonese - “takiun” - meant “great prince”. The Japanese used it while trying to impress upon Commodore Perry the stature of their leader, Shogun Tokugawa Iyesada. The term followed the ships back home and is now used to describe extremely successful business men and women.

Typhoon （= 台风）

A mighty wind, this word arose from the Mandarin “táifēng” (台风) which means… typhoon. The Greek used a similar word – tuphon – to describe the same event, but so far as etymologists know they invented these words separately they were later amalgamated to form “typhoon” which in 2006 became the title of a Korean movie about a pirate who hijacks a ship carrying nuclear missile guidance devices and threatens to start a world (ending) war.