Did You Know There Are Chinese Loanwords Used Frequently in Everyday English and Other Languages?

Chinese loanwords are foreign words absorbed into Chinese (外来语 wàilái yǔ) or Chinese-origin words absorbed into other languages. Common examples include 咖啡 (kāfēi, ‘coffee’), 沙发 (shāfā, ‘sofa’) and 巧克力 (qiǎokèlì, ‘chocolate’) going into Chinese, and ‘ketchup’, ‘kung fu’, ‘feng shui’ and ‘brainwashing’ going from Chinese into English. Because Chinese uses characters that each carry meaning, loanwords are usually either phonetic (chosen for sound) or semantic (translated by meaning), and the best ones do both at once.

In this guide, we cover the most interesting examples in both directions, explain why Chinese handles loanwords differently from most languages, and give you real example sentences you can use straight away. 💡

Chinese Loanwords | Why Chinese Has Fewer Loanwords

Chinese Loanwords | Food and Drink Loanwords

Chinese Loanwords | Myth

Chinese Loanwords | Talk Show

Chinese Loanwords | Bullying

Chinese Loanwords | Hacker

Chinese Loanwords | Calories

Chinese Loanwords | Blog

Chinese Loanwords | Logic

Chinese Loanwords | Clone

Chinese Loanwords | Aspirin

Chinese Loanwords | Karat

Chinese Loanwords | Vitamin

Chinese Loanwords | Sports and Leisure Loanwords

Chinese Loanwords | Technology and Science Loanwords

Chinese Loanwords | Chinglish // Casual English Borrowings

Chinese Loanwords | Translation of Foreign Company Names

Chinese Loanwords | Chinese Loanwords in English // Cultural Classics

Chinese Loanwords | Brainwashing

Chinese Loanwords | Paper Tiger

Chinese Loanwords | Guanxi

Chinese Loanwords | Lose Face

Chinese Loanwords | Add Oil

Chinese Loanwords | FAQ’s

Foreign Loanwords in Chinese – 外来语 wàilái yǔ

The Chinese language has historically been highly resistant to outside influence and therefore has fewer loanwords compared to some other languages.

The unyielding nature of Chinese characters is the main reason for this.

When you have thousands of evolving Chinese characters to work with rather than a simple alphabet, a foreign loanword can simply be transliterated to sound as close as possible to the original language.

A Chinese character, on the other hand, can’t be changed in meaning, pronunciation, or form to make it look or sound more ‘foreign’.

It is already set in stone, and to use it, you have to take it as it is.

Foreign transliterated words often sound very cumbersome in Chinese, which you may have noticed if you ever tried transliterating your foreign name into Chinese.

For this reason, foreign concepts have usually, but not always, been translated into the closest Chinese equivalent.

The Chinese word for ‘mosque‘ is 清真寺 qīngzhēn sì, which literally means ‘temple of purity and truth’. The English word is transliterated from the Arabic (via French).

Whereas the majority of the foreign words in Chinese are related to food or places, the characters used often only imitate the foreign word in sound. But some have a pleasing logic to them. Let’s look at the most common food loanwords you’ll actually use.

Why Does Chinese Have Fewer Loanwords Than Other Languages?

Chinese has fewer loanwords than most languages because its writing system is logographic rather than alphabetic: every character carries meaning, so a foreign sound cannot simply be spelled out. Instead, Chinese either picks characters purely for sound (phonetic borrowing) or invents a new compound based on meaning (semantic translation). Cultural preference has historically favoured the second approach.

Most languages borrow foreign words by simply copying the sound. English does this constantly: ‘café’ from French, ‘pizza’ from Italian. The spelling shifts slightly, but the word is recognisable.

Chinese can’t do this in the same way, for three reasons:

1. Every character carries meaning. When you write 咖啡 (kāfēi) for ‘coffee’, you’re using the characters for ‘add’ (咖) and ‘curry/coffee’ (啡) — chosen partly for sound, partly because they don’t clash badly with existing meaning. There’s no neutral phonetic placeholder.

2. The writing system is logographic, not alphabetic. An alphabet lets you spell out any sound. Chinese characters represent morphemes, units of meaning. Borrowing a foreign sound means finding a character whose pronunciation matches, even if the meaning is unrelated or awkward.

3. Cultural preference for semantic translation. For centuries, Chinese scholars preferred to translate foreign concepts into Chinese meaning rather than import foreign sounds. ‘Computer’ became 电脑 (diànnǎo), ‘electric brain’, not a phonetic copy of the English word.

The result? Chinese loanwords tend to fall into two camps: phonetic loans (where characters are chosen purely for sound, like 披萨 pīsà for ‘pizza’) and semantic translations (where a new meaning is constructed in Chinese, like 电脑 for ‘computer’). The best ones do both at once, and those are the ones worth learning first. 💡

Food and Drink Loanwords in Chinese // The Everyday Essentials

Coffee 咖啡 kāfēi

One of the most widely used loanwords in modern Chinese. 咖啡 is purely phonetic, chosen to approximate the sound of ‘coffee’ (via the Dutch or Portuguese route into European languages). You’ll see 咖啡厅 (kāfēitīng, ‘coffee shop’) on every high street in Beijing and Shanghai.

Example: 你想喝咖啡吗？Nǐ xiǎng hē kāfēi ma? — ‘Would you like a coffee?’

Chocolate 巧克力 qiǎokèlì

巧 (qiǎo) means ‘clever’ or ‘skilful’, 克 (kè) means ‘to overcome’, and 力 (lì) means ‘strength’. So phonetically it approximates ‘chocolate’ while accidentally reading as ‘cleverly overcome strength’. An unintentional classic.

Example: 我最喜欢吃黑巧克力。Wǒ zuì xǐhuān chī hēi qiǎokèlì. — ‘Dark chocolate is my favourite.’

Sandwich 三明治 sānmíngzhì

三 (sān) means ‘three’, 明 (míng) means ‘bright/clear’, and 治 (zhì) means ‘to govern’. Again, purely phonetic, but ‘three bright governances’ is a memorable nonsense image that helps with recall.

Example: 我想要一个金枪鱼三明治。Wǒ xiǎng yào yīgè jīnqiāngyú sānmíngzhì. — ‘I’d like a tuna sandwich.’

Salad 沙拉 shālā

A clean phonetic loan. 沙 (shā) means ‘sand’ and 拉 (lā) means ‘to pull’, no semantic connection to the dish, which is fine.

Example: 你的沙拉里有什么？Nǐ de shālā lǐ yǒu shénme? — ‘What’s in your salad?’

Sofa 沙发 shāfā

Not a food, but too good to leave out. 沙 (shā) means ‘sand’ and 发 (fā) means ‘to send out’, yet together they perfectly approximate ‘sofa’. One of the most natural-sounding transliterations in Chinese.

Example: 别坐在沙发上吃饭！Bié zuò zài shāfā shàng chīfàn! — ‘Don’t eat on the sofa!’

Curry 咖喱 gālí

Borrowed into Chinese alongside the dish itself, likely via British India trade routes. 咖喱 is phonetic only.

Example: 我喜欢吃日式咖喱。Wǒ xǐhuān chī rìshì gālí. — ‘I love Japanese-style curry.’

Salmon 三文鱼 sānwényú

三文 (sānwén) approximates the Cantonese pronunciation of ‘salmon’, and 鱼 (yú) means ‘fish’, so it’s a semi-phonetic, semi-semantic compound. Common in both Cantonese and Mandarin contexts.

Example: 这家餐厅的三文鱼很新鲜。Zhè jiā cāntīng de sānwényú hěn xīnxiān. — ‘The salmon at this restaurant is very fresh.’

Want to go beyond loanwords and build real Mandarin fluency? LTL runs immersive Chinese programs across Beijing, Shanghai, Chengde, Chengdu, and more, with native-speaker teachers, small groups, and optional homestay. Find your perfect Mandarin program and start speaking Chinese the way it’s actually spoken.

Because the character already has a set meaning (or many), it is possible for the Chinese version to almost be a pun of itself, it both sounds like and conveys the meaning of the original word.

So let’s take a look at some more examples!

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#1 Foreign Loanwords in Chinese – Myth 迷思 mísī

迷 (mí), among other meanings, can mean ‘to confuse’ or ‘to be lost’, and 思 (sī) is ‘thought’, so mísī can be read as ‘confused thought’. A surprisingly fitting definition of a myth.

The ‘th’ sound in English words like ‘myth’ usually becomes an ‘s’ sound in Chinese, as that’s the closest equivalent.

Example: 这只是一个迷思，不是真的。Zhè zhǐshì yīgè mísī, bú shì zhēn de. — ‘This is just a myth, it’s not true.’

#2 Foreign Loanwords in Chinese – Talk Show 脱口秀 tuōkou xiù

The tuōkǒu in tuōkǒu xiù means ‘to blurt out’.

The 秀 xiù is a phonetic translation of the English ‘show’, and is also used as a word on its own.

‘Blurt out show’ is therefore an apt name for a place where celebrity secrets are accidentally spilt.

Example: 我很喜欢看脱口秀。Wǒ hěn xǐhuān kàn tuōkǒu xiù. — ‘I really enjoy watching talk shows.’

#3 Foreign Loanwords in Chinese – Bullying 霸凌 bàlíng

The character 霸 (bà) means ‘tyrant’ or ‘to tyrannize’, and 凌 (líng) means ‘to insult’ or ‘to bully’.

The characters therefore adequately describe the meaning of ‘bullying’ whilst also imitating the sound of English.

Example: 学校应该阻止霸凌行为。Xuéxiào yīnggāi zǔzhǐ bàlíng xíngwéi. — ‘Schools should stop bullying behaviour.’

#4 Foreign Loanwords in Chinese – Hacker 黑客 hēikè

The literal translation of hēikè is ‘black visitor‘ or ‘black guest’.

Nowadays, the colour black in Chinese represents illegality, so it could be translated as ‘illegal guest‘, a fitting term for someone who illegally accesses private information online.

The character 黑 hēi can also be used on its own as a verb, ‘to hack’.

That said, the main usage for the word 黑 hēi is for the colour black.

Example: 他的电脑被黑客入侵了。Tā de diànnǎo bèi hēikè rùqīn le. — ‘His computer was hacked.’

22 Chinese Colors And Meanings | PLUS Free Quiz

Want to learn about Chinese Colors and their meanings? Learn the meanings of the colors, lucky chinese colors and their meanings.

#5 Foreign Loanwords in Chinese – Calories 卡路里 kǎlùlǐ

Everyone can talk about getting fatter (变胖) or about losing weight (减肥) but how many people mention the word “calories” while doing this?

提拉米苏的卡路里太多，可是我好喜欢吃哦！
Tiramisù contains too many calories, but I love it!

如果你想消耗一些卡路里，那就开始跑步吧！
If you want to burn some calories, just start running.

#6 Foreign Loanwords in Chinese – Blog 博客 bókè

When you’re learning Chinese you get used to beating around the bush every time you don’t know the specific word to express what you’re thinking.

When students talk about the internet they usually turn everything into “网站” website, but what if they could learn a super easy (more specific) word?

这个博客很棒！
This blog is amazing! (well it is right!)

这些时尚博客很受欢迎！
These fashion blogs are very popular!

#7 Foreign Loanwords in Chinese – Logic 逻辑 luójí

When you challenge someone’s view, make sure to express yourself at your best: be logical!

为什么你说话总是没有逻辑!? Why is there always a lack of logic in your remarks?!
这句话不合逻辑。This statement is totally illogical.

#8 Foreign Loanwords in Chinese – Clone 克隆 kèlóng

Clonation is obviously not among the top 10 most common conversation topics, but what if Chinese people use the term “Clone” with reference to the process of stealing data by recording card information etc…?

You might need it, right?!

Example: 科学家成功克隆了一只羊。Kēxuéjiā chénggōng kèlóng le yī zhī yáng. — ‘Scientists successfully cloned a sheep.’

#9 Foreign Loanwords in Chinese – Aspirin 阿司匹林 āsīpīlín

Aspirin! Cause sometimes “drink more water” is not enough…

你应该吃一片阿司匹林，然后睡一觉。
Take some aspirin and get some sleep.

感冒发烧,阿司匹林一包!
Got a cold or fever? Take some aspirin!

#10 Foreign Loanwords in Chinese – Karat 克拉 kèlā

Wedding in Chinese culture is a MUST!

So, of course, you will meet a lot of people who are getting married soon.

Wouldn’t it be nice to comment on your friend’s engagement ring with the right words?!

他卖给你3克拉钻戒，你怎么能不愿意嫁他呢？
He got you a 3-carat diamond ring, how can you refuse his proposal?!

#11 Foreign Loanwords in Chinese – Vitamin 维他命 wéitāmìng*

You know Chinese people are obsessed with giving health advice and tips… get your revenge by suggesting that they take more vitamins!

柳橙和桔子有高度的维他命C。
Oranges and tangerines are high in vitamin C

*维生素 (wéishēngsù) is also commonly used.

Sports and Leisure Loanwords in Chinese

Sports and hobbies arrived in China alongside Western culture, and their names came with them.

Golf 高尔夫 gāo’ěrfū

A phonetic transliteration with no semantic meaning, the characters were chosen purely for sound. Golf has grown enormously in popularity in China over the past two decades.

Example: 你会打高尔夫吗？Nǐ huì dǎ gāo’ěrfū ma? — ‘Do you play golf?’

Marathon 马拉松 mǎlāsōng

马 (mǎ) means ‘horse’, 拉 (lā) means ‘to pull’, and 松 (sōng) means ‘pine tree’ or ‘loose’. The characters were chosen for sound only, but together they create an oddly poetic image of a horse loosely galloping through pines. City marathons in Beijing, Shanghai and Taipei now attract hundreds of thousands of runners.

Example: 她在训练跑马拉松。Tā zài xùnliàn pǎo mǎlāsōng. — ‘She’s training to run a marathon.’

Bowling 保龄球 bǎolíngqiú

保龄 is phonetic from ‘bowling’, and 球 (qiú) means ‘ball’, so literally ‘bowling ball’. Chinese often appends 球 to sports involving balls: 足球 (football), 篮球 (basketball), 保龄球 (bowling).

Example: 周末去打保龄球吧！Zhōumò qù dǎ bǎolíngqiú ba! — ‘Let’s go bowling this weekend!’

Ballet 芭蕾 bālěi

One of the more elegant phonetic loans. 芭 (bā) and 蕾 (lěi) are both associated with plants and flowers in other contexts, giving the transliteration an unintentional grace that suits the subject.

Example: 她从五岁就开始学芭蕾。Tā cóng wǔ suì jiù kāishǐ xué bālěi. — ‘She started learning ballet at age five.’

Cartoon 卡通 kǎtōng

A direct phonetic loan from English. 卡通 is used widely in Taiwan and southern China; in mainland Mandarin you’ll also hear 动画 (dònghuà), meaning ‘moving pictures’.

Example: 你喜欢看卡通吗？Nǐ xǐhuān kàn kǎtōng ma? — ‘Do you like watching cartoons?’

Party 派对 pàiduì

派 (pài) and 对 (duì) were chosen for sound. 对 on its own means ‘correct’ or ‘facing’, but here it’s purely phonetic. Younger speakers across Chinese cities use 派对 for social gatherings, especially in contrast to the more formal 聚会 (jùhuì).

Example: 今晚有派对，你来吗？Jīnwǎn yǒu pàiduì, nǐ lái ma? — ‘There’s a party tonight, are you coming?’

Technology and Science Loanwords in Chinese

Beyond digital tech, some of the most interesting loanwords in Chinese come from 20th-century science and warfare.

Radar 雷达 léidá

雷 (léi) means ‘thunder’ and 达 (dá) means ‘to reach’ or ‘to arrive’. So 雷达 translates as ‘thunder that reaches’, a remarkably fitting description of a technology that sends out waves and listens for what comes back. One of the more satisfying coincidences in Chinese transliteration.

Example: 雷达发现了飞机。Léidá fāxiànle fēijī. — ‘The radar detected the aircraft.’

Gene 基因 jīyīn

基 (jī) means ‘base’ or ‘foundation’ and 因 (yīn) means ’cause’ or ‘reason’. So 基因 translates as ‘foundational cause’, which is almost a better definition of a gene than the English word itself. This is semantic translation at its best: the characters were chosen both for sound and for meaning.

Example: 这种病和基因有关。Zhè zhǒng bìng hé jīyīn yǒuguān. — ‘This illness is related to genetics.’

Tank 坦克 tǎnkè

坦 (tǎn) means ‘flat’ or ‘open’ and 克 (kè) means ‘to overcome’. Purely phonetic from the English military vehicle, though ‘openly overcoming’ isn’t a bad description of an armoured vehicle rolling across a battlefield.

Example: 博物馆里有一辆旧坦克。Bówùguǎn lǐ yǒu yī liàng jiù tǎnkè. — ‘There’s an old tank in the museum.’

Chinglish // When English Goes Casual in Chinese

Not all loanwords go through a formal translation process. Some English words have slipped into everyday Chinese speech so naturally that many speakers don’t even think of them as foreign.

This informal layer of borrowing is sometimes called Chinglish, though that term usually refers to awkward English-Chinese mixing. Here we mean something slightly different: English words that Chinese speakers have genuinely adopted into daily conversation.

Bye-bye 拜拜 bàibài

拜拜 is used constantly in casual speech across Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei and beyond, far more naturally than the formal 再见 (zàijiàn). You’ll hear it on every street corner.

Example: 好的，拜拜！Hǎo de, bàibài! — ‘OK, bye!’

Hello 哈喽 hālóu

The formal greeting is 你好 (nǐ hǎo), but 哈喽 has become common in casual digital communication: texts, WeChat messages, online comments.

Example: 哈喽，最近怎么样？Hālóu, zuìjìn zěnmeyàng? — ‘Hey, how have you been?’

Cool 酷 kù

酷 already existed in Chinese meaning ‘cruel’ or ‘extreme’, but it was repurposed phonetically from the English ‘cool’ to mean stylish or impressive. It’s a rare example of a word that was both phonetically and semantically repurposed.

Example: 你的新夹克好酷！Nǐ de xīn jiākè hǎo kù! — ‘Your new jacket is so cool!’

Mommy 妈咪 māmī

A softer, more affectionate alternative to 妈妈 (māma), 妈咪 borrows directly from the English ‘mommy’. It’s common in Hong Kong Cantonese and has spread into Mandarin informal usage.

TIP💡 These informal borrowings are worth knowing because they’ll make you sound far more natural in casual conversation, and they’re much easier to learn than most vocabulary on an HSK list.

OK, time to move on to the practice of foreign companies selecting brand names in Chinese. This is a process that can go either very, very well, or very wrong!

Let’s dive in…

Translation of Foreign Company Names in Chinese // How Brands Get Localised

Brand name translation into Chinese is a serious business, and a fascinating one. Companies have to balance phonetic approximation (sounding like the original name) with semantic meaning (saying something positive in Chinese). Get it wrong and the characters might suggest something unfortunate.

This method of combining meaning with sound is used particularly often in Chinese marketing, especially by foreign companies entering the Chinese market.

These companies often seek a translation of their name that captures the essence of the company whilst not straying too far from the original name.

Google 谷歌 Gǔgē

谷 (gǔ) means ‘valley’ and 歌 (gē) means ‘song’. ‘Valley song’, a pleasant, memorable image. It also sounds close enough to ‘Google’ to be recognisable. One of the more elegant brand transliterations.

McDonald’s 麦当劳 Màidāngláo

麦 (mài) means ‘wheat’, 当 (dāng) means ‘to serve as’, and 劳 (láo) means ‘labour’ or ‘hardworking’. The phonetic approximation works well, and 麦 (wheat) gives a subtle nod to the bread-based menu. The brand is universally recognised across Chinese cities by this name.

Nike 耐克 Nàikè

耐 (nài) means ‘to endure’ and 克 (kè) means ‘to overcome’. ‘Endure and overcome’, as a brand name for a sportswear company, you couldn’t ask for a better semantic accident.

IKEA 宜家 Yíjiā

宜 (yí) means ‘suitable’ or ‘appropriate’ and 家 (jiā) means ‘home’ or ‘family’. ‘Suitable home’ is a near-perfect semantic translation for a furniture brand, and it sounds reasonable in Mandarin too. One of the rare cases where a brand’s Chinese name might actually be better than the original.

TIP💡 When you’re learning Chinese, brand names are a great low-pressure way to practise reading characters. You already know what the word means, you just have to learn the sound.

DID YOU KNOW || One of the most successful and widely recognized foreign brands in China is Coca-Cola, whose Chinese name 可口可乐 kěkǒu kělè means ‘tasty and fun‘, reflecting their ‘Open Happiness‘ marketing campaign.

The diaper brand Pampers led a hugely successful marketing campaign with the Chinese name 帮宝适 bāngbǎoshì.

This literally means ‘help babies be comfortable’, a play on their ‘Golden Sleep’ tagline.

You may think that bāngbǎoshì doesn’t really sound like Pampers, but the similar alliteration in the words ‘pamper’ and ‘bangbao’ is surely not a coincidence.

Other companies have not been as successful with their Chinese branding.

Back in 2017, Airbnb’s new Chinese branding set off a storm of debate online.

The name they chose, 爱彼迎 Àibǐyíng, was meant to elegantly imitate the English name in sound whilst reflecting the company’s home share business.

爱 ài means love and 彼迎 bǐyíng means ‘to welcome one another’, so the phrase is meant to be ‘welcome each other with love‘.

Some people, however, complained that the name sounded awkward in Chinese and wondered whether the meaning is a little too subject to interpretation.

Volkswagen took a slightly different approach and instead considered the design of their logo, taking advantage of the pictographic nature of Chinese characters.

The Chinese for Volkswagen, which in original German means ‘people’s car‘, was translated literally as 大众 dàzhòng, meaning ‘the public‘ or ‘the masses‘.

But the ingenuity lies in the character’s appearance.

Turn the 众 in 大众 upside down and you get a symbol that looks uncannily like the Volkswagen logo.

But what about the influence of Chinese on English?

Chinese Loanwords in English // The Cultural Classics

Chinese has also given English some of its most vivid words, many so well absorbed that most English speakers don’t realise they’re borrowing from Chinese at all.

Ketchup 茄汁

Yes, ketchup is a loanword from Chinese. Specifically, it traces back to the Hokkien word 茄汁 (kê-tsiap), meaning ‘tomato sauce’ or ‘brine of pickled fish’. Traders brought it to Europe in the 17th century, and the word evolved into ‘ketchup’ and ‘catsup’ in English. The tomato came later, the original sauce was fish-based. 🤔

Feng Shui 风水 fēng shuǐ

风 fēng means ‘wind’ and 水 shuǐ means ‘water’. The practice of arranging spaces to harmonise energy flow has gone global, and the Chinese term came with it, untranslatable in its full cultural sense.

Kung Fu 功夫 gōngfu

Originally meaning ‘skill acquired through hard work and time’, 功夫 entered English primarily through martial arts and cinema. It’s now used loosely in English for any Chinese martial art, though native speakers use it far more broadly.

Tai Chi 太极 tàijí

Literally ‘supreme ultimate’, 太极 refers to the philosophical concept underlying the slow-movement practice. You’ll see it in parks across Beijing and Shanghai every morning.

Yin and Yang 阴阳 yīn yáng

阴 (yīn) and 阳 (yáng) describe complementary opposites: dark and light, passive and active. The concept entered English via philosophy and has become part of everyday vocabulary.

Mah-jong 麻将 májiàng

The tile game has been popular in English-speaking countries since the 1920s. 麻将 is thought to derive from a term meaning ‘hemp general’ or to reference sparrows, linguists still debate it.

Qi 气 qì

The concept of life force or energy flow, 气 appears in traditional Chinese medicine, martial arts, and philosophy. English borrowed the word directly because no Western equivalent existed.

Zen 禅 chán

The word ‘Zen’ reached English via Japanese (禅 zen), but the original character 禅 (chán) is Chinese: a school of Buddhism that emphasises meditation over doctrine. It’s one of the most widely used Chinese-origin words in everyday English.

TIP💡 The best way to hear these loanwords used naturally is in real conversation. LTL’s Flexi Classes platform gives you access to live native-speaker teachers 24/7, you can book a class around a specific topic like food vocabulary or tech terms whenever suits you. Find out how it works.

#1 Chinese Loanwords in English – Brainwashing 洗脑 xǐnǎo

The term ‘brainwashing‘ is a direct translation from the Chinese 洗脑 xǐnǎo – xi means to ‘wash’ and nǎo means ‘brain’.

It is believed to have entered the English language during the Korean War in the 1950s when the Chinese communists attempted to indoctrinate foreign POWs.

#2 Chinese Loanwords in English – Paper Tiger 纸老虎 zhǐ lǎohǔ

The term ‘paper tiger’ first appeared in English in the 19th Century but has more famously been used by the Mao regime to criticize their perceived enemies, in particular American imperialists.

The phrase describes something which appears threatening but has no power to intimidate at all.

The English is a direct translation of the Chinese 纸老虎 zhǐ lǎohǔ, possibly because the poor translators who were conveying this concept to Western reporters couldn’t find an adequate term in English.

#3 Chinese Loanwords in English – Guanxi 关系 guānxì

Guānxì, or ‘connections‘, is an important concept to understanding how business operates in China.

Of course, the concept of ‘getting in through the back door’ is not unique to China, but having a healthy network of connections has traditionally been crucial for getting ahead, whether it be in education, business, or politics.

The transliterated word is now used in English language publications, although mainly in the context of China.

#4 Chinese Loanwords in English – Lose Face 丢脸 diūliǎn

The concept of ‘face’ 面子 miànzi, has significant social and cultural implications in China.

It denotes an individual’s social standing and level of influence and respect within the family, among friends, and professional networks.

A loss of face, through a personal failure, embarrassing yourself in public or even being debased or insulted in some way, can cause this social standing to be knocked down a peg.

This phrase seemed to have resonated with the British, who translated it directly from the Chinese, 丢 diū means ‘to lose’ and 脸 liǎn means face, and first used it back in the 19th Century.

DID YOU KNOW || The phrase ‘to save face‘ was invented after the Chinese term entered English and is assumed to be a play on the original phrase. However, there is no equivalent term in Chinese.

#5 Chinese loanwords in English – Add Oil 加油 jiāyóu

One of the more recent additions to English from Chinese, 加油 jiāyóu, literally to ‘add oil’, is used as a word of encouragement, to push someone to keep going and not give up.

DID YOU KNOW || ‘Add oil’ was recently added to the Oxford Dictionary, awarding it an official status as an English phrase.

Although said to originate in Macau and Hong Kong (possibly at the Macau Grand Prix), this phrase is used extensively in mainland China and was even the official cheer of the 2008 Chinese Olympic Team.

The Chinese language has also been influenced by languages other than English.

There are numerous examples of languages such as Sanskrit, Japanese, Arabic and Persian, among others, leaving their mark on Chinese. In the interest of brevity, we decided to focus on English only in this post.

China is becoming an ever more influential global force and at the same time, becoming more and more receptive to outside trends and influences.

It is therefore highly likely that we will see more words enter the English language from Chinese and vice versa, as these two worlds become increasingly intertwined.

BONUS | How about we switch it around and teach you some words used in daily life in English, taken directly from Mandarin.

Check out our guide to some of the most popular English words borrowed from Chinese here.

There’s sure to be some surprises on the list you didn’t expect also!

DOUBLE BONUS || If you love learning loanwords from other languages, why not check out our guide to Konglish and 20+ Russian loanwords too!

Chinese Loanwords || FAQs

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BONUS || Want to study Chinese with us in China? Why not check out our group and individual classes here