Words and phrases that originated in China but have been officially accepted into standard English.
Not all Chinese-English is accidental. These are the words, phrases, and philosophies that traveled from China to the world — and stayed.
📚 Found 65 entries in this collection.
榴莲 (liú lián) — 'durian' (phonetic loan); 榴梿 in Singapore/Malaysia
Means: King of fruits (Southeast Asian title)
红毛丹 (hóng máo dān) — 'red hairy egg' (Chinese descriptive name)
Means: Hairy lychee (informal)
丝绸之路 (sī chóu zhī lù) — 'silk road'
Means: The trade routes connecting East Asia to the Mediterranean
满大人 (mǎn dà ren) — 'Manchu great person' / 官话 (guān huà) — 'officials' speech'
Means: Standard Chinese / Putonghua / Officials' speech
同志 (tóng zhì) — 'same will / shared purpose'
Means: Comrade (political) / LGBTQ community member (reclaimed usage)
师傅 (sī fu) — Mandarin; 師父 (si1 fu6) — Cantonese
Means: Master / Mentor / Teacher (in martial arts, craftsmanship, or culinary arts)
内卷 (nèi juǎn) — originally an anthropological term redefined by Chinese internet culture
Means: Rat race / Hyper-competition / Zero-sum grind
点心 (diǎn xīn) — Cantonese: dim2 sam2
Means: Chinese brunch / Small shared dishes / Bite-sized delicacies
龙 (lóng)
Means: Chinese dragon (a benevolent, auspicious creature distinct from the Western dragon)
像水一样 (xiàng shuǐ yí yàng) — 出自李小龙对道家哲学的诠释
Means: Adapt and flow / Be formless and adaptable