Loan words/ near cognates/ transliterations, or whatever

[bob]

Edited: Transliteration, loan word, near cognate… It gets a little complicated. Chinese has borrowed heavily from English and English has borrowed a little from Chinese as well. In the process both languages adapted, mangled, generally had their way with the other. In the end though there should exist somewhere a list of words that sound similar and mean the same thing (or something very similar) in both languages. We could probably debate endlessly how to catagorize the individual words in this list, and that might be an interesting discussion. For now I think it would be useful enough to make a list of “Words that sound pretty much alike in Chinese and English for whatever reason, so’s people can learn 'em easy” - Ironlady.

Maybe add a note about what the individiual syllables mean, Canada it turns out means jia1 (add) na2 (take) da4 (big)… that sort of thing. If people want to contribute anything I’ll do my best to sort through it all, and add it to this post, so we have it as an easy resource. I don’t think there is any harm in listing obvious examples, like kung fu, since there will inevitably be spelling differences, and, of course, tones to add. Also while most of us will be familiar with examples such as this, our English students might not be. Having everything in one list should prove useful for teaching as well as learning.

Thanks.

acrylic - 壓克力 ya1 ke4 li4
AIDS - 愛滋病 ai4 zi1 bing4
Admire - Ai4mu4
ammonia - 阿摩尼亞 a1 mo2 ni2 ya4
Amorous, affectionate, loving - Mo4mo4
Antecedant - An qi er (xian1xing2ci2)
Arrogant - Ao4
Arrogant person - Ao4 man4
Aspirin - A1 si1 pi4 lin2
Attitude - Tai4 du5
Aunt, auntie - A1yi2
Australia - Ao4da4li4ya4

Baby - Bao3 bei4
bacon - 培根 pei2 gen1
ballet - 芭蕾 bā lěi
Bar - ba1
Bandage - Beng1dai4
Beatles – pi2tou2si4
Bikini - Bi3ji1ni3
bingo - 賓果 bīn guǒ
Blog - bu4luo4ge2
(bo2ke2)
bowling - 保齡球 bǎo líng qiú
blues - 勃露斯 bo2 lu4 si1
Brandy - bai2lan2di4jiu3
Bubble gum? - Pao4pao4 tang2
Bumper car - Peng4 peng4 che1
Bungee - Beng4ji2
Burst - Bao4
bus - 巴士 bā shì

caddy - 桿弟 gan3 di4 (club little brother)
call-in - 叩應 kou4 ying1
Calorie - ka3lu4li3
Canada - Jia1na2da4
carat - 克拉 ke4 la1
card - 卡 ka3
cartoon - 卡通 kǎ tōng
Carnation- Kang1nai3xin1
Celsius – she4shi4 de5
champagne - 香檳 xiang1 bin1
cheese - 起士 qǐ shì 起司 qi3 si1
chocolate - 巧克力 qiao3 ke4 li4
Coffee ka1fei1
Coke - kekou3ke3le4
Chow mein - Chao3mian4
Chow (n/v) Chao3
cider - 西打 xi1 da2
cigar - 雪茄 xue3 jia1
cocaine - 古柯鹼 gu3 ke1 jian3
cocoa - 可可 ke3 ke3
Coolie - ku3 li4 (bitter labor)
copy - 拷貝 kao3 bei4
curry - 咖哩 ka1 li3 加哩 jia1 li3

Dalai Lama - da2lai4 la3ma
detente - 低盪 di1 dang4
Derby - de2bi3zhan1
disco - 迪斯科 di2 si1 ke1
Dow Jones Index - dao4 qiong2si1 zhi3su4
Dozen - da2
Drip - di1
Drug - du2

Engine - yin3qing2
Eskimo - ai4si1ji1mo2ren2

Fascist= fa3 xi1 si1
Fengshui - Feng1shui3
flannel - 法蘭絨 fa3 lan2 rong2

gallon - 加侖 jia1 lun2
Genes - ji1yin1 (fundamental cause)
Golf - gao1’er3fu1
gondola - 岡渡拉 gang1 du4 la1
Gung Ho - gong1 he2 (工合)
Guanxi - Guan1xi1
guitar - 吉他 ji2 ta1
gypsy - 吉普賽 ji2 pu3 sai4

hacker - 駭客 hài kè (frightful visitor)
heroin - hai3luo4yin1
hertz - 赫茲 he4 zi1
hippie - 嬉皮 xi1 pi2
hormone - 荷爾蒙 he2 er3 meng2
hysteria - 歇斯底里 xie1 si1 di3 li3

India - yin4du4
iphone - ai4feng1 (love crazy)

jacket - 夾克 jiá kè
jazz - 爵士 jué shì
jeep - 吉普 ji2 pu3

Karaoke - 卡拉 OK - Kǎ lā OK - the oke portion contraction of orchastra
karting(go kart) - 卡丁 ka3 ding1
Ketchup - Koe - Chiap (Hokkien)
khaki - 卡其布 ka3 qi2 bu4
Koran - tai4ji2quan2
Kowtow - Kou4tou2
Kuomintang - Guo2min2dang3
Kung fu - Gong1fu1

lime - 萊姆 lai2 mu3
logic - 邏輯 luo2 ji2
lotto - 樂透 le4 tou4

Malaysia Ma3lai2xi1ya8
mambo - 曼波 man2 bo1
mandala - 曼荼羅 man4 tu2 luo2
mandolin - 曼陀林琴 man4 tuo2 lin2 qin2
marathon - 馬拉松 mǎ lā sōng
Marijuana - (da4) ma2
massage - 馬殺雞 ma3 sha1 ji1 (horse kills chicken)
Mcdonalds - Mai4dang1lao2
media(news etc) - 媒體 mei2 ti3
meter - 米達 mǐ dá
Microphone - Mai4ke4feng1
Mini - Mi2ni3
Model - Mo2te4er3
Mojo - a good luck charm; a mystical personal quality that attracts success, good luck, spunk, etc.
But…
Chinese: 魔咒 mo2zhou4 - a curse, a streak of bad luck
modern 摩登 mo2 deng1
montage - 蒙太奇 meng2 tai4 qi2
morphine - 嗎啡 ma3 fei1
motorcycle - 摩托車 mo2 tuo1 che1
mummy - 木乃伊 mu4 nai3 yi1
myth - 迷思 mi2 si1

neon - 霓虹燈 ni2 hong2 deng1
nicotine - 尼古丁 ni2 gu3 ding1
nylon - 尼龍 ni2 long2

Olympic - 奧林匹克 ào lín pǐ kè

Party - 派對 pai4 dui4
penicillin - 盤尼西林 pan2 ni2 xi1 lin1
Pepsi cola - 百事可樂 bǎi shì kě lè
pharaoh - 法老 fǎ lǎo
Ping pong - Ping1 pang1
pie - 派 pai4
pizza - 披薩 pi1 sa4
poker - 撲克 pu1 ke1
pound(lb) - 磅 bàng
pudding 布丁 bu4 ding1
puff(pastry) - 泡芙 pao4 fu2 as in pastry
pump - 幫浦 bang1 pu3

Quick - Kuai4
quinine - 奎寧 kui2 ning2

rifle - 來復槍 lai2 fu4 qiang1
Romance - luo2man4
Romantic - Lang4man4

salami - 薩拉米 sà lā mǐ
salon - 沙龍 sha1 long2
sashimi - 撒西米 sa1 si1 mi3
sauna - 三溫暖 san1 wen1 nuan3
saxophone - 薩克斯風 sa4 ke4 si1 feng1
sayonara - 莎喲娜拉 sha1 yao1 na4 la1
scooter - 速克達 su4 ke4 da2
shock - 休克 xiu1 ke4
short - 秀逗 xiu4 dou1 (from Japanglish for short circuit - insane)
show (program) - 秀 xiu4
smart (smartly dressed) - 時髦 shi3 mao2
So - suo3yi3
sofa - 沙發 shā fā
spanner - 士巴拿 shi4 ba1 na2
sundae - 聖代 sheng4 dai4
sushi - 壽司 shou4 si1

taffy - 太妃糖 tài fēi táng
Taichi/qi - tai4ji2quan2
tango - 探戈 tan2 ge1
tatami - 榻榻米 tà tà mǐ
taxi - 的士 dì shì
Tempura - 天婦羅 Tiān fù luó (japanese kind)
or
tempura- 甜不辣 Tián bù là (taiwanese kind)
Title - tai2tou2
TOEFL - 托福 tuō fú
ton - 噸 dūn
Toufu - Dou4fu3
Typhoon - Tai2feng1

udon - 烏龍麵 wū lóng miàn
UFO - 幽浮 you1 fu2

Whiskey - wei1shi4ji4
Wikipedia - Wei2ji1bai3ke1. (Ren2ren2 ke3 bian1ji2 de5 bai3ke1quan2shu1 - person person can edit (modification particle) encyclopedia.)
Wok - wok
wonton 雲吞 yún tūn

yankee - 洋基 yang2 ji1

[Chris]

People’s names will be a long, long list.
Country names aren’t necessarily from English.

A transliteration of “cognac” would be “ganyi jiu”; “bailandi jiu” is a transliteration of “brandy”.

maikefeng: microphone
tusi: toast (actually, the Chinese word refers to sliced bread)

[Big_Fluffy_Matthew]

Are these transliterations or sinisisations ? They don’t sound much like the original.

[bob]

@Chris

People’s names will be a long, long list.
Country names aren’t necessarily from English.

A transliteration of “cognac” would be “ganyi jiu”; “bailandi jiu” is a transliteration of “brandy”.

maikefeng: microphone
tusi: toast (actually, the Chinese work refers to sliced bread)

Thanks. I thought there was something “off” about faguo…

The country/ person name thing would get tedious too I agree.

“Mai4ke4feng1” is a winner definitely. I’ll add that immediately.

A transliteration thread is a pretty common sense idea for a thread I think. I’m suprised there isn’t one here already.

Hope we can get in the habit of including tones.

Thanks.

[bob]

@Big_Fluffy_Matthew

Are these transliterations or sinisisations ? They don’t sound much like the original.

Dunno. What is a sinisisation?

[Big_Fluffy_Matthew]

@bob

@Big_Fluffy_Matthew

Are these transliterations or sinisisations ? They don’t sound much like the original.

Dunno. What is a sinisisation?

A word that is changed into Chinese as it is moved over. The equivalent into English is anglicisation. For example the capital of Russia transliterated is “Moskva”, but anglicised is “Moskow”. Napoli becomes Naples etc…
Chinese words can be transliterated into English exactly with pinyin. But I argue that the opposite is rarely possible without changing. You can only convert it into words that already exist in Chinese. Why is Canada spelt with a ‘J’ and not a ‘K’ ?

You could call some of your examples “load words”, they are borrowed from another language. But names aren’t proper words.

[ironlady]

For the “Canada” question, the answer is complex historical phonetic reasons (no kidding).

Maybe it would be clearer if you said you are trying to compile a list of cognates or near-cognates between Chinese and English? I’d be interested in having as long as list as possible of these as well. (Not names, so much, though…)

[Dragonbones]

@Big_Fluffy_Matthew

Why is Canada spelt with a ‘J’ and not a ‘K’ ?

Because ‘K’ (potassium) is
鉀
jia3?

[ironlady]

During the Tang dynasty, they used to roll “Ks”, not “Js”, you know…

[Chris]

@Big_Fluffy_Matthew

Why is Canada spelt with a ‘J’ and not a ‘K’ ?

It’s still pronounced with a K in Cantonese and Taiwanese, both of which dialects preserve older sounds than Mandarin does.

[bob]

@Big_Fluffy_Matthew

@bob

@Big_Fluffy_Matthew

Are these transliterations or sinisisations ? They don’t sound much like the original.

Dunno. What is a sinisisation?

A word that is changed into Chinese as it is moved over. The equivalent into English is anglicisation. For example the capital of Russia transliterated is “Moskva”, but anglicised is “Moskow”. Napoli becomes Naples etc…
Chinese words can be transliterated into English exactly with Pinyin. But I argue that the opposite is rarely possible without changing. You can only convert it into words that already exist in Chinese. Why is Canada spelt with a ‘J’ and not a ‘K’ ?

You could call some of your examples “load words”, they are borrowed from another language. But names aren’t proper words.

Er…

Transliterate - Represent (a word etc.) in the closest corresponding letters of a different script. (Oxford)

I see what you mean now. Thanks.

Ironlady: Should I really change the name to “near cognates”? Isn’t cognate used more to describe words of common origin? Spanish or Italian words both coming from Latin sort of thing? The Ox says 2) (of a word) having the same linguistic family or derivation. English and Chinese certainly couldn’t be considered part of the same family, but I suppose if something in Chinese comes from English and the English came from French then ultimately both the English and the Chinese come from the same place, French.

Sinisisation is probabaly better though yes?

Any guess at a translation of sinisisation or cognate?

Yin1yi4 is the translation I got for transliteration but that was from the same place that gave me the above examples of transliteration so…

Resident expert calls my list yin1yi4 but didn’t know transliteration, so maybe they are yin1yi4 but yin1yi4 doesn’t mean transliteration.

Sorry about this guys. I think you agree I’m on to something here but just don’t know quite what yet.

[bob]

@Big_Fluffy_Matthew

You could call some of your examples “load words”, they are borrowed from another language. But names aren’t proper words.

You mean “loan words” right. Also, how come names ain’t proper words?

Maybe we can call this list “loan words”…

[Dragonbones]

@Big_Fluffy_Matthew

Why is Canada spelt with a ‘J’ and not a ‘K’ ?

Because ‘K’ (potassium) is
鉀
jia3?

[ironlady]

Okay, how’s about this:

“Words that sound pretty much alike in Chinese and English for whatever reason, so’s people can learn 'em easy.”

[Chris]

Chinese and English are completely unrelated languages, so there can be no true cognates (i.e. words stemming from the same roots in common parent languages).

There are, however, words in Chinese that are borrowed from languages like Sanskrit, in in such a case we can find English-Sanskrit cognates in Chinese:

南無 and “name”
達摩 and “firm”
佛陀 and “bode”

[bob]

@Big_Fluffy_Matthew

Chinese words can be transliterated into English exactly with Pinyin.

Knee how?

[bob]

@ironlady

Okay, how’s about this:

“Words that sound pretty much alike in Chinese and English for whatever reason, so’s people can learn 'em easy.”

I like it but don’t think it will fit.

[bob]

@Chris

Chinese and English are completely unrelated languages, so there can be no true cognates (i.e. words stemming from the same roots in common parent languages).

There are, however, words in Chinese that are borrowed from languages like Sanskrit, in in such a case we can find English-Sanskrit cognates in Chinese:

南無 and “name”
達摩 and “firm”
佛陀 and “bode”

Resident expert gives nan2wu2, da2mou2 and fou2tou2 as the meanings for the characters above. The first is south buddha, the others just buddha. I am truly confused now.

If there are English-Chinese cognates coming from Sanskrit or any other language (Hindi probably?) it would be a nice feather in the cap, parlour trick, tools of the trade, esoteric bit of knowledge to pack in the bag etc…

Thanks.

[sjcma]

@bob

@Chris

Chinese and English are completely unrelated languages, so there can be no true cognates (i.e. words stemming from the same roots in common parent languages).

There are, however, words in Chinese that are borrowed from languages like Sanskrit, in in such a case we can find English-Sanskrit cognates in Chinese:

南無 and “name”
達摩 and “firm”
佛陀 and “bode”

Resident expert gives nan2wu2, da2mou2 and fou2tou2 as the meanings for the characters above. The first is south buddha, the others just buddha. I am truly confused now.

Those are pronounced nan2wu2, da2mo2, and fo2tuo2 respectively.

[Dragonbones]

@bob

@Big_Fluffy_Matthew

You could call some of your examples “load words”, they are borrowed from another language. But names aren’t proper words.

You mean “loan words” right.

He has a bad cold.