Loanwords
Do you know how to say “ping-pong” in Chinese? What about “tank”? Or “jacket”?
They are pronounced: pīng pāng, tǎn kè, jiá kè respectively.
If you notice, the Chinese pronunciations are very similar to the English forms. According to Wikipedia, a loanword is a word adopted from one language and used in another language with little or no translation. Borrowing words from other languages is very common. I dare say that you might not know these so-called English words were borrowed:
From German: lager, kindergarten (literally “children’s garden”)
From Italian: prima donna, soprano
From Japanese: sushi, tsunami
From Latin: alter ego
From Hindi: bungalow, guru
Think you can spot a loanword from a mile apart? Take this quiz and challenge yourself.
(Too lazy for the quiz but want the answers? It’s ok, I understand, click here)
There are several loanwords in the Chinese language. And this, I feel, is good news for us kan tang folks. If we already know the English word and its pronunciation, it’s easier to guess the Chinese pronunciation. The converse works too. If we know the pinyin, we can then approximate the meaning and English pronunciation. Of course, this is not a 100% foolproof method. And the ultimate learning objective remains the ability to read, interpret and translate words. However, being aware of loanwords does help to simplify the learning curve and appreciate the similarities across languages. Here are 20 common words, organised into usage categories, which have been borrowed into the Chinese language. I take no credit for the compilation as the words can easily be researched online. For example, Wikipedia has a good reference list.
1. Everyday life
1 most commonly cited example of loanwords is the word sofa. In Chinese, it is pronounced
沙发 shā fā. See the similarities there with the English syllables? Just a side note: apparently,
沙发, in internet lingo or slang, refers to the first comment or response to an online post. The origin is not entirely clear but one version explains this as "occupying the most comfy seat in a place".
2. Food
As a category, food is easily understood and relatable. Sushi is already mentioned earlier in the intro paragraph. And there's also wasabi, ramen and teriyaki, all adopted from Japanese into the English language. For Chinese food-related loanwords, there are no lack of examples. Coffee 咖啡, pudding 布丁, hamburger 汉堡包 and pizza 披萨 are some of the commonly used ones. Note: pizza 披萨 may also be 比萨 (bǐ sà) in other materials. It itself is adopted from Italian into the English language in the 1930s.
3. Sports & the arts
Entertainment is another aspect where 2 or more cultures can come into contact, allowing for words to be borrowed. Hence we see words like golf 高尔夫 (note the similarities with the English syllables) or guitar 吉他. Yoga, from Sanskrit yoga-s, is also included but the Chinese pronunciation deviates slightly from the English version.
4. Science
Here, the words get more and more technical (same goes for the next category on IT).
Vitamin 维他命 is an interesting example. 维 = maintain or preserve, and 他命 = his life. So besides keeping the sound of the word, the Chinese form also retains the essence of the meaning.
5. IT & computing
Other websites may refer to hackers as 黑客 hēi kè but I prefer to go with 骇客 hài kè (root word 骇 = terrify or scare or shock). Avatar is another loanword originating from Sanskrit (the word avatāra, which refers to the human incarnation of God on earth).
Can you think of any other common loanwords? Post them in the comments section to share with everyone.