The Development of Loanwords in Chinese
Throughout the development of the Chinese language, words have been adopted and adapted from various foreign languages. These are known as ‘Loanwords’, which take the form of either direct phonetic translation or meaning translation, of names of people, things and places. Though many of these are easily recognisable some of them will perhaps surprise you.
Everyday Words
Blog 博客【博客】bókè
Logic 逻辑【邏輯】luójí
Geek 极客【極客】jí kè
Cool 酷【酷】 kù
Sofa 沙发【沙發】shāfā
Card 卡片【卡片】kǎpiàn
Calorie 卡路里【卡路里】kǎlùlǐ
Nobel Prize 诺贝尔奖 【諾貝爾獎】 nuò bèi’ěr jiǎng
The Guinness Book of Records 吉尼斯纪录 【吉尼斯紀錄】jí nísī jìlù
Vitamin 维他命【維他命】wéitāmìng
Model 模特【模特】mótè
Food and Drink
Chocolate 巧克力【巧克力】qiǎokèlì
Hot Dog 热狗【熱狗】règǒu
Hamburger 汉堡【漢堡】hànbǎo
Pizza 披萨【披薩】pīsà
Toast 吐司【吐司】tǔ sī
Coffee 咖啡【咖啡】kāfēi
Cola 可乐【可樂】kělè
Cherry 车厘子 【車厘子】chē lí zi
Lemon 柠檬【檸檬】níngméng
Mango 芒果【芒果】mángguǒ
Famous Names
Marx 马克思【馬克思】mǎkèsī
Disney 迪斯尼【迪斯尼】dísīní
Taylor Swift 泰勒·斯威夫特 【泰勒·斯威夫特 】tàilēi·sī wēifū tè
Donald Trump 唐纳德·特朗普【唐納德·特朗普】 tángnàdé·tè lǎng pǔ
Maslow 马斯洛【馬斯洛】 mǎ sī luò
Johnny Depp 约翰尼·德普【約翰尼·德普】yuēhàn ní·dé pǔ
Brad Pitt 布拉德·皮特【布拉德·皮特】bù lā dé·pítè
David Beckham大卫·贝克汉姆【大衛·貝克漢姆】 dà wèi·bèikè hàn mǔ
Bill Gates 比尔·盖茨【比爾·蓋茨】bǐ’ěr·gài cí
Usain Bolt 尤塞恩·博尔特【尤塞恩·博爾特】yóu sāi ēn·bó ěr tè
Brands
Macdonalds麦丹劳【麥丹勞】mài dān láo
Google 谷歌【谷歌】gǔgē
Nike 耐克【耐克】nàikè
Adidas 阿迪达斯【阿迪達斯】ādídásī
Starbucks 星巴克【星巴克】xīngbākè
Samsung 三星电子【三星電子】sānxīng diànzǐ
Prada 普拉达 【普拉達】pǔlādá
Michael Kors 迈克高仕【邁克高仕】màikè gāo shì
Ralph Lauren 拉夫·劳伦【拉夫·勞倫】lāfū·láo lún
Domino’s Pizza 达美乐比萨【達美樂比薩】dáměiyuè bǐsà
Places
London伦敦【倫敦】lúndūn
New Zealand新西兰【新西蘭】xīnxīlán
Malaysia马来西亚【馬來西亞】mǎláixīyà
Scotland苏格兰【蘇格蘭】sūgélán
Leeds 利兹【利茲】lìzī
Ireland 爱尔兰【愛爾蘭】Ài’ěrlán
Malawi 马拉维【馬拉維】mǎ lā wéi
Brazil 巴西【巴西】bāxī
Bolivia 玻利维亚【玻利維亞】Bōlìwéiyǎ
Canada 加拿大【加拿大】jiānádà
