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