Lastly, let’s have a look at a few other English words that are borrowed from Chinese starting with two which are literal translations. Brainwash Now this one may surprise you! Did you know that the term brainwash actually comes from Chinese? It is a literal translation of the Mandarin for brainwash 洗脑 xǐnǎo which was first used by the People’s Volunteer Army during the Korean War. This psychological concept first came into the mainstream English language after the Korean War where it was used to describe the attitudes of POWs returning. Paper Tiger This is an ancient phrase that was brought into the mainstream English language by Mao Zedong to describe his political enemies. Paper tiger is another literal translation of the Chinese 纸老虎 zhǐlǎohǔ. It describes someone or something that appears to be powerful or threatening but then actually isn’t. Typhoon Surprised? Another word that you might not realise has its origins in Chinese, typhoon comes from the Mandarin 台风 táifēng. Originally in Chinese this word simply meant “typhoon wind” with 台 tái being the simplified character of 颱 tái which means typhoon. Coolie A coolie is a term for a labourer typically of South Asian of East Asian descent which was first used by European traders in the 16th century. Some claim that this word has its origins in Hindi, however others believe that it comes from the Mandarin 苦力 kǔlì. This literally means “bitter strength” but has the meaning of “hard labour”. |
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