| Due to historical ties between the West and southern China established through trade and colonisation, most Chinese words in English come from Cantonese or Hokkien. Probably the most famous of Chinese loanwords in English is ketchup, which is said to come for the Cantonese 茄汁 ke zap meaning ‘tomato juice’. However, over the past four decades since China started opening up and exporting goods and culture to the outside world, a growing number of Mandarin words have reached the tongues of English speakers. So, let’s look at some of the more recent uses of Mandarin words in English.  Brainwashing 洗脑 xǐnǎo The term ‘brainwashing’ is a direct translation from the Chinese 洗脑 xǐnǎo – xǐ means to ‘wash’ and nǎo means ‘brain’. It is believed to have entered the English language during the Korean War in the 1950s, when the Chinese communists attempted to indoctrinate foreign POWs. Paper tiger 纸老虎 zhǐ lǎohǔ The term ‘paper tiger’ first appeared in English in the 19th Century but has more famously been used by the Mao regime to criticize their perceived enemies, in particular American imperialists. The phrase describes something which appears threatening but has no power to intimidate at all. The English is a direct translation of the Chinese 纸老虎 zhǐ lǎohǔ, possibly because the poor translators who were conveying this concept to Western reporters couldn’t find an adequate term in English. Guanxi 关系 guānxì Guānxì, or ‘connections’, is an important concept to understanding how business operates in China. Of course, the concept of ‘getting in through the back door’ is not unique to China, but having a healthy network of connections has traditionally been crucial for getting ahead, whether it be in education, business, or politics. The transliterated word is now used in English language publications, although mainly in the context of China. Lose face 丢脸 diūliǎn The concept of ‘face’ 面子 miànzi, has significant social and cultural implications in China. It denotes an individual’s social standing and level of influence and respect within the family, among friends, and professional networks. A loss of face, through a personal failure, embarrassing yourself in public or even being debased or insulted in some way, can cause this social standing to be knocked down a peg. This phrase seemed to have resonated with the British, who translated it directly from the Chinese, ‘丢 diū means ‘to lose’ and 脸 liǎn means face – and first used it back in the 19th Century. The phrase ‘to save face’ was invented after the Chinese term entered English and is assumed to be a play on the original phrase. However, there is no equivalent term in Chinese. Add oil 加油 jiāyóu One of the more recent additions to English from Chinese, 加油 jiāyóu, literally to ‘add oil’, is used as a word of encouragement, to push someone to keep going and not give up. ‘Add oil’ was recently added to the Oxford Dictionary, awarding it an official status as an English phrase. |
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