It is only within the last few years where English words have cropped up in Chinese social media, where they are predominantly used as puns and slang<\/a><\/span>. In general though you would be hard pushed to open a newspaper and see an English word or name. Using transliteration preserves the origins of the Chinese language.<\/p>\n The idea of taking a foreign word or concept and using it in the Chinese language is called \u5916\u6765\u8bcd<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(w\u00e0i\u00a0l\u00e1i\u00a0c\u00ed). There are several different ways that \u5916\u6765\u8bcd\u00a0(w\u00e0i\u00a0l\u00e1i\u00a0c\u00ed)\u00a0can be assimilated into the Chinese language, most often by transliteration \u97f3\u8bd1<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(y\u012bn\u00a0y\u00ec)\u00a0and translation based on the appearance or function of the object.<\/p>\n Transliteration is mostly used for brands, names, or nouns that if described using Chinese words would be too long. Let\u2019s take 2 of my favourite things as an example, coffee and cakes <3<\/p>\n Coffee types such as latte and mocha, do not have Chinese words and so transliteration is used to give them an equivalent Chinese name, often called a \u2018loan\u2019 word. Latte becomes \u62ff\u94c1<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(n\u00e1\u00a0ti\u011b) and mocha is \u6469\u5361<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(m\u00f3\u00a0k\u01ce). Unless you are are aware that these words exist it is impossible to know, unlike many other Chinese words, what it actually is. \u00a0The characters \u62ff<\/a><\/span>\u00a0and \u94c1<\/a><\/span>\u00a0have no connection to coffee, but if literally translated would produce \u2018to hold iron\u2019. Similarly, \u6469\u5361 (m\u00f3\u00a0k\u01ce) would result in \u2018rub card\u2019 or something equally bizarre. Of course, context is often key with transliteration words, which is why in a non-coffee shop environment, you might clarify your meaning by adding the word for coffee \u2018\u5496\u5561<\/a><\/span>\u2019 (k\u0101\u00a0f\u0113i).<\/p>\n Note: If you\u2019re not sure what this menu says, you can try out our OCR tool for free by downloading the Written Chinese Dictionary app and tapping the \u2018SCAN\u2019 button in the menu. Hold your cameras phone up to the menu, and it will automatically translate the characters for you!<\/p>\n Cakes types also have a similar system. I remember the first time I heard someone say tiramisu in Chinese \u2018\u63d0\u62c9\u7c73\u82cf<\/a><\/span>\u2019 (t\u00ed l\u0101 m\u01d0 s\u016b) and thinking \u2018is this for real?\u2019. It\u2019s brilliant. Macaron, the french meringue is also part of this transliteration fun, and becomes \u9a6c\u5361\u9f99<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(m\u01ce\u00a0k\u01ce\u00a0l\u00f3ng), or the \u2018horse-stopping-the-dragon\u2019.<\/p>\n The only way to make new word in Chinese, unless you\u2019re Jacky \u2018Duang\u2019 Chan, is by combining two existing characters or morphemes. With the invention of the aeroplane, came \u98de\u673a<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(f\u0113i\u00a0j\u012b)\u00a0\u2018flying machine\u2019 and telephone became \u7535\u8bdd (di\u00e0n\u00a0hu\u00e0)\u00a0\u2019electrical speech\u2019. Since neither aeroplanes or telephones existed when the Chinese language began, these new words are created based on their function or description. During the twentieth century, many new inventions that arrived in China, came first from Japan.<\/p>\n Some words are translated using transliteration, whilst also cleverly basing the translation on the object. For example,<\/p>\n \u7ef4\u4ed6\u547d<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(w\u00e9i\u00a0t\u0101\u00a0m\u00ecng)\u00a0vitamin<\/p>\n \u7ef4 (w\u00e9i) to preserve<\/p>\n \u4ed6 (t\u0101) his<\/p>\n \u547d (m\u00ecng) life<\/p>\n \u9177<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(k\u00f9) cool (strong)<\/p>\n \u9ed1\u5ba2<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(h\u0113i\u00a0k\u00e8) hacker<\/p>\n \u9ed1 (h\u0113i) black\/shady\/secret<\/p>\n \u5ba2 (k\u00e8) visitor<\/p>\n \u8e66\u6781<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(b\u00e8ng\u00a0j\u00ed) bungee jumping<\/p>\n \u8e66 (b\u00e8ng) to jump<\/p>\n \u6781 (\u00a0j\u00ed) extremely<\/p>\n \u956d\u5c04<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(l\u00e9i\u00a0sh\u00e8) laser<\/p>\n \u956d (l\u00e9i)<\/p>\n \u5c04\u00a0(sh\u00e8)<\/p>\n Some of my favourite words in Chinese are the ones that have been directly translated from their western counterpart. For example, words such as hot dog \u70ed\u72d7<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(r\u00e8\u00a0g\u01d2u)\u00a0and second hand \u4e8c\u624b<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(\u00e8r\u00a0sh\u01d2u) (this one is more like \u20182-hand\u2019, but you get my drift\u2026) do not use transliteration, but directly translate the English.<\/p>\n Objects, brands and even names are \u2018transliterated\u2019 into their Chinese equivalent. Transliteration is the conversion of an English (or other language) word or name into Chinese characters that have a similar sound and also with a positive meaning.<\/p>\n For example, the biologist Charles Darwin would become \u8fbe\u5c14\u6587<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(d\u00e1 \u011br w\u00e9n).<\/p>\n Since a single character is similar to a syllable, in its sound, it\u2019s often quite easy to translate an English or other foreign name\u00a0into Chinese.<\/p>\n Sometimes, actors who have become famous in one role take on a Chinese nickname. For example, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman known for playing Sherlock Holmes and Watson respectively, are lovingly known as \u5377\u798f<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(ju\u01cen f\u00fa)\u00a0\u2018Curly Fu\u2019 and \u2018Peanut\u2019<\/a><\/span>\u00a0by their Chinese fans. \u2018Fu\u2019 comes from the first character of Holmes in Chinese \u2018\u798f\u5c14\u6469\u65af<\/a><\/span>\u2019 (f\u00fa \u011br m\u00f3 s\u012b) combined with his trademark curly hair. The name, \u2018Peanut\u2019, comes from the Chinese translation of Watson \u2018\u534e\u751f<\/a><\/span>\u2019 (hu\u00e1 sh\u0113ng), which sound a lot like the Chinese word for peanut, \u2018\u82b1\u751f<\/a><\/span>\u2018 (hu\u0101\u00a0sh\u0113ng).<\/p>\n Characters such as the one found in the Chinese for Holmes, \u798f (f\u00fa), \u5c14 (\u011br)\u00a0and \u65af\u00a0(s\u012b) are often found in the transliteration of names. Although the character \u798f (f\u00fa)\u00a0means \u2018lucky\u2019 in Chinese, it is no longer considered a character refined enough to be used in a real Chinese name, but can be used in transliteration.<\/p>\n We also use transliteration for names created by our Chinese name generator<\/a><\/span>.\u00a0You can try it now for free!<\/p>\n Of course, one of the things you have to be careful of is the meaning. Unlike syllables, each Chinese character has a distinct meaning that some companies have used to their advantage when translating from English to Chinese.<\/p>\n For example, \u53ef\u53e3\u53ef\u4e50<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(k\u011b\u00a0k\u01d2u\u00a0k\u011b\u00a0l\u00e8) not only sounds like Coca Cola, but cleverly states \u2018\u2019drink and you\u2019ll be happy\u201d.<\/p>\n Many other companies have also used the Chinese radicals to sell their products. For example,<\/p>\n Maybelline, the American cosmetics brands translates to \u7f8e\u5b9d\u83b2<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(m\u011bi b\u01ceo li\u00e1n) meaning \u2018beautiful, jewelled lotus\u2019.<\/p>\n You can read more about the translation of Western brands here<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n Movie names are not usually translated using transliteration, although actors names often are. If there are a group of movies that follow the same theme or production company, like Disney Pixar, they may all include the same characters. With many pixar movies, the characters \u603b\u52a8\u5458<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(z\u01d2ng\u00a0d\u00f2ng yu\u00e1n), meaning \u2018general mobilization\u2019 are included in the titles of Finding Nemo \u6d77\u5e95\u603b\u52a8\u5458<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(h\u01cei\u00a0d\u01d0 z\u01d2ng\u00a0d\u00f2ng yu\u00e1n), Toy Story \u00a0\u73a9\u5177\u603b\u52a8\u5458<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(w\u00e1n\u00a0j\u00f9 z\u01d2ng\u00a0d\u00f2ng yu\u00e1n)\u00a0and Cars<\/span>\u00a0\u8d5b\u8f66\u603b\u52a8\u5458<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(s\u00e0i\u00a0ch\u0113 z\u01d2ng\u00a0d\u00f2ng yu\u00e1n).<\/p>\n Other movies are translated based on the movie genre and content and not on their English or western title. For example, Ratatouille, is a movie about a rat who becomes a chef, so the Chinese title becomes \u6599\u7406\u9f20\u738b<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(li\u00e0o\u00a0l\u01d0 sh\u01d4 w\u00e1ng)\u00a0\u2018Mouse King of Cooking\u2019 instead of using transliteration to translate the French dish, ratatouille.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re interested in learning some more interesting and amusing movie translations into Chinese, you may be interested in our Movie Translation List<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n The Chinese language has influenced many other Asian languages in both spoken and written Chinese. Japanese includes many Chinese characters with added squiggly bits, called Kanji. Chinese can also be found in Korean and Vietnamese. Since I have already mentioned the way that English has been annexed into the Chinese language, it is also extremely interesting to know how Chinese has influenced English words. Many of these words seem to have come from the Minnan dialect, spoken in areas such as Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia. Two such words are ketchup and tea, that were brought to the English language through trading between China and Dutch traders. The word \u2018tea\u2019, came from the Minnan word \u2018te\u2019.<\/p>\n Another word that may have come from the results of China-western trading, was \u2018typhoon\u2019 or \u53f0\u98ce \u2018tai feng\u2019 in Cantonese. However, as this article demonstrates<\/a><\/span>, there are many other possible sources of this translation. There are many other words that the English language has \u2018borrowed\u2019 from Chinese, such as Kung Fu \u529f\u592b<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(gung fu)\u00a0and lychee \u8354\u679d \u00a0from Cantonese and Feng Shui \u98ce\u6c34<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(f\u0113ng\u00a0shu\u01d0)\u00a0and Tai Chi \u592a\u6781<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(t\u00e0i\u00a0j\u00ed)\u00a0from Mandarin.<\/p>\n For me, one of the more interesting phrases to have influenced English, is the Chengyu, \u597d\u4e45\u4e0d\u89c1<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(h\u01ceo\u00a0ji\u01d4\u00a0bu ji\u00e0n)\u00a0translated almost exactly into \u2018long time, no see\u2019. I recently discovered that Chinese people have assumed\u00a0that this phrase is \u2018Chinglish\u2019 and not actually used in the English language.<\/p>\n If you have any comments about the Chinese language and translations, please leave your thoughts below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writtenchinese.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/ad1a92a3-384b-4fa0-8469-fa0e127d8c2f_U20Can20U20Up20-20Chinese20Slang.jpg?resize=250%2C250&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n\u5916\u6765\u8bcd\u00a0(w\u00e0i l\u00e1i c\u00ed)\u00a0Foreign \u2018loan\u2019 Words<\/h2>\n
Transliteration<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writtenchinese.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Chinese-Coffee-Shop-Menu-\u5496\u5561\u6469\u5361\uff0c-\u62ff\u94c1.jpg?resize=726%2C966&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nTranslation based on the Object<\/h2>\n
Combination Translations<\/h3>\n
Direct Translations<\/h2>\n
Transliteration of Names and Brands<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writtenchinese.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Curly-Fu-and-Peanut-\u5377\u798f\u548c\u534e\u751f.jpg?resize=429%2C300&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nMovie Translations<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writtenchinese.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/\u6d77\u5e95\u603b\u52a8\u5458-Finding-Nemo-Movie-Translations-in-Chinese.jpg?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1\"){kind=spacer}
<\/p>\nChinese words in other languages<\/h2>\n