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外国人最熟悉的中文词汇有哪些?排名前10的竟然是……

2018-03-14 杨阳 中国日报双语新闻


当一个国家的影响力增强,它的文化和语言将影响其他国家和地区。


随着中国国力日益强盛,中国的声音日渐被更多的人听见。中国的文化传统、语言也在逐渐影响其他的文化和语言,其中就包括世界第一流行语言:英语。


As China plays an increasingly important role on the global stage, the Chinese language is exerting its influence on English, according to a recent report by the China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration. The report is based on a survey conducted by the CFLPA and the Horizon Research Consultancy Group, both based in Beijing.

中国外文局日前发布的一份报告显示,随着中国在国际舞台上的重要性日益增加,中文正对英语产生影响。报告是基于外文局和零点咨询公司联合进行的一项调研。



此次调研的目的是了解八个主要英语国家的民众对以拼音形式出现的汉语词汇的知晓和理解的程度。这八个国家是:英国、美国、澳大利亚、加拿大、南非、印度、新加坡和菲律宾。


Researchers first chose more than 300 Chinese words and terms, and counted the number of times their pinyin were mentioned in reports of 50 mainstream media outlets in the eight countries over the past five years, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the BBC, the Guardian, the Straits Times and India Today.

调研人员首先选出300多个中文词汇,查看过去五年中它们的拼音在50家主流英文媒体中出现的次数。这些英文媒体包括《纽约时报》、《华盛顿邮报》、英国广播公司、《卫报》、《海峡时报》、《今日印度》等



The researchers then selected 150 words and terms which were more frequently used, and surveyed 1,260 interviewees from the eight countries with a bachelor's degree or above.

随后调研人员挑选出150个最常在英文媒体中出现的词汇,对八国1260位受过高等教育的民众进行问卷调查。


调研的词汇主要分为政治、社会和历史文化三类,包括政治词汇、朝代、地理、历史人物、稀有动物、宗教和哲学、节假日、饮食、体育以及其他六小类。


认知度前十名榜单:


① 少林  Shaolin


② 阴阳  yin and yang


 元  yuan


 故宫  gugong (Forbidden City)


⑤ 你好  nihao (hello)


⑥ 武术  wushu (martial arts)


⑦ 龙  long (dragon)


⑧ 气  qi


⑨ 道  dao (natural rules)


⑩ 麻将  majiang (mahjong)


太和殿檐角的走兽


认知度前一百榜单中的部分政治词汇:


中国梦  Chinese Dream


一带一路  Belt and Road Initiative


十三五  13th Five-Year Plan


命运共同体  a community with a shared future


  official


反贪  anti-embezzlement


反腐  anti-corruption


共产党  the Communist Party of China


两会  the annual meetings of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, also known as Two Sessions


It shows that China's anti-corruption campaign and its achievements, and the country's political path and experiences have attracted worldwide attention, says Yang Ping, deputy director of the CFLPA's Contemporary China and the World Research Institute. It also reflects China's growing influence on the world economy, she says.

当代中国与世界研究院的副主任杨平认为,这显示了中国的反腐举措及其成效、中国的政治道路和经验已为世界瞩目。榜单也反映了中国对世界经济日渐增长的影响,她说。


认知度前一百榜单中的部分经济词汇:


  yuan


人民币  renminbi


央行 The People's Bank of China


④ 红包  red envelope


⑤ 支付宝  Alipay


 网购  online shopping


大妈 middle-aged Chinese female tourists spending money in Western countries


代购 helping others to buy goods from other countries


2016年3月,“yuan”和“renminbi” 被收录进《牛津英语词典》



包、支付宝和网购也进入了前100榜单,反映了中国互联网经济的影响逐渐增长,杨主任说。榜单中还包括了大妈、代购等消费类词汇,反映了中国人增长的消费能力。


认知度前一百榜单中的部分科技词汇:


① 嫦娥  Chang'e (China's lunar probe project)


② 悟空  Wukong (Chinese dark matter particle explorer)


③ 中国制造  zhongguozhizao (made in China)


④ 高铁  gaotie (high-speed train)

榜单上的嫦娥(中国月球探测工程)、悟空(中国暗物质粒子探测卫星)、中国制造和高铁反映中国科技发展的影响力日渐增强。



总的来说,调研显示,知晓度最广的中文词汇跟武术、哲学和宗教相关


The middle section of the list contains terms related to Chinese food such as doufu (tofu) and mogu (mushroom), Chinese holidays like chongyang (Double Ninth Festival) and qingming (Tomb-Sweeping Day). The lower section of the list contains terms about Chinese natural landscape and animals such as changjiang (Yangtze River), huanghe (Yellow River) and jinsihou (snub-nosed monkey).

其次是诸如豆腐和蘑菇等中国食物、以及重阳和清明等中国节日。榜单最后是中国自然景观和中国特有的动物:长江、黄河和金丝猴



Although words such as "kung fu" and "tofu" have been incorporated into English, the survey shows that they also appear in English-speaking countries in their pinyin forms.

尽管一些像功夫豆腐的词汇已经以“kung fu”和“toufu”的形式收入英语,但调查发现这些词也以拼音的形式出现在英语国家的相关表述中。


诸如中国梦、命运共同体、两会和一带一路这样的词汇,虽然有英语翻译,但还是以拼音的形式为英语国家人们所理解。



不过尽管八个英语国家的人们对像火锅这样的词汇很熟悉,但他们并不熟悉其对应的拼音。


同样,人们更多地以“Spring Festival”的形式知晓春节而不是它拼音形式。所以,重阳和清明的拼音在榜单上的排名更靠前,杨平说。


编辑:李雪晴

实习生:吴雨浛

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