Those English words are from Chinese??

Chinese loanwords in English

英语中的汉语外来词 

Since you may know , many words in Chinese are from other languages. Many of those exotic words absorbed in Chinese are words that closely related to daily life. The pace of modern life quickens and new things and new products are emerging , which can be clearly reflected in the foreign words , such as: 

咖啡（kā fēi）

coffee

巧克力（qiǎo kè lì）

chocolate

沙发（shā fā）

sofa

扑克（pū kè）

poker

麦克风（mài kè fēng）

microphone

But in the history of its development , English has also widened its vocabulary by borrowing Chinese words as well.Those words which originated from Chinese are not that many , but they hold an important role in contemporary English. Let's see some of them, they may surprise you.

1

ketchup

(番茄酱 fānqié jiàng)

(番茄酱 fānqié jiàng）ketchup comes from Cantonese. When the British first arrived in Hong Kong, they saw the local residents mashed tomatoes into tomato sauce. They asked what it was called, and said "茄酱kieziong". The British spelled it out as a ketchup. Therefore, although the tomato came from the West, making it into sauce is still a Chinese invention. And Ketchup’s first incarnation was as a pickled fish sauce called Ke-tsiap

2

tea

(茶 chá)

Source: Minnan dialect 茶 (pronounced “teh”)

How it was borrowed:The Dutch East India Company traded tea from Fujiang to Europe, named the tea according to the pronunciation of “茶”of the Minnan dialect "Teh".The drink is first mentioned in English in 1655. The Chinese connection first found in US English in the early 20th century.

3

chow mein

(炒面 chǎo miàn)

Source: Taishan dialect (pronounced "chau meing”)

This word comes from the Taishan language of China. The Taishan dialect originated in Guangdong Province and is a local dialect. So the word "chow mein" is from Taishanese 炒面 (chau meing), which means stir fried noodle. The word was first brought in to English when the first Chinese immigrants from Taishan went to the United States.

4

chopsticks

(筷子 kuài zi)

The English term “chopsticks” was probably derived from the Chinese word for quick: “chop-chop(originated from Cantonese direct 速速 cuk1 cuk1 ）”. It was first used in English by the explorer William Dampier, who made three circumnavigations of the world between 1690 and 1715. Chopsticks was actually only one of around 80 words Dampier added to the English language. 

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The above contents are provided by Shine Mandarin.

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