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When it comes to word-loaning, English sure stands out. Having come across many loan words from other languages, I started to wonder if China too blames us of contemporary word-theft. Well, apart from the obvious such as Kung-fu, Ih-don-kno or tea. I am on the look out for some strong words along the lines of Zeitgeist or Ménage à trois, something mainstream, something modern yet Chinese.

Tuhao seems to have caught up.

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    “Ih-don-kno” is obvious?!?
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Commented Jan 12, 2014 at 0:35
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    So are you asking for more than what is in the wiki article?
    – Mitch
    Commented Jan 12, 2014 at 1:05
  • @Mitch Wiki ain't the final say.
    – BottledBrick
    Commented Jan 12, 2014 at 13:56
  • @JanusBahsJacquet What was that word in English for hidden humor?
    – BottledBrick
    Commented Jan 12, 2014 at 13:59
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    BottledBrick, you should edit your question then to clarify, say explicitly "I'd like more words than are already in the wiki article." Also, explain the "Ih don kno" example or remove.
    – Mitch
    Commented Jan 12, 2014 at 16:13

1 Answer 1

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kowtow (叩头) = to prostrate oneself before another.

Junk - which is somehow taken from a variant pronunciation for 船.

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  • Have heard of Pow wow but Kowtow is new. Sounds tacky though.
    – Gil
    Commented Jan 12, 2014 at 0:49
  • Bravo on being Junk specific!
    – Gil
    Commented Jan 12, 2014 at 0:54
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    I’m quite wary of that etymology of ‘junk’. It is clearly from Malay/Javanese (and I trust that form is djong, since it’s also given by the OED and etymonline), but there seems to be nothing to indicate that djong is related to 船. OED says: “Some have sought the origin of the word in the Chinese ch'wan ‘ship or sailing vessel’; but the Portuguese and Dutch were established in Java and the Malay Archipelago before they visited China, and found the Javanese and Malay word (which has no connection with the Chinese) applied to all large local vessels as well as [cont’d]
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Commented Jan 12, 2014 at 1:11
  • to the Chinese ships which visited those shores.” 船 is reconstructed by Karlgren as *ɗ’i̯wan, and by Akiyasu Tōdō as *diuə̆n, neither of which has even the vaguest hint of a velar final (Japanese onyomi is also sen, which is entirely incompatible with the [dzuːŋ] claimed on Wikipedia).
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Commented Jan 12, 2014 at 1:16

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