# List of loanwords in Chinese

Loanwords have entered written and spoken Chinese from many sources, including ancient peoples whose descendants now speak Chinese. In addition to phonetic differences, varieties of Chinese such as Cantonese and Shanghainese often have distinct words and phrases left from their original languages which they continue to use in daily life and sometimes even in Mandarin. As a result of long-term direct relationships with northern peoples, starting from the pre-Christ period, there are many exchanges of words. In addition, there were times when northern tribes dominated China. Similarly, northern dialects include relatively greater numbers of loanwords from nearby languages such as Turkic, Mongolian, and Manchu(Tungusic).
Throughout China, Buddhism has also introduced words from Sanskrit and Pali. More recently, foreign invasion and trade since the First and Second Opium Wars of the mid-nineteenth century has led to prolonged contact with English, French, and Japanese. Although politically minded language reform under the Republic and People's Republic of China have generally preferred to use calques and neologisms in place of loanwords, a growing number – particularly from American English – have become current in modern Chinese. On the mainland, transcription into Chinese characters in official media and publications is directed by the Proper Names and Translation Service of the Xinhua News Agency and its reference work Names of the World's Peoples.
Since Hong Kong was under British control until 1997, Hong Kong Cantonese borrowed many words from English such as 巴士 (from the word "bus", Mandarin: bāshì, Cantonese: baa1 si2), 的士 (from "taxi", Man.: dīshì, Can.: dik1 si2), 芝士 (from "cheese", Man.: zhīshì, Can.: zi1 si6), and 麥當勞/麦当劳 (from "McDonald's", Man.: Màidāngláo, Can.: Mak6 dong1 lou4), and such loanwords have been adopted into Mandarin, despite them sounding much less similar to the English words than the Cantonese versions.
Foreign businesses and products are usually free to choose their own transliterations and typically select ones with positive connotations and phonetic similarity to their products: for example, 宜家 (IKEA) is "proper home". Owing to antonomasia and genericization, these can then enter general Chinese usage: for example Coca-Cola's 可口可乐 Man.: kěkǒu kělè ("delicious fun") has led to 可乐 Man.: kělè becoming the common Chinese noun for all colas.
Since the Kuomintang retreated to Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War, relations between the ROC and PRC had been hostile, thus communication between Taiwan and mainland China became limited. For that reason, many loanwords and proper names became quite different from each other. For example, "cheese" in mainland China is 芝士 zhīshì, while cheese in Taiwan is 起司 qǐsī.

## Sanskrit

| Chinese Word | Pronunciation | Meaning | Original Word | Pronunciation | Original Meaning |
| 剎那 | chànà | instant | क्षण | kṣaṇa | instant |
| 蘋果 | píngguǒ | apple (píng-fruit) | बिम्बा | bimbā | apple |
| 涅槃 | nièpán | nirvana | निर्वाण | nirvāna | nirvana |
| 舍利 | shèlì | śarīra relic; Śārika | शरीर | śarīra | body |
| 曇花 | tánhuā | epiphyllum (tán-flower) | उदुम्बर | udumbara | cluster fig tree |
| 須彌山 | xūmíshān | Mt. Sumeru | सुमेरु | sumeru | Mt. Sumeru |
| 波羅蜜多 | bōluómìduō | Pāramitā | पारमिता | pāramitā | perfection |

## Persian

| Chinese Word | Pronunciation | Meaning | Original Word | Pronunciation | Original Meaning |
| 巴刹 | bāshā | bazar (market) | بازار | bāzār | bazar (market) |
| 巴旦木 | bādànmù | almond | بادام | bādām | almond |
| 葡萄 | pútáo | grape | باده or Bactrian *bādāwa | bāde | wine |
| 獅子 | shīzi | lion | شیر | šīr | lion |
| 百里香 | Bǎilǐxiāng | Thyme | آویشن | Avišan | Thyme |
| 巫 | wū | shaman, mage | مَجوس | maguš | magi, priest |

## English

Chinese words of English origin have become more common in mainland China during its reform and opening and resultant increased contact with the West. Note that some of the words below originated in other languages but may have arrived in Chinese via English (for example "pizza/披萨" from Italian). English acronyms are sometimes borrowed into Chinese without any transcription into Chinese characters; for example "IT" (information technology), "PPT" (PowerPoint), "GDP" (Gross domestic product), "APP" (mobile app), "KTV" (karaoke), or "DVD". A rarer occurrence is the blending of the Latin alphabet with Chinese characters, as in "卡拉OK" ("karaoke"), “T恤” ("T-shirt"), "IP卡" ("internet protocol card"). In some instances, the loanwords exists side by side with neologisms that translate the meaning of the concept into existing Chinese morphemes. For instance, while the loanword for 'penicillin' is 盘尼西林 (pánníxīlín), a neologism that 'translates' the word was later coined, 青霉素 (qīngméisù), which means 'blue/green mold extract/essence'. In contemporary Chinese, neologisms using native Chinese morphemes tend to be favored over loanwords that are transliterations. In the case of penicillin, the term 青霉素 is used almost exclusively, while 盘尼西林 is viewed as an early 20th century relic. Similarly, 'science' is now known as 科学 (kēxué) 'subject/specialty study' rather than 赛因斯 (sàiyīnsī), though it should be pointed out that the characters 科学 were actually coined in the late 19th century by the Japanese as a kanji compound.
In the chart below, loanwords in Taiwan will be written in traditional characters and loanwords in mainland China will be written in simplified characters.
| English | Pinyin | Chinese | Category | Notes |
| Amen | āmen | 阿们 | Religion | |
| ammonia | āmóníyà | 阿摩尼亚 | Science & technology | Rarely used in mainland China |
| amoeba | āmǐbā | 阿米巴 | Science & technology | |
| amoxicillin | āmòxīlín | 阿莫西林 | Health & medicine | |
| ampere | ānpéi | 安培 | Science & technology | |
| amphetamine | ānfēitāmìng | 安非他命 | Health & medicine | |
| ampoule | ānbù | 安瓿 | Science & technology | |
| antitrust | fǎntuōlāsī | 反托拉斯 | Politics | |
| aspartame | āsībātián | 阿斯巴甜 | Food & drink | |
| Aspirin | āsīpílín | 阿斯匹林 | Health & medicine | |
| Baccarat | Bǎijiālè | 百家乐 | Arts & entertainment | |
| bacon | péigēn | 培根 | Food & drink | |
| bagel | bèiguǒ | 贝果 | Food & drink | |
| ballet | bālěi | 芭蕾 | Arts & entertainment | |
| bandage | bēngdài | 绷带 | Health & medicine | |
| banjo | bānzhuóqín | 班卓琴 | Arts & entertainment | |
| bar | (jiǔ)bā | 吧、酒吧 | Arts & entertainment | |
| Baroque | bāluòkè, bāluókè | 巴洛克、巴罗克 | Arts & entertainment | |
| bass | bèisī | 贝司、贝斯 | Arts & entertainment | |
| bassoon | bāsōng | 巴松 | Arts & entertainment | |
| bazooka | bāzǔkǎ | 巴祖卡 | Science & technology | |
| beer | píjiǔ | 啤酒 | Food & drink | |
| bikini | bǐjīní | 比基尼 | Clothing | |
| bingo | bīnguǒ | 宾果 | Arts & entertainment | |
| bit (unit of information) | bǐtè | 比特 | Science & technology | |
| blog | bókè | 博客 | Culture & society | |
| blues | bùlǔsī | 布鲁斯 | Arts & entertainment | |
| bolero | bōláiluó | 波莱罗 | Arts & entertainment | |
| bourgeois | bù'ěrqiáoyà | 布尔乔亚 | Politics | |
| brandy | báilándì | 白兰地 | Food & drink | |
| brownie | bùlǎngní | 布朗尼 | Food & drink | |
| bullying | bàlíng | 霸凌 | Culture & society | |
| bungee jumping | bèngjí | 蹦极 | Arts & entertainment | |
| bus | bāshì | 巴士 | Transportation | |
| bye-bye | bàibài | 拜拜 | Slang | |
| caffeine | kāfēiyīn | 咖啡因 | Food & drink | |
| calorie | kǎlùlǐ | 卡路里 | Science & technology | |
| cancan | kāngkāngwǔ | 康康舞 | Arts & entertainment | |
| cannon | jiānóngpào | 加农炮 | Science & technology | |
| carat | kèlā | 克拉 | Science & technology | |
| carbine | kǎbīnqiāng | 卡宾枪 | Science & technology | |
| card | kǎpiàn | 卡片 | Science & technology | As the last element of a compound, kǎ 卡 alone is used, e.g. yínháng kǎ 银行卡 / 銀行卡 "Bank card (ATM card)". |
| carnival | jiāniánhuá | 嘉年华 | Arts & entertainment | |
| cartel | kǎtè'ěr | 卡特尔 | Culture & society | |
| cartoon | kǎtōng | 卡通 | Arts & entertainment | |
| cashmere | kāishìmǐ | 开士米 | Clothing | |
| celluloid | sàilùluò | 赛璐珞 | Science & technology | |
| cement | shúiméntīng | 水门汀 | Science & technology | Dated in mainland China |
| cha-cha | qiàqiàwǔ | 恰恰舞 | Arts & entertainment | |
| Champagne | xiāngbīn | 香槟 | Food & drink | |
| cheese | qǐsī/qishì/zhīshì | 起司、奇士、芝士 | Food & drink | First two loanwords used in Taiwan, last used in mainland China |
| cherry | chēlízi | 车厘子 | Food & drink | Transliterated from plural, exclusively refers to black cherries in mainland China |
| chiffon | xuěfǎng, qìfēng | 雪纺、戚风 | Clothing, Food & drink | The first loanword refers to chiffon as a kind of fabric, the second refers to chiffon cake |
| chocolate | qiǎokèlì | 巧克力 | Food & drink | |
| cider | xīdá | 西打 | Food & drink | |
| cigar | xuějiā | 雪茄 | Food & drink | |
| clone | kèlóng | 克隆 | Science & technology | |
| coca, coke | kějiā, gǔkē | 可加、古柯 | Food & drink | |
| Coca-Cola | kěkǒu kělè | 可口可乐 | Food & drink | |
| cola | kělè | 可乐 | Food & drink | |
| cocaine | kěkǎyīn | 可卡因 | Narcotics | |
| cocoa | kěkě | 可可 | Food & drink | |
| codeine | kědàiyīn | 可待因 | Health & medicine | |
| coffee | kāfēi | 咖啡 | Food & drink | |
| cookie | qǔqí | 曲奇 | Food & drink | |
| cool | kù | 酷 | Slang | |
| copy | kǎobèi | 拷贝 | | Only used in the context of computers |
| sofa | shāfā | 沙发 | Housing | |
| coup d'état | kǔdiédǎ | 苦迭打 | Politics | |
| craton | kèlātōng | 克拉通 | Science & technology | |
| cream | jìlián, qílín | 忌廉、淇淋 | Food & drink | |
| crêpe | kělìbǐng | 可丽饼 | Food & drink | |
| croissant | kěsòng | 可颂 | Food & drink | |
| cumin | kūmíng | 枯茗 | Food & drink | Rarely used in mainland China, usually appears in compound words such as kūmíngqúan 枯茗醛 “cuminaldehyde” |
| curry | gālí | 咖喱 | Food & drink | |
| cyanide | shān'āi | 山埃 | Science & technology | Rarely used in mainland China |
| Dacron | díquèliáng | 的确良 | Science & technology | |
| daddy | diēdì | 爹地 | Slang | |
| didgeridoo | díjílǐdùguǎn | 迪吉里杜管 | Arts & entertainment | |
| disco | dísīkě | 迪斯科 | Arts & entertainment | |
| domino | duōmǐnuò | 多米诺 | Arts & entertainment | |
| drive-thru | déláisù | 得来速 | Food & drink | |
| einsteinium | ài/āi | 鑀、锿 | Science & technology | First loanword used in Taiwan, second used in mainland China |
| Eucalyptus | yóujiālì | 尤加利 | Botany | |
| eureka | yóulǐkǎ | 尤里卡 | Culture & society | |
| fan | fěnsī | 粉丝 | Arts & entertainment | Transliterated from plural, also a term for cellophane noodles (fensi) |
| fantasy | fàntèxī | 范特西 | Arts & entertainment | Rarely used in mainland China |
| fascism | fǎxīsī | 法西斯 | Politics | |
| fillet | fēilì | 菲力 | Food & drink | Usually refers to filet mignon |
| geek | jíkè | 极客 | Science & technology | |
| ghetto | gédōu | 隔都 | Culture & society | |
| go-kart | gāokǎchē | 高卡车 | Arts & entertainment | |
| golf | gāo'ěrfū | 高尔夫 | Arts & entertainment | |
| guitar | jítā | 吉他 | Arts & entertainment | |
| hacker | hēikè | 黑客 | Science & technology | |
| hallelujah | hālìlùyà | 哈利路亚 | Religion | |
| hamburger | hànbǎobāo | 汉堡包 | Food & drink | |
| hello | hālóu | 哈喽 | Greeting | |
| heroin | hǎiluòyīn | 海洛因 | Narcotics | |
| hippie | xīpíshì | 嘻皮士 | Culture & society | |
| honey | hāní | 哈尼 | Slang | As a term of endearment |
| hysteria | xiēsīdǐlǐ | 歇斯底里 | Health & medicine | |
| humour | yōumò | 幽默 | Culture & society | |
| ice cream | bīngqílín | 冰淇淋 | Food & drink | |
| jacket | jiākè | 夹克 | Clothing | |
| jazz | juéshì | 爵士 | Arts & entertainment | |
| Jeep | jípǔchē | 吉普车 | Transportation, organizations | |
| jitterbug | jítèbā | 吉特巴 | Arts & entertainment | |
| karaoke | kǎlā ok (kǎlāōukēi) | 卡拉OK | Arts & entertainment | |
| karting | kǎdīngchē | 卡丁车 | Transportation | |
| ketamine | kètāmìng | 克他命 | Science & technology | |
| khaki | kǎqí(sè) | 卡其(色) | Clothing | |
| koala | kǎolā | 考拉 | Animals | |
| lace | lěisī | 蕾丝 | Clothing | |
| lesbian | lěisībīan | 蕾丝边 | Culture & society | |
| lacquer | làkè | 腊克 | Science & technology | |
| laser | léishè | 镭射 | Science & technology | |
| latte | nátiě | 拿铁 | Food & drink | |
| lemon | níngméng | 柠檬 | Food & drink | |
| limbo | língbōwǔ | 凌波舞 | Arts & entertainment | |
| liquor | lìkǒujiǔ | 利口酒 | Food & drink | |
| logic | luóji | 逻辑 | Science & technology | |
| lottery | lètòu | 乐透 | Arts & entertainment | |
| mankini | nánjīní | 男基尼 | Clothing | |
| marathon | mǎlāsōng | 马拉松 | Arts & entertainment | |
| margarine | màiqílín | 麦淇淋 | Food & drink | Dated in mainland China |
| marker | mǎkèbǐ | 马克笔 | Culture & society | |
| massage | mǎshājī | 马杀鸡 | Culture & society | Rarely used in mainland China |
| metre | mǐ | 米 | Science & technology | |
| meme | míyīn | 迷因 | Arts & entertainment | |
| mini | mǐnǐ | 迷你 | Culture & society | |
| microphone | màikèfēng | 麦克风 | Science & technology | |
| model | mótèr | 模特儿 | Arts & entertainment | |
| modern | módēng | 摩登 | Culture & society | |
| mohair | mǎhǎimáo | 马海毛 | Clothing | |
| mommy | māmi | 妈咪 | Slang | |
| montage (film) | méngtàiqí | 蒙太奇 | Arts & entertainment | |
| mosaic | mǎsàikè | 马赛克 | Arts & entertainment | |
| motif | mǔtǐ, mú | 母体、模 | Arts & entertainment | |
| motor | mǎdá | 马达 | Science & technology | |
| motorcycle | mótuōchē | 摩托车 | Transportation | |
| mousse | mùsī | 慕斯 | Food & drink | |
| mozzarella | mòzālǐlā, mǎsūlǐlā | 莫扎里拉、马苏里拉 | Food & drink | |
| muffin | mǎfēn, màifēn | 玛芬、麦芬 | Food & drink | |
| mug | mǎkèbēi | 马克杯 | Food & drink | |
| mummy | mùnǎiyī | 木乃伊 | Culture & society | |
| Nazi | Nàcuì | 纳粹 | Politics, organization | |
| neon | níhóng | 霓虹 | Science & technology | |
| nicotine | nígǔdīng | 尼古丁 | Health & medicine | |
| Nylon | nílóng | 尼龙 | Clothing | |
| ohm | ōumǔ | 欧姆 | Science & technology | |
| Olympics | Àolínpǐkè | 奥林匹克 | Organizations | |
| opium | yāpiàn | 鸦片 | Narcotics | |
| parfait | bāfēi | 芭菲 | Food & drink | |
| parka | pàikè dàyī | 派克大衣 | Clothing | |
| party | pàiduì | 派对 | Culture & society | |
| penicillin | pánníxīlín | 盘尼西林 | Science & technology | Dated in mainland China |
| Pharaoh | fǎlǎo | 法老 | Culture & society | |
| pickup truck | píkǎ | 皮卡 | Transportation | |
| pie | pài | 派 | Food & drink | |
| pizza | pīsà/bǐsà | 披萨、比萨 | Food & drink | |
| plutonium | bù, bù | 鈽、钚 | Science & technology | |
| poker | pūkè | 扑克 | Arts & entertainment | Refers to card games in general |
| polka | bō'ěrkǎ | 波尔卡 | Arts & entertainment | |
| pudding | bùdīng | 布丁 | Food & drink | |
| pump | bèng | 泵 | Science & technology | |
| punk | péngkè | 朋克 | Arts & entertainment | |
| rabbi | lābǐ | 拉比 | Religion | |
| radar | léidá | 雷达 | Science & technology | |
| romance | luómànshǐ, làngmàn | 罗曼史、浪漫 | Culture & society | |
| rum | lǎngmǔjiu | 朗姆酒 | Food & drink | |
| rumba | lúnbā | 伦巴 | Arts & entertainment | |
| salad | shālà, shalǜ | 沙拉、沙律 | Food & drink | |
| salmon | sānwényú | 三文鱼 | Food & drink | |
| salon | shālóng | 沙龙 | Culture & society | |
| sandwich | sānmíngzhì, sānwénzhì | 三明治、三文治 | Food & drink | |
| sardine | shādīngyú | 沙丁鱼 | Food & drink | |
| sauna | sāngná | 桑拿 | Health & medicine | |
| saxophone | sàkèsī(fēng) | 萨克斯、萨克斯风 | Arts & entertainment | |
| scooter | sùkèdá | 速克达 | Transportation | Rarely used in mainland China |
| shampoo | xiāngbō | 香波 | Health & medicine | |
| sherry | xuělìjiǔ | 雪利酒 | Food & drink | |
| shock | xīukè | 休克 | Health & medicine | |
| sirloin | shālǎng, xīlěng | 沙朗、西冷 | Food & drink | First loanword used in Taiwan, second used in mainland China |
| snooker | sīnuòkè | 斯诺克 | Sports | |
| sonar | shēngnà | 声呐 | Science & technology | |
| soda | sūdá | 苏打 | Food & drink | sūdáshǔi 苏打水 is used when referring to soft drinks, xiǎosūdá 小苏打 is used when referring to baking soda |
| strawberry | shìduōpílí | 士多啤梨 | Food & drink | Rarely used in mainland China |
| Soviet | sūwéi'āi | 苏维埃 | Politics | |
| sundae | shèngdài, xīndì | 圣代、新地 | Food & drink | |
| talk show | tuōkǒuxiù | 脱口秀 | Culture & society | |
| tango | tàngē | 探戈 | Arts & entertainment | |
| tank | tǎnkè | 坦克 | Transportation | |
| tannic acid | dānníngsuān | 单宁酸 | Science & technology | |
| taxi | dīshì | 的士 | Transportation | |
| tarot | tǎluó | 塔罗 | Culture & society | |
| Teflon | tiěfúlóng, tèfùlóng | 铁氟龙、特富龙 | Science & technology | First loanword used in Taiwan, second used in mainland China |
| T-shirt | t xù (tīxù) | T恤 | Clothing | |
| telephone | délǜfēng | 德律风 | Arts & entertainment | Dated in mainland China |
| ten-pin bowling | bǎolíngqiú | 保龄球 | Arts & entertainment | |
| TOEFL | tuōfú | 托福 | Organization | |
| toffee | tàifēitáng | 太妃糖 | Food & drink | |
| toast | tǔsī | 土司、吐司 | Food & drink | |
| tuna | tūnnáyú | 吞拿鱼 | Food & drink | |
| turquoise | tǔ'ěrqíshí | 土耳其石 | Color | |
| USB flash drive | u pán (yóupán) | U盘 | Science & technology | |
| valve | fá | 阀 | Science & technology | |
| Vaseline | fánshìlín | 凡士林 | Health & medicine | |
| vitamin | wéitāmìng | 维他命 | Health & medicine | |
| vodka | fútéjiā | 伏特加 | Food & drink | |
| waltz | huá'ěrzī | 华尔兹 | Arts & entertainment | |
| watt | wǎtè | 瓦特 | Science & technology | |
| whisky | wēishìjì | 威士忌 | Food & drink | |
| X-ray | x guāng (àikésīguāng) | X光 | Health & medicine | |
| yoga | yújiā | 瑜伽 | Arts & entertainment | |
| yogurt | yōugé | 优格 | Food & drink | |
| yo-yo | yōuyōuqiú | 悠悠球 | Arts & entertainment | |
| yuppie | yǎpíshì | 雅皮士 | Culture & society | |

## Malay

These words are only used in Singapore and Malaysia.
| Malay | Pinyin | Chinese | Meaning | Notes |
| tolong | duōlóng | 多隆 | help | |
| kampung | gānbǎng | 甘榜 | village | |
| sagu | xīgǔmǐ | 西谷米 | sago (starch) | sagu+米 (mǐ, 'grain') |
| tumpang | lóngbāng | 隆帮 | to stay with somebody | |
| tanjung | dānróng | 丹戎 | cape | |