# China
## English
### Etymology 1

From Portuguese China, probably under influence from Old French Chin, from Classical Persian چین (čīn), from Middle Persian 𐭰𐭩𐭭 (Čīn, “China”), from Sanskrit चीन (cīna, “the Chinese; China”) of uncertain etymology. It is usually thought to be derived from Chinese 秦 (Qín) (sm Qín, mc d͡ziɪn, oc *zin, "Qin"), the westernmost ancient Chinese state, but other theories have been proposed, including derivation from 晉 / 晋 (jìn) (sm Jìn, mc t͡siɪn, oc *ʔsins, "Jin"), another important ancient state; 荊 / 荆 (jīng) (sm Jīng, mc kˠiæŋ, oc *keŋ, "Chu"), the southernmost ancient Chinese state; or Zina, the endonym of the people of the Yelang kingdom. See "Names of China" and "Chinas" at Wikipedia. As a female name, usually derived via china (“porcelain”) and china doll, ultimately from the same source.

#### Alternative forms

* (area and state in East Asia): Chin (obsolete)
* (female name): Chyna

#### Pronunciation

* (UK, US) enPR: chī'nə, IPA: /ˈt͡ʃaɪnə/, [ˈt͡ʃ(ʰ)aɪ̯nə]
** Audio (UK):(file)
** Audio (US, female voice):(file)
** Audio (US, male voice):(file)
* Rhymes: -aɪnə

#### Proper noun

China (usually uncountable, plural Chinas)
* A nation or civilization occupying the region around the Yellow, Yangtze, and Pearl Rivers in East Asia, taken as a whole under its various dynasties.
** 1555, Peter Martyr, translated by Richard Eden, The Decades of the Newe Worlde..., folio 230 verso:The great China, whose kyng is thought... the greatest prince in the worlde.
** 1884 December 10, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade) […], London: Chatto & Windus, […], →OCLC:If he tells them to build a palace forty miles long, out of di'monds, and fill it full of chewing gum, or whatever you want, and fetch an emperor's daughter from China for you to marry, they've got to do it—and they've got to do it before sun-up next morning, too.
** 1987, Geoffrey Marston, “Abandonment of Territorial Claims: The Cases of Bouvet and Spratly Islands”, in The British Year Book of International Law 1986‎, volume 57, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 356:The Commissioner General asked for Foreign Office guidance in view of his information about earlier events relating to the British claim. In reply, the Foreign Office, in a telegram dated 12 June 1956, pointed out that as there was now a territorial dispute involving the two Chinas, the Philippines and possibly Vietnam over the Nansha Islands the British vessel should ‘stay well clear’ of Spratly Island.
** 1998, George H. W. Bush et al., A World Transformed‎, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, →ISBN, page 93:After I was nominated to the vice-presidency, Ronald Reagan asked me to go to China to reassure Deng that, despite having mentioned it in a campaign speech, he did not believe in two Chinas, and that he would honor the Shanghai Communiqué—which declared, in effect, that there was but one China. Joined by his top foreign policy team, Deng listened carefully as I explained that Reagan’s statement had been taken out of context. Just as I was finishing, a door opened and a message was passed down the line of advisors until it reached Deng. On reading it, he looked puzzled and annoyed. “He did it again!” he announced. “Ronald Reagan has again referred to ‘two Chinas’ in a speech!” I talked fast and got out of there.
    China has 5000 years of history.
* A large country in East Asia, occupying the region around the Yellow, Yangtze, and Pearl Rivers; the People's Republic of China, since 1949.
** 1971 December 6, “A Size-up of President Nixon: Interview with Mike Mansfield, Senate Democratic Leader”, in US News & World Report, page 61:'Only a Nixon' Could Go to China
** 2017, Donald J. Trump, speech at Make America Great Again Rally, Harrisburg, PA
    And I met with the President of China at great length in Florida, and we had long, long talks—hours and hours and hours.
    China is 75 years old as of October 1, 2024
* Synonym of mainland China.
    The gambling winnings were transferred from Macau to China.
* (historical) Any of the empires occupying similar territory to that of the modern nation of China, ruled under various dynasties up through the early 20th century.
* (historical) The Republic of China prior to 1949, and sometimes after that time, particularly up through the early 1970's or so (when the People's Republic of China assumed the United Nations seat allocated to china).
* (rare) A female given name.
** 2001, Susan Wittig Albert, chapter 1, in Bloodroot, Berkley Publishing Group, →ISBN, page 3:My name is China Bayles. I'm the owner of Thyme and Seasons and the co-owner, with Ruby Wilcox, of a new tearoom called Thyme for Tea.
** 2014, Neil D. A. Stewart, The Glasgow Coma Scale, Constable & Robinson, →ISBN, page 159:'What's her name, this girl?' The fight had hoarsened Lynne's voice, and the words came out strangely staccato - a wooden doll that had just learned to speak. 'China,' he mumbled, feeling an obscure desire to invent a pseudonym for her. 'What an interesting name.' Angus struck the table edge hard. 'Aw, don't gies it.' 'I don't know what you mean. Or is it a nickname? Fragile, is she?'
* An unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Indiana, United States.
* A town in Kennebec County, Maine, United States.
* An unincorporated community in Howell County, Missouri, United States.
* A hamlet in Delaware County, New York, United States.
* A small city in Jefferson County, Texas, United States.
* A municipality and town in Nuevo León, Mexico.
* An 1844 map of China (i.e., the Qing Empire), including Taiwan, Mongolia, Korea, outer Manchuria (now Russian), and Assam in India.
* A 1932 map of the Far East, showing China (i.e., China proper) without Manchuria, Mongolia (i.e., Greater Mongolia), "Sinkiang", "Tibit", or Japanese Taiwan.
* A map of the divisions of the Republic of China in 1944, from the American propaganda film Why We Fight: The Battle of China.
* The CIA's 2008 map of China, showing the PRC's claim on Taiwan (but not the South China Sea) and India's claim on the PRC (but not China's on Arunachal Pradesh).
* A 2002 map of the railways of China, showing the PRC and ROC's nine-dash claim in the South China Sea. Both Chinas also claim the "Diaoyu" Islands, currently administered as Japan's Senkakus.

##### Synonyms

* (nation): Cathay (northern medieval China, archaic); Manji, Mangi (southern medieval China, archaic); Han (culture); Greater China (inclusive of Taiwan, non-Han autonomous regions, and the SARs but not always all Chinese claims); Chinkland (pejorative); Sinim (some religious contexts)
* (state): Middle Kingdom (literary), Chinese Empire; Celestial Kingdom, Flowery Kingdom (archaic); Zhongguo (rare)
* (principal states at different periods): Xia, Shang, Zhou (kingdoms); Qin, Han, Jin, Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing, Chinese Empire, Empire of China (empires); Warring States, Three Kingdoms (regions); Republic of China or Chinese Republic, People's Republic of China or Chinese People's Republic

##### Meronyms

* Anhui
* Fujian
* Gansu
* Guangdong
* Guizhou
* Hainan
* Hebei
* Heilongjiang
* Henan
* Hubei
* Hunan
* Jiangsu
* Jiangxi
* Jilin
* Liaoning
* Qinghai
* Shaanxi
* Shandong
* Shanxi
* Sichuan
* Yunnan
* Zhejiang

##### Derived terms

* all the tea in China
* Capitan China
* China aster
* chinaberry
* China continental
* China doll
* China hand
* China Hat
* Chinaman (derogatory)
* China matting
* China proper
* China rose
* China Seas
* China's Sorrow
* China syndrome
* Chinatown
* China watcher
* China white
* China White
* Chinese
* Cochin-China
* Communist China
* East China Sea
* Empire of China
* Free China
* Great Wall of China
* made in China
* mainland China
* Nationalist China
* People's Republic of China
* Red China
* Republic of China
* South China Sea

##### Related terms

* Sino-

##### Descendants

* → Amharic: ቻይና (čayna)
* → Chinese: 猜拿 (Cāiná)
* → Hindi: चाइना (cāinā)
* → Maori: Haina
* → Telugu: చైనా (cainā)
* → Tigre: ቻይና (čayna)
* → Tigrinya: ቻይና (čayna)
* → Tokelauan: Haina
* → Welsh: Tsieina
* → Yoruba: Ṣáínà

##### Translations
#### Noun

China (countable and uncountable, plural Chinas)
* Alternative letter-case form of china: porcelain tableware.
* (obsolete) A Chinese person.
* (obsolete) Alternative form of cheyney: woollen stuff; items made or filled with cheyney.
* Clipping of China rose: various flowers.
* (botany, beverages) Clipping of China tea.
* (rhyming slang) Alternative form of china: a mate, a friend.

#### See also

* Afghanistan
* Armenia
* Azerbaijan
* Bahrain
* Bangladesh
* Bhutan
* Brunei
* Cambodia
* China
* Cyprus
* East Timor
* Georgia
* India
* Indonesia
* Iran
* Iraq
* Israel
* Japan
* Jordan
* Kazakhstan
* Kuwait
* Kyrgyzstan
* Laos
* Lebanon
* Malaysia
* Maldives
* Mongolia
* Myanmar
* Nepal
* North Korea
* Oman
* Pakistan
* Palestine
* Philippines
* Qatar
* Russia
* Saudi Arabia
* Singapore
* South Korea
* Sri Lanka
* Syria
* Taiwan
* Tajikistan
* Thailand
* Turkey
* Turkmenistan
* United Arab Emirates
* Uzbekistan
* Vietnam
* Yemen
* Appendix:Countries of the world
* "Names of China" and "China in world languages" at Wikipedia

### Etymology 2

From Japanese 知名(ちな) (China).

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /tʃi.nɑː/

#### Proper noun

China
* A town in Kagoshima prefecture, Japan.
** 2022 December 24, “School on Japan island lends electric scooters to students for eco-friendly, cheap commute”, in The Mainich‎:According to the town of China, if all students commuting by motorcycles switched to electric ones, carbon emissions could be reduced to under one-fourth of the current amount.
** 2024 August 21, “Linguists rush to preserve rare dialect on remote Kagoshima isle”, in The Asahi Shinbun‎:The two towns on the island, China (pronounced chee-nah) and Wadomari, along with neighboring Tokunoshima island, each have different dialects.

### References

* ↑ Duarte Barbosa, Descrição das Terras da India Oriental..., c. 1516.
* ↑ Garcia de Orta, Colóquios dos Simples e Drogas da India, 1563.
* ↑ Marco Polo & al., Divisiment dou Monde, c. 1298.
* ↑ Dr M. R. Singh (1972) Geographical Data in Early Puranas, page 172
* ↑ Mayrhofer, Manfred (2001) “cīna-”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan]‎ (in German), volume 3, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, page 191
* ↑ Yule, Henry (2005) Cathay and the Way Thither‎, →ISBN, pages 2–3
* ↑ Zhengzhang, Shangfang (鄭張尚芳) (2006) “古译名勘原辨讹五例 [A Correction of the Erroneous Etymological Analyses of Five Ancient Translated Names]”, in 中国语文 (in Chinese), volume 315, →ISSN, pages 541–549
* 1 2 Wade Geoff (2009-05) “The Polity of Yelang and the Origin of the Name 'China'”, in Sino-Platonic Papers‎, number 188
* “China, n.¹ and adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019.

### Anagrams

* hican, Chi-an, chain, Chain, Chian, Anich, Achin

## Afrikaans
### Alternative forms

* Sjina

### Etymology

From Dutch China.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈʃi.na]
* Audio:(file)

### Proper noun

China
* China (a country in eastern Asia)

## Asturian
### Proper noun

China f
* China (a country in eastern Asia)

#### Related terms

* chinu

## Central Huasteca Nahuatl
### Proper noun

China
* China (a country in Asia)

## Dutch
### Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈʃinaː/
* Audio:(file)
* Hyphenation: Chi‧na
* Rhymes: -inaː

### Proper noun

China n
* China (a country in eastern Asia)

#### Derived terms

* Chinees

## Galician
### Proper noun

China f
* China (a country in eastern Asia)

#### Derived terms

* chinés

## German
### Etymology

From Persian چینی (čini, “Chinese; porcelain”), compound of چین (čin, “China”) and the suffix ـی (-i), from Middle Persian 𐭰𐭩𐭭 (čīn, “China”), ultimately from Sanskrit चीन (cīna).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈçiːna/
** Audio:(file)
* IPA: [ˈkiːna] (Southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland)
** Audio:(file)
* IPA: [ˈʃiːna] (Northern Germany, western Germany)
** Audio:(file)
* IPA: [ˈxiːna] (Switzerland)
* Hyphenation: Chi‧na

### Proper noun

China n (proper noun, genitive Chinas or (optionally with an article) China, plural China)
* China (a country in East Asia)

#### Usage notes

* The plural China refers to the People's Republic of China (German: Volksrepublik China (short: VR China), Festlandchina (Mainland China), Rotchina (Red China)) and the Republic of China (German: Republik China (auf Taiwan), Inselchina, Taiwan).

#### Declension
### Further reading

* “China” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

## Hunsrik
### Etymology

Borrowed from Brazilian Portuguese and German China.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈʃiːna/
* Rhymes: -iːna
* Syllabification: Chi‧na

### Proper noun

China n
* China (a country in eastern Asia)
    Das waar im China gemach. ― This was made in China.

#### Derived terms

* Chinees
* chineesisch

### See also

* China
* India
* Indonesia
* Israel
* Nordkorea
* Palëstina
* Russland
* Schapong
* Siedkorea
* Siria ~ Sirje
* Viëtnam

### References

* ↑ Piter Kehoma Boll (2021) “China”, in Dicionário Hunsriqueano Riograndense–Português (in Portuguese), 3rd edition, Ivoti: Riograndenser Hunsrickisch, page 30, column 2

## Indonesian
### Proper noun

China
* Nonstandard spelling of Cina (“a country; language”).

## Interlingua
### Proper noun

China
* China (a country in eastern Asia)

## Malay
### Etymology

From Middle Persian [script needed] (ṣīn, “Chinese; porcelain”), probably from Sanskrit चीन (cīna). Attested in 1701 in Thomas Bowery's English-Malay and Malay-English bilingual dictionary.
The spelling is a carryover from the Za'aba Spelling used before 1972, to distinguish it from Cina (“Chinese people”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /t͡ʃina/
** (Johor-Riau) IPA: [t͡ʃi.nə]
** (Baku) IPA: [t͡ʃi.na]
* Rhymes: -na, -a
* Hyphenation: Chi‧na

### Proper noun

China (Jawi spelling چينا)
* China (a country in eastern Asia)
    Synonym: Tiongkok (Riau Malay, Indonesian)

### References

* ↑ Bowrey, T. (1701) A Dictionary, English and Malayo, Malayo and English: To which is Added Some Short Grammar Rules \& Directions for the Better Observation of the Propriety and Elegancy of this Language : and Also Several Miscellanies, Dialogues, and Letters, in English and Malayo for the Learners Better Understanding the Expressions of the Malayo Tongue : Together with a Table of Time, Computing the Years and Moons of the Hegira to the Years and Months of the English Stile ...‎, Sam. Bridge, →LCCN, page 50: “China, Nēgree chēna.”

### Further reading

* “China” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.

## Occitan
### Alternative forms

* Shina (Gascony)

### Proper noun

China f
* China (a country in eastern Asia)

#### Derived terms

* chinés

### References

* Patric Guilhemjoan, Diccionari elementari occitan-francés francés-occitan (gascon), 2005, Orthez, per noste, 2005, →ISBN, page 146.

## Portuguese
### Etymology

Perhaps from Hindi चीन (cīn) and ultimately from Sanskrit चीन (cīna). Compare Malay Cina.

### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /ˈʃĩ.nɐ/
* (Brazil) IPA: /ˈʃĩ.nɐ/
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: /ˈʃi.na/
* (Portugal) IPA: /ˈʃi.nɐ/
* (Portugal) IPA: /ˈʃi.nɐ/
** (Northern Portugal) IPA: /ˈt͡ʃi.nɐ/
* Hyphenation: Chi‧na

### Proper noun

China f
* China (a country in eastern Asia)
** 2007, Rubens Edwald Filho, Nilu Lebert, O cinema vai à mesa, Editora Melhoramentos, →ISBN, page 31:Mudam os ingredientes do caldo, mudam as massas. O macarrão soba é à base de trigo sarraceno e é servido quente ou gelado; o udon, de farinha branca, pode ser encontrado fresco ou seco; o sômen é bem fininho, quase um cabelo-de-anjo japonês; o harusame, para ser servido gelado, é uma massa feita de feijão-verde e, finalmente, existe o lamen, originário da China, porém muito difundido no Japão.(please add an English translation of this quotation)

#### Derived terms

* achinesado
* chinês
* chinesice

#### Descendants

* → English: China
* → Hunsrik: China

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from Greek Κίνα (Kína), ultimately from Sanskrit चीन (cīna).

### Pronunciation

* Audio:(file)
* IPA: /ˈki.na/

### Proper noun

China f
* China (a country in eastern Asia)

#### Derived terms

* chinez

#### Related terms

* cinie

## Romansch
### Proper noun

la China f
* China (a country in eastern Asia)

#### Related terms

* chinais
* Chinais

## Shona
### Etymology

From -china (“fourth”), counting the days of the working week from Monday.

### Noun

China class 7
* Thursday

### See also

* days of the week: mazuva evhiki (appendix): Muvhuro · Chipiri · Chitatu · China · Chishanu · Mugovera/Chitanhatu (Zezuru) · Svondo

## Spanish
### Etymology

Ultimately from Sanskrit चीन (cīna), ultimately possibly from Old Chinese 秦 (*zin).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈt͡ʃina/ [ˈt͡ʃi.na]
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -ina
* Syllabification: Chi‧na

### Proper noun

China f
* China (a country in eastern Asia)

#### Derived terms

* China continental
* Gran China
* jabonero de la China
* papel de China

#### Related terms

* china
* chino

#### Descendants

* → Tagalog: Tsina

## Swahili
### Pronunciation

* Audio (Kenya):(file)

### Proper noun

China
* Alternative form of Uchina