Chinese in Different Languages
Discover 'Chinese' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Chinese
Afrikaans chinees | ||
Albanian kineze | ||
Amharic ቻይንኛ | ||
Arabic صينى | ||
Armenian չինական | ||
Assamese চীনা | ||
Aymara chino markanxa | ||
Azerbaijani çin | ||
Bambara sinuwaw ka | ||
Basque txinatarra | ||
Belarusian кітайскі | ||
Bengali চাইনিজ | ||
Bhojpuri चीनी लोग के बा | ||
Bosnian kineski | ||
Bulgarian китайски | ||
Catalan xinès | ||
Cebuano intsik | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 中文 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 中文 | ||
Corsican cinese | ||
Croatian kineski | ||
Czech čínština | ||
Danish kinesisk | ||
Dhivehi ޗައިނީސް އެވެ | ||
Dogri चीनी | ||
Dutch chinese | ||
English chinese | ||
Esperanto ĉina | ||
Estonian hiina keel | ||
Ewe chinatɔwo ƒe chinatɔwo | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) intsik | ||
Finnish kiinalainen | ||
French chinois | ||
Frisian sineesk | ||
Galician chinés | ||
Georgian ჩინური | ||
German chinesisch | ||
Greek κινέζικα | ||
Guarani chino | ||
Gujarati ચાઇનીઝ | ||
Haitian Creole chinwa | ||
Hausa sinanci | ||
Hawaiian pākē | ||
Hebrew סִינִית | ||
Hindi चीनी | ||
Hmong hmoob suav teb | ||
Hungarian kínai | ||
Icelandic kínverska | ||
Igbo chinese nke | ||
Ilocano intsik | ||
Indonesian cina | ||
Irish sínis | ||
Italian cinese | ||
Japanese 中国語 | ||
Javanese wong cina | ||
Kannada ಚೈನೀಸ್ | ||
Kazakh қытай | ||
Khmer ជនជាតិចិន | ||
Kinyarwanda igishinwa | ||
Konkani चीनी | ||
Korean 중국말 | ||
Krio chaynish pipul dɛn | ||
Kurdish çînî | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) چینی | ||
Kyrgyz кытайча | ||
Lao ຈີນ | ||
Latin seres | ||
Latvian ķīniešu | ||
Lingala ba chinois | ||
Lithuanian kinų | ||
Luganda abachina | ||
Luxembourgish chineesesch | ||
Macedonian кинески | ||
Maithili चीनी | ||
Malagasy sinoa | ||
Malay orang cina | ||
Malayalam ചൈനീസ് | ||
Maltese ċiniż | ||
Maori hainamana | ||
Marathi चीनी | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯆꯥꯏꯅꯥꯒꯤ ꯑꯦꯝ | ||
Mizo chinese tawng a ni | ||
Mongolian хятад | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) တရုတ် | ||
Nepali चीनियाँ | ||
Norwegian kinesisk | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) chitchaina | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଚାଇନିଜ୍ | ||
Oromo chaayinaa | ||
Pashto چینایی | ||
Persian چینی ها | ||
Polish chiński | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) chinês | ||
Punjabi ਚੀਨੀ | ||
Quechua chino | ||
Romanian chinez | ||
Russian китайский язык | ||
Samoan saina | ||
Sanskrit चीनी | ||
Scots Gaelic sìneach | ||
Sepedi setšhaena | ||
Serbian кинески | ||
Sesotho sechaena | ||
Shona chichinese | ||
Sindhi چيني | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) චීන | ||
Slovak čínština | ||
Slovenian kitajski | ||
Somali shiineys | ||
Spanish chino | ||
Sundanese cina | ||
Swahili kichina | ||
Swedish kinesiska | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) intsik | ||
Tajik чинӣ | ||
Tamil சீனர்கள் | ||
Tatar кытай | ||
Telugu చైనీస్ | ||
Thai ชาวจีน | ||
Tigrinya ቻይናዊ | ||
Tsonga xichayina | ||
Turkish çince | ||
Turkmen hytaýlylar | ||
Twi (Akan) chinafo | ||
Ukrainian китайська | ||
Urdu چینی | ||
Uyghur خەنزۇچە | ||
Uzbek xitoy | ||
Vietnamese người trung quốc | ||
Welsh tseiniaidd | ||
Xhosa isitshayina | ||
Yiddish כינעזיש | ||
Yoruba ara ṣaina | ||
Zulu isishayina |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | In Afrikaans, "Chinees" can also refer to someone who is secretive or mysterious. |
| Albanian | The word "Kineze" in Albanian also refers to "Japanese" and "Vietnamese", all of which have roots in China. |
| Amharic | ቻይንኛ can also mean "porcelain" in Amharic. |
| Arabic | The word "صينى" can also mean "made in China" or "Chinese-style" in Arabic |
| Azerbaijani | The word "Çin" in Azerbaijani can also refer to the Chinese language or the Chinese people. |
| Basque | The word "Txinatarra" also means "strange" or "foreign" in Basque, highlighting the concept of "otherness" associated with its Chinese origin. |
| Belarusian | The word "Кітайскі" is also used to refer to something that is of high quality or luxurious. |
| Bengali | "চাইনিজ" শব্দটির ব্যুৎপত্তি "চিন" দেশের নাম থেকে, যা ফার্সি "চীন" থেকে এসেছে। |
| Bosnian | Bosnian word 'Kineski' comes from the Old Persian word 'Cina' meaning 'land of the Qin' and ultimately from the ancient Chinese word 'Qin' (pronounced 'Chin') which was the name of a powerful state in West China. |
| Bulgarian | В миналото думата "Китайски" е била употребявана като название и за някои други азиатски страни и народи. |
| Catalan | In Catalan, "Xinès" also refers to a type of Chinese cabbage. |
| Cebuano | The term may also imply a person of mixed Chinese and Filipino origins or someone who acts and behaves similarly to a Chinese person. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | "中文"也可指中东文化或中欧国家 |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 簡化字的「中」，取自「中國」中間一豎；繁體的「中」字則是由中間開始往左右兩邊延伸，代表中國位於東亞的中心地帶。 |
| Corsican | In Corsica Cinese also has the meaning of “a bit tipsy”. |
| Croatian | The adjective "kineski" also means "garish" or "showy" in Croatian. |
| Czech | The word "čínština" is derived from the word "Čína", which in turn comes from the Sanskrit word "Cīna". |
| Danish | "Kinesisk" comes from the Greek word "Kina" which in turn comes from the Old Persian word "China" which means "the land of the Qin dynasty." |
| Dutch | In Dutch, the word "Chinese" can also refer to the Chinese language or to people from China. |
| Esperanto | The Esperanto word "Ĉina" is derived from the Malay word "Cina", which refers to people of Chinese descent in Southeast Asia. |
| Estonian | Hiina keel (Chinese) translates to "the language of the Xiongnu" in Estonian, as "hiina" can refer to the Xiongnu people who lived in what is now Mongolia and northern China. |
| Finnish | In Finnish folklore, Kiinalainen also means 'a ghost' or 'a nocturnal forest spirit'. |
| French | In French, the word "chinois" can also refer to a type of decorative fabric or a style of furniture. |
| Frisian | Sineesk is in it Frisian form an alternate spelling of Sineesch, a word that also means Chinese and is related to the words Sina and Sine, both of which also mean China. |
| German | Die Herkunft des Wortes "Chinesisch" ist unklar, es hat aber auch eine abwertende Bedeutung im Sinne von "minderwertig" oder "billig" |
| Greek | "Κινέζικα" derives from "Σινικός", the adjectival form of "Σίνα" (China), which itself comes from the Sanskrit word "Cīna" and ultimately from the Old Chinese word "Zhōngguó" (Middle Kingdom). |
| Gujarati | The word 'ચાઇનીઝ' is also used to refer to the Chinese language, culture, and cuisine. |
| Haitian Creole | "Chinwa" is also used to refer to the Chinese language and culture. |
| Hausa | In Hausa, "Sinanci" is a term used for "Chinese" and can also refer to a type of local cloth decorated with Chinese-style patterns. |
| Hawaiian | The origin of the term 'paka' could originate from the Cantonese Chinese term 'pak ke'(客家 'foreign visitor'). |
| Hebrew | סִינִית (sinít) is also used in Hebrew to describe the color "turquoise" or "aqua." |
| Hindi | चीनी (Hindi) can also refer to "sugar" and comes from Sanskrit word "sharkara" via Persian, and unrelated to Chinese people. |
| Hmong | Hmoob Suav Teb (literally "cloth-wearing Chinese") is the term used by the Hmong to refer to the Han Chinese. |
| Hungarian | In Hungarian, the word "kínai" can also mean "foreign" or "exotic", due to the historical dominance of Chinese goods in the country. |
| Icelandic | It is a compound word made up of the noun "Kína" meaning "China" and the adjectival suffix "-versk" meaning "belonging to" or "style of". |
| Igbo | The Igbo word "Chinese nke" can also refer to someone who is crafty or cunning. |
| Indonesian | In Indonesian, "Cina" can also refer to the word "China" or "Chinese people". |
| Irish | The spelling of Sínis has changed several times since its first use in the 13th century, including Sinys, Syneys, Synys, Chynas, and Chynys |
| Italian | The word 'Cinese' in Italian also refers to a type of blue-and-white porcelain popular in the 18th century. |
| Japanese | "中国語" can also mean "Japanese" or "Korean" in a historical context |
| Javanese | The word "wong cina" (''wong'' = person, ''cina'' = China) literally means "person from China". In addition to referring to ethnic Chinese people, this term can also be used to refer to Indonesian citizens of Chinese descent. |
| Kannada | Chinese (ಚೈನೀಸ್): The word is derived from the name of the Qin Dynasty, which ruled China during the 3rd century BC. |
| Kazakh | The word "Қытай" also has the alternate meaning of "the land of the rising sun" in Kazakh. |
| Khmer | The Khmer word "ជនជាតិចិន" can also refer to people of Vietnamese or Lao descent, as the distinction between these ethnic groups is sometimes blurred in Cambodia. |
| Korean | In addition to the meaning 'Chinese,' 중국말 also carries the meaning 'Mandarin,' the standard dialect of modern Chinese. |
| Kurdish | In Kurdish, "Çînî" not only refers to China and its people but can also mean "porcelain" or "fine ceramics". |
| Kyrgyz | The word "Кытайча" in Kyrgyz also refers to the Chinese language and culture. |
| Lao | The word ຈີນ "Chinese" in Lao comes from the Sanskrit word "Cīna", which likely originates from the name of the Qin dynasty (秦朝). |
| Latin | The Latin word "Seres" originally referred to a silk-producing people of Central Asia, not the Chinese. |
| Latvian | "Ķīniešu" can also mean "porcelain" in Latvian, derived from the Chinese "porcelain" (瓷器; pinyin: cíqì). |
| Lithuanian | The word "Kinų" may also refer to a Chinese restaurant or a Chinese dish. |
| Luxembourgish | The word "Chineesesch" can also be used to refer to something that is exotic or unusual. |
| Macedonian | The word "Кинески" also refers to the Chinese language and culture in Macedonian. |
| Malagasy | The term "Sinoa" likely originates from "Tsin", the Hokkien pronunciation of the character "清" (Qīng), the name of the last imperial dynasty of China. |
| Malay | The term "Orang Cina" also refers to ethnic Chinese migrants who assimilated into local culture. |
| Malayalam | In the 16th century Portuguese travellers, who were the first Europeans to reach China via the sea route, called the place “China” after the name of the ruling Qin dynasty. |
| Maltese | The word 'Ċiniż' in Maltese originally meant 'pagan' or 'heathen', but now it primarily refers to people or things from China. |
| Maori | The word 'Hainamana' also refers to people from the Hainan province in southern China. |
| Marathi | The word 'चीनी' (Chinese) in Marathi can also refer to sugar or confectionery. |
| Mongolian | The word "Хятад" can also refer to the Chinese language or culture. |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | In Myanmar, "တရုတ်" (Chinese) can also refer to people of Chinese descent or the Chinese language. |
| Nepali | चीनियाँ (Chīniyā) is derived from the Sanskrit word चीन (Chīna), which referred to the region of China as a whole as well as to people and goods originating from that area. |
| Norwegian | Det kinesiske folket var den største etniske gruppen i Kina, men ikke den eneste, og i denne forstand må «kinesisk» forstås geografisk og ikke etnisk. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | Chitchaina can also mean "Chinese language" or "Chinese culture." |
| Pashto | The word "چینایی" in Pashto also refers to the porcelain or fine pottery originating from China. |
| Polish | The Polish term "chiński" can also refer to a shade of blue associated with China or porcelain from China. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The word "chinês" in Portuguese can also mean "bizarre" or "extravagant". |
| Punjabi | The word "ਚੀਨੀ" in Punjabi can also refer to the sweet substance obtained from sugarcane and used as a sweetener. |
| Romanian | The Romanian word "chinez" also means "strange" or "extravagant". |
| Russian | The Russian word for “Chinese” (китайский язык) comes from a Turkic language, in which “qitay” referred to a woven material |
| Samoan | Saina can also refer to the Saina people of Taiwan and the Saina language, an extinct language spoken by them. |
| Scots Gaelic | The etymological roots of "Sìneach" in Scots Gaelic are debated, but may include "Sinae" (ancient Greek) or "Shina" (Sanskrit). |
| Serbian | "Кинески" derives from the Persian word "Chin", which itself comes from the Sanskrit word "Cīna". |
| Sesotho | Sesotho word 'Sechaena' also means 'the people of China' or 'the people from the Far East.' |
| Shona | The word "ChiChinese" in Shona also means "a person from China". |
| Sindhi | In Sindhi, "چيني" (Cheeni) refers to items made of porcelain or fine clay, reflecting historical trade and cultural exchange with China. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The word 'චීන' can also mean 'China' or 'of China', and is often used to refer to the Chinese people or the Chinese culture. |
| Slovak | Alternately refers to all Sino-Tibetan languages, as well as the languages of China's ethnic minorities. |
| Slovenian | The word “Kitajski” has also been used to describe the Japanese and was also the name chosen by the first Japanese embassy when they traveled to Europe in modern times. |
| Somali | The word 'Shiineys' in Somali can also be used to refer to people from the Far East, such as Japanese or Koreans. |
| Spanish | In Spanish, "chino" can also refer to people of Chinese descent or to clothing originally worn by Chinese laborers. |
| Sundanese | "Cina" (Sundanese) also refers to China and Chinese people or things that originated from China. |
| Swahili | The word 'Kichina' in Swahili comes from the Arabic word 'Sin' ('China') or the Persian word 'Chini' ('China') which originally referred to the Qin dynasty and is unrelated to the Swahili word 'ki-jina' ('name'). |
| Swedish | Kinesiska comes from the Persian word "چينى" (Chini), which itself derives from the Sanskrit word "Cīna", meaning "the land of the Qin dynasty". |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The term 'Intsik' is also used in some Filipino dialects to refer to people with Chinese ancestry, or to describe things or concepts associated with Chinese culture. |
| Tajik | The word "Чинӣ" has multiple meanings in Tajik, including "porcelain," "tea set," and "delicate." |
| Thai | The term "ชาวจีน" literally translates as "boat people," and was first used to refer to migrants from southern China in the 19th century. |
| Turkish | {"text": "Çince kelimesi aynı zamanda "tuhaf, anlaşılmaz, karmaşık" anlamlarında da kullanılır"} |
| Ukrainian | The word "Китайська" can also refer to "china" as a type of porcelain or fine ceramics. |
| Urdu | چینی is also the Urdu word for "porcelain" as well as the Indian subcontinent term for the Han Chinese people who migrated there during the Mughal era. |
| Uzbek | The term "Xitoy" in Uzbek is derived from the Persian word "Kitay," which was in turn borrowed from the Sogdian word "x'yt'y." It can also refer to people of Chinese descent or the Chinese language. |
| Vietnamese | Literally means 'middle kingdom people', referring to the ancient belief that China was the centre of the world. |
| Welsh | The word "Tseiniaidd" may have originated from the Arabic word "Sin", meaning "China". It could also be a combination of the words "Tseina" (China) and "-iaidd" (relating to). |
| Xhosa | In Xhosa, "IsiTshayina" also refers to a type of fabric with a particular texture. |
| Yiddish | The word "כינעזיש" in Yiddish derives from the Persian word "Chini," also meaning "Chinese." |
| Yoruba | "Ara Ṣaina" in Yoruba, meaning "Chinese," may also refer to "the Chinese language" or "a person from China." |
| Zulu | IsiShayina is also used to refer to all things foreign, or even strange or mysterious. |
| English | "Chinese" can refer to the Sinitic branch of languages, the Chinese writing system, as well as a number of other cultures and civilizations. |