If you are learning Chinese (Mandarin), you must have already noticed that the pronunciation of certain words is very similar to their pronunciation in western languages. In fact, these words are actually borrowed from English and other languages, which is why their pronunciation sounds so familiar. So, let’s try to learn some of them. I promise that they are very easy to remember.
Food
The most important thing that we will discuss in this article is food. Some of these words have been translated directly into Chinese, while others require the addition of one or more characters. For example:
Direct Translation:
Original Word |
Pinyin |
Character |
whiskey |
wÄishìjì |
ćšćŁ«ćż |
champagne |
xiÄngbÄ«n |
éŠæ§ |
coffee |
kÄfÄi |
ććĄ |
latte |
nátiÄ |
æżé |
mocca |
mókÇ |
æ©ćĄ |
chocolate |
qiÇokèlì |
ć·§ć ć |
hamburger |
hànbÇo |
æ±ć Ą |
sandwich |
sÄnmíngzhì |
äžææČ» |
pie |
pài |
掟 |
pudding |
bùdÄ«ng |
ćžäž |
pizza |
pÄ«sà |
æ«èš |
Partial translation + character(s):
Original Word |
Pinyin |
Character |
beer |
píjiÇ |
ć€é |
rum |
lángmÇjiÇ |
æć§é |
sardine |
shÄdÄ«ngyú |
æČäžé±Œ |
salmon |
sÄnwényú |
äžæ鱌 |
For those words that require adding one or more characters, here is how they break down:
- píjiÇ can be separated into pí + jiÇ, where pí is pronounced in a way that is similar to “beer” and jiÇ means “alcohol.”
- lángmÇjiÇ can be separated into lángmÇ + jiÇ, where lángmÇ is pronounced in a way that is similar to “rum” and “jiÇ” once again means “alcohol.”
- shÄdÄ«ngyú can be separated into shading + yú, where shÄdÄ«ng is pronounced in a way that is similar to “sardine” and yú means “fish.”
- sÄnwényú can be separated into sÄnwén + yú, where sÄnwén is pronounced in a way that is similar to “salmon” and yú once again means “fish.”
There are also some other words that have a similar structure. Examples of these are:
- mótuĆchÄ (æ©æ蜊, motorcycle), where mótuĆ is pronounced in a way that is similar to “motor” and chÄ means “car.”
- mínÇqún (èż·äœ èŁ, miniskirt), where mínÇ is pronounced in a way that is similar to“mini” and qún means “skirt.”
Brands
The names of certain famous brands have also been translated directly into Chinese:
Original Word |
Pinyin |
Character |
Nike |
Nàikè |
èć |
Adidas |
ÄdídásÄ« |
éżèżȘèŸŸæŻ |
Cartier |
KÇdìyà |
ćĄć°äș |
Tiffany |
Dìfúní |
èèć°Œ |
Gucci |
GÇqí |
ć€ć„ |
Channel |
XiÄngnàiÄrn |
éŠć„ćż |
People and places
The names of certain well-known people and places have been translated directly into Chinese as well:
Original Word |
Pinyin |
Character |
Obama |
ÀobÄmÇ |
ć„„ć·Žé©Ź |
Hillary |
XÄ«lÄlÇ |
ćžæé |
Elizabeth |
YÄ«lìshÄbái |
äŒäžœèçœ |
Charles |
CháÄrsÄ« |
æ„ć°æŻ |
New York |
NiÇyuÄ |
çșœçșŠ |
London |
LúndĆ«n |
äŒŠæŠ |
Paris |
BÄlí |
ć·Žé» |
Sydney |
XÄ«ní |
æć°Œ |
Sports words
The same can be said of certain sports words:
Original Word |
Pinyin |
Character |
Olympics |
ÀolínpÇkè |
ć„„æćčć |
golf |
gÄoÄrfĆ« |
é«ć°ć€« |
marathon |
mÇlÄsĆng |
é©ŹææŸ |
ballet |
bÄléi |
èèŸ |
Miscellaneous
Here are some other words that have been directly translated:
Original Word |
Pinyin |
Character |
tank |
tÇnkè |
ćŠć |
sofa |
sÄfÄ |
æČć |
poker |
pĆ«kè |
æć |
model |
mótè |
æšĄçč |
humor |
yĆumò |
ćčœé» |
logic |
luóji |
é»èŸ |
hysteria |
xièsÄ«dÇlÇ |
ææŻćșé |
gene |
jīyīn |
ćșć |
clone |
kèlóng |
ć é |
Abbreviations
Sometimes we don’t even have to translate words, we just use them. This is true of certain abbreviations. For example, WTO, SOS, DNA, NBA and so on.
Examples of really good translations
Sometimes when we translate words into Chinese, we simply translate their original pronunciation. However, there are occasionally instances in which we can successfully translate the word’s pronunciation and meaning at the same time. Here are two very good examples of this.
The first one is the brand name “Benz.” This has been translated as bÄnchí (ć„é©°) in Chinese. As we can see, the word bÄnchí is pronounced in a way that is very similar to “Benz.” However, the best part is that the word bÄnchí (ć„é©°) also refers to a horse or car that moves quickly and freely through a field. As you can see, this is a very vivid translation, as well as a very successful one.
The second good example is Coca-Cola. At first, Coca-Cola was translated as kÄdÇu kÄnlà (èèȘćèĄ). However, while we have to admit that the pronunciation of kÄdÇu kÄnlà sounds very similar to “Coca-Cola,” the meaning presented some unfortunate problems. Specifically, the word kÄdÇu means “tadpole,” while kÄn means “to bite” and là means “wax”! Oh my goodness! Would you really want to drink something called “tadpoles bite wax”? Never!
Luckily for them, Coca-Cola decided not to use this silly name, and instead changed it to kÄkÇu kÄlè (ćŻćŁćŻäč). This was a great move because this has become the most successful brand translation in history. Why is this? Well, it’s because the word kÄkÇu refers to something that is very tasty or delicious and kÄlè means something that is worth being happy about! You see? Now you know why Coca-Cola is so popular in China. Of course we also have Pepsi, and Pepsi was translated in a similar way. Specifically, the name is bÇishì kÄlè (çŸäșćŻäč), which means “everything is worth being happy about.” In addition, bÇishì is also pronounced in a way that is similar to “Pepsi” in English.
Thus, as I said before, languages are always changing, and English is no exception. In fact, English has also absorbed a lot of new words from Chinese, with “tofu” “tai chi,” “qi” and “feng shui” being just a few examples. And even though the pronunciation of these words has been somewhat altered from the original Mandarin, Chinese people are still able to understand them almost immediately when they hear them. Therefore, it’s just another way that globalization has manifested itself in our lives, as well as a very convenient way for us to learn more about another language.