70 Chinese Loanwords in English

Compiled by 70 Chinese Loanwords in English project team

Beijing Language and Culture University Press

January 2020

58.00 (CNY)

The 70 words selected in this book not only represent traditional Chinese culture， but also reflect new Chinese objects and concepts. In addition， the book cites explanations from authoritative English dictionaries and uses cases from mainstream media， which are not only very persuasive， but also closer to the readers’ lives.

Chunyun

(Spring Festival Travel Rush/Season)

Chunyun， also referred to as the Spring Festival travel season or" Chunyun period， is a period of travel in China with an extremely high traffic load around the time of the Chinese New Year. The period usually begins 15 days before Lunar New Year’s Day and lasts for around 40 days.

Wikipedia

Jan. 23， 2019 CNN

State-run media Xinhua reports that China — already possessing the world’s longest rail network — launched ten new railways at the end of 2018 to deal with this year’s Chunyun rush.

Jan. 28， 2019 Bloomberg News

China’s railways expect to transport 413 million passengers， up 8.3 percent from last year， during the 40-day official travel season known as “Chunyun.” (That translates to “Spring Festival Transportation” and typically begins 15 days before the start of the Chinese New Year).

Chunyun is a cultural phenomenon peculiar to China. It refers specifically to the phenomenon of the large-scale pressure that is exerted on the transportation system before and after China’s Spring Festival.

During an approximately 40-day period， with the Spring Festival at its center， the various sectors of the Chinese transportation system， such as railroads， highways， and airlines， must organize large-scale transportation capacity to deliver travelers to and from their destinations. During the 2019 Chunyun season， the total number of trips taken was approximately 3 billion. That would be equal to the entire populations of Africa， Europe， the Americas， and Oceania all moving at the same time. So， Chunyun has been referred to as “the largest and longest lasting cyclical human migration in the history of mankind.”

Why would such a phenomenon arise in China? Firstly， Chinese people have a deep sense of their native land and family togetherness. Spring Festival is the most important holiday of the entire year. It doesn’t matter how far away from home one is， people still hurry home before the eve of the New Year to unite with their families. Secondly， ever since the reform and opening up， more and more people leave their hometowns to work in areas where the economy is more vibrant. Those people form the bulk of the “great army of Chunyun” as they travel en masse back to their hometowns during Spring Festival. Thirdly， all the institutions of higher education begin their winter break immediately prior to Spring Festival. Students， away from home at school， are a major passenger flow in Chunyun. And as people’s standard of living constantly improves， quite a few people choose to travel abroad during Spring Festival time， which also contributes to the transportation pressures of Chunyun.

Jiayou

(Add Oil， Go/Come On)

Expressing encouragement， incitement， or support: Go on! Go for it!

Oxford English Dictionary

Aug. 15， 2008 NPR

A common Chinese cheer is showing up at the Beijing Olympics. Crowds are shouting “China add oil，” which would translate to “Go China.” The all-purpose cry is part of the officially sanctioned cheers taught to cheerleading squads in the country.

Aug. 3， 2012 The Washington Post

It’s an amazing feeling to be pulling along a wide lake， paddling as a team — Chinese， Americans， Australians， Turks， and one German — to the beat of a drum while yelling “Jiayou” in unison.

“Jiayou” originally meant to add fuel oil or lubricating oil. Eventually， it was developed into a metaphor， “put forth extra effort”， and is commonly used in Chinese to encourage and support others.

At the 29th Summer Olympic Games held in Beijing in 2008， the singular phenomenon of Chinese crowds all shouting “Jiayou” at the events left foreign reporters and guests both baffled and curious. Some reporters offered the translation: “Zhongguo Jiayou! Go China，” which had both the pinyin spelling “Jiayou”， and the translated meaning: “Go China.” But “Jiayou” is not simply used on occasions of intense competition such as the Olympics; it can also be used in tragic contexts such as that of the Wenchuan earthquake. In that instance， many foreigners witnessed the scene of crowds of Chinese in Tian’anmen Square chanting “Jiayou China” and “Jiayou Wenchuan” on TV. Obviously， English “Go” or “Come on” can’t fully express all that “Jiayou” implies in Chinese; therefore， there was widespread speculation that “Jiayou” would be borrowed into English. And indeed， in October of 2018， the Chinese loan translation “add oil” was added to the Oxford English Dictionary. Nowadays， the pinyin form “Jiayou” is also being used more and more.