88

Chinese

Loan Word

Characters

Meaning

Pak-choi

白菜

Another name for Chinese cabbage,

*Pak pai

白牌

Literally 'white label', meaning hire cars which are in fact operating illegally because they are not licenced to carry passengers for a fee.

Pekingese

北京(狗)

A small long-haired dog, of the pug type, orig. brought from the Imperial Palace at Pekin.

Pekoe

白毫

A superior kind of black tea, so called from the leaves being picked young with the down still on them.

*Pinyin

拼音

Literally 'to write according to sound'

referring to the romanization system used to write Chinese rather than the traditional Chinese characters.

Petuntse,

白墩子

A white earth, consisting of pulverized granite; used in combination with kaolin in the manufacture of Chinese porcelain,

Petuntze

A 4-stringed Chinese musical instrument plucked like a guitar and having a large body resembling a lute and a neck with 12 or more frets that leads into the body.

Pipa

琵琶

*Putonghua

普通話

Literally 'ordinary speech', the standard dialect of China.

*Renminbi

人民幣

Literally 'the people's currency', referring to the currency of the People's Republic of China.

Samfoo

衫褲

A style of casual dress worn by Chinese women, consisting of waisted blouse and trousers,

Sampan

舢舨

Applied by Europeans in the China seas to any small boat of Chinese pattern.

Samshu

三燒

An alcoholic liquor distilled in China from boiled and fermented rice.

*Sharpei,

沙皮

Literally 'sand-skinned', referring to the rough and loose skin of this breed of dog, formerly known as the 'Chinese Fighting Dog'.

sharpi

To drug or otherwise render insensible,

and ship on board a vessel wanting hands.

Shanghai

上海

A soft undressed Chinese silk.

Shantung

山東

A Chinese breed of small dog similar to a Pekingese.

Shih tzu

獅子

One of the finer varieties of black tea.

Souchong

小種

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