Silk 丝绸
Pronounced si in Mandarin1. The word was first introduced to Western culture by smugglers who took silk worms and mulberry leaves out of China in 552 Common Era .
在中文里的读音为:si。这个词汇首次引入到西方是公元552年走私者将蚕、桑叶从中国带到西方的时候。
Feng Shui 风水
Literally2 wind and water. It is the Chinese belief in creating a spiritual balance in one's home and workplace. The word was first introduced to Westerners in 1757.
字面意思是:风和水。风水是中国人在家和工作场合创造精神平衡的一种信仰。这个词最开始进入西方是1757年。
Kowtow 磕头
Literally means knock head. Pronounced e k'o-t'ou in Chinese. In China the word is a way of bowing and touching3 the forehead to the ground to indicate respect. In English the word means to be servile: to behave in an extremely submissive way in order to please somebody in a position of authority.
字面意思就是扣头,在中文中的发音为:e ko-tou ,意思是:鞠躬,前额碰到地上以示尊重。在英语中的意思是奴化:为了取悦其他人,表现得很顺从。
Gung Ho 工合
Pronounced gōng h in Mandarin. The literal translation is,work together. The English use was popularized by Marines fighting in the Pacific in World War II. The phrase came to mean: whole heartedly enthusiastic, and loyal, eager, and zealous4.
在中文里的发音为gōng h,意思是合作、同心协力。在英语中广泛被用是二战时期海军陆战队在太平洋作战时期。这个短语的意思是:竭诚热情,忠诚、愿望、热心。
Typhoon 台风
Pronounced dfēng in Mandarin and tai fung in Cantonese. The literal translation is strong wind. Experts say the term, typhon from the Greek and Arabic, was strengthened with the Chinese translation.
在中文中的发音为:dfēng,广东话的发音为:tai fung。直译过来就是:强风。有专家表示这个词语来源于于希腊语和阿拉伯语,中文翻译后意思加大了。
China 中国
In Chinese, the name is pronounced zhōng gu and literally means the middle country. The name was first used by the Italian explorer, Marco Polo.
在中文里的读音为:zhōng gu,字面意思是中间的国家。刚开始用这个词语的人是意大利探险家马可波罗。
Junk 垃圾
The literal translation in Chinese is boat. In 1884 the term came to mean old refuse from boats and ships, and eventually came to mean trash in Western culture.
中文中的字面意思是船。这个词汇在1884年表示的是船上的废旧物,在西方最后演变成垃圾的意思。
Lose Face 丢面子
The literal translation is humiliation5 and is pronounced tu lien6 in Chinese. The word is said to have been introduced to English speakers in 1876.
字面的意思是丢脸、耻辱,发音为tu lien。据了解这个词语是在1876引进西方的。
Shanghai 上海
Shanghai is a Chinese seaport7. The word in English came to mean, to drug a man unconscious and ship him as a sailor. This was the practice of 'recruiting' sailors to the seaport of Shanghai.
上海是中国的一个港口城市。在英语中的意思是给某人下毒使其失去意识,然后带他去做船员。这就是上海港口实质中招募的船员。
Tai Chi 太极
In Chinese, the word is literally translated to the supreme8 ultimate. It is now used in American lingo9 to describe the martial10 art of tai chi. Some emphasize the slow movements as a form of exercise, while others practice it as a martial art.
根据中文译过来就是太极。这也是目前美国武术馆中描述的太极。一些人将它看做一种慢动作的训练方法,但另一些人将它当做武术来练。
Oolong 乌龙茶
Literally black dragon. First introduced to the English language in 1852 as a dark, black tea.
字面意思是黑龙。初次是1852年作为红茶引入的。