1. Typhoon
臺風
Pronounced "tai feng" in Chinese. The literal translation is"strong wind." Experts say the term, typhon from the Greek andArabic, was strengthened with the Chinese translation。
中文的發音為:taifeng。直譯過來就是:“強風”。有專家表示這個詞匯源自于希臘語和阿拉伯語,中文翻譯后意思加強了。
2. China
中國
In Chinese, the name is pronounced zhōng guó and literallymeans "the middle country." The name was first used by the Italianexplorer, Marco Polo。
在中文里的讀音為:zhōng guó,字面意思是“中間的國家“。最初使用這個詞匯的人是意大利探險家馬可波羅。
3. Silk
絲綢
Pronounced ”si“ in Mandarin. The word was first introduced toWestern culture by smugglers who took silk worms and mulberryleaves out of China in 552 Common Era (CE)。
在普通話里的讀音為:si。這個詞語第一次引入到西方,是公元552年走私者將蠶和桑葉從中國帶到西方的時候。
4. Feng Shui
風水
Literally wind and water. It is the Chinese belief in creatinga spiritual balance in one's home and workplace. The word was firstintroduced to Westerners in 1757.
字面意思是:風和水。風水是中國人在家和工作場所創造精神平衡的一種信仰。這個詞最開始進入西方是1757年。
5. Kowtow
磕頭
Literally means "knock head." Pronounced ”ke tou“ in Chinese.In China the word is a way of bowing and touching the forehead tothe ground to indicate respect. In English the word means to "beservile: to behave in an extremely submissive way in order toplease somebody in a position of authority."
字面意思就是“扣頭”,在中文中的發音為:ketou,意思是:鞠躬,前額碰到地上以示尊重。在英語中的意思是“奴化:為了取悅別人,表現得非常順從”。
6. Junk
垃圾
The literal translation in Chinese is "boat." In 1884 the termcame to mean "old refuse from boats and ships," and eventually cameto mean trash in Western culture。
中文中的字面意思是“船”。這個詞語在1884年表示的是“船上的廢舊物”,在西方最終演變成垃圾的意思。
7. Lose Face
丟面子
The literal translation is "humiliation" and is pronounced diumian zi in Chinese. The word is said to have been introduced toEnglish speakers in 1876.
字面的意思是“丟臉、恥辱”,發音為diu mian zi。據說這個詞匯是在1876引進西方的。
8. Shanghai
上海
Shanghai is a Chinese port. The word in English came to mean,"to drug a man unconscious and ship him as a sailor." This was thepractice of ”recruiting“ sailors to the port of Shanghai。
上海是中國的一個港口城市。在英語中的意思是“給某人下毒使其失去意識,然后帶他去做船員”。這就是上海港口實際中“招募”的船員。
9. Tai Chi
太極
In Chinese, the word is literally translated to the "supremeultimate." It is now used in American lingo to describe the martialart of tai chi. Some emphasize the slow movements as a form ofexercise, while others practice it as a martial art。
按照中文譯過來就是“太極(最高極限)”。這也是現在美國武術館中描述的太極。一些人將其看做一種慢動作的練習方式,但是另一些人將其當做武術來練。
10. Oolong
烏龍茶
Literally "black dragon." First introduced to the Englishlanguage in 1852 as a dark, black tea。
字面意思是“黑龍”。首次是1852年作為紅茶引入的。