This is a list of
Spanish words of
Chinese origin. Some of these words have alternate
etymologies and may also appear on a list of
Spanish words from a different
language.
List
biombo = folding screen: from
Portuguesebiombo, from
Japanesebyōbu, from Chinese pingfeng (屏風), "folding screen," from ping "folding screen," + feng "
wind."
cantón =
cottoncloth: from Cantão, old
Portuguese name for
Guangzhou, alteration of Chinese Guang-dong (廣東), Kuang-tung, "region of the east," from guang "
region" + dōng "
east."
caolín = type of fine, white
clay: from
Frenchkaolin/caolin, from Kaoling, name of a
hill in southeast
China where this clay was originally obtained, from Chinese Gaoling (高嶺), literally "high
mountain," from gāo, "high," + ling, "mountain,
summit."
china = an
orange: shortened from naranja china, "
Chineseorange," from
PortugueseChina, from
PersianCin (چین), derived from
SanskritCīna (चीन) (c. 1st century), probably from Chinese Qín (秦), Chinese
dynasty (221-206
B.C.). For the
etymologically unrelated Spanish word china/chino, see
here.
soja = the
soybean plant, a soybean: from
Dutchsoja "
soy sauce, soybean," from Chinese "su/Shu" 菽 thence to Japanese shōyu (醤油) "soy sauce," from
Chinese 醬油 jiang-you), literally "
oilsauce," or from
Cantoneseshî-yaū (豉油) from shî "
fermentedsoybean" + yóu "oil,
grease."
soya = the
soybean plant, a soybean: from
Englishsoya "soybean," from
Dutchsoja, see soja above.
té =
tea,
tea plant, dried tea leaves: from Hokkien (
Min Nan) t'e, "(茶)
tea," from Old Chinese d'a, "tea," in the three
meanings) described above.