Now updated for CSW19. New words, if any, and new inflections of existing words, are shown in red.
| amban | a Chinese resident official in a dependency. |
| bao | a kind of steamed dumpling. |
| bohea | an inferior kind of black tea. [From the Wu-i hills in China]. |
| cheongsam | an oriental dress with a slit skirt and a mandarin collar; from Chinese, literally, long gown. |
| chiao | a Chinese monetary unit, one tenth of a YUAN. No —S. (But the Korean equivalent JIAO does take an —S hook). |
| cochin | a large variety of the domestic fowl, originally from Cochin China. |
| congo congou | a kind of black Chinese tea. |
| cumquat kumquat | a kind of fruit. |
| cumshaw | (in Orient) a present, gratuity; a bribe. [From Chinese (Amoy/Xiamen dialect), literally, grateful thanks, probably first picked up by British Navy personnel in Chinese ports, during the First Opium War of 1839-42.] |
| douc | a kind of monkey, remarkable for its varied and brilliant colors. It is a native of Cochin China. [French adaptation of a Cochin name]. |
| erhu | a Chinese musical instrument. |
| fum fung | a fabulous Chinese bird. |
| garoupa | the grouper fish, as used in Chinese cuisine. |
| genseng ginseng | a plant of the genus Aralia, the root of which is highly valued as a medicine among the Chinese. |
| guanxi | a Chinese social concept based on the exchange of favours. |
| guqin qin | a Chinese musical instrument. |
| hoisin | a sweet spicy reddish-brown sauce, made from soy beans. |
| honan | a PONGEE fabric of even color made originally by silkworms from Honan province, China. |
| hong | a Chinese warehouse or foreign mercantile house in China. (Also an old form of hang, so can be conjugated |
| hyson | a fine sort of green tea. |
| joss | a Chinese figure of a god, an idol. |
| kang | a Chinese sleeping platform. |
| kaoliang | sorghum grain of several varieties; an alcoholic drink made from it. [Chinese 'tall grain']. |
| kaolin kaoline | a very pure white clay, ordinarily in the form of an impalpable powder, and used to form the paste of porcelain; China clay; porcelain clay. It is chiefly derived from the decomposition of common feldspar. |
| ketchup | a yukky red stuff used for spoiling the taste of food. [Cantonese k'e chap, tomato juice]. |
| kotow kowtow | the prostration made by mandarins and others to their superiors, either as homage or worship, by knocking the forehead on the ground. There are degrees in the rite, the highest being expressed by three knockings. |
| kylin | a fabulous animal figured in the decoration of Chinese pottery. |
| langshan | a small black Chinese hen. [From a place near Shanghai]. |
| laogai | a Chinese forced labout camp. |
| leechee lichee lichi litchi lychee | a Chinese fruit |
| lapsang | a variety of SOUCHONG tea with a smoky flavour. |
| li | a Chinese unit of distance. |
| liang | a Chinese weight: 37.24 grams. |
| likin | formerly, a Chinese transit duty. |
| lomein | a Chinese dish of noodles, meat and vegetables. |
| loquat | a Chinese and Japanese tree or its small, yellow, edible fruit. [Cantonese luh kwat lit. 'rush orange']. |
| longan lungan | a pulpy fruit related to the litchi, and produced by an evergreen East Indian tree. [Chinese lung-yen, dragon's eye]. |
| lumpia | a kind of spring roll. |
| mahjong mahjongg | an old Chinese table game. |
| mee | noodles or a dish containing noodles. |
| menshen | a Chinese door god. No —S. |
| moutan | the Chinese tree peony, a shrub with large flowers of various colors. |
| nankin nankeen | a durable buff-coloured cotton. [From Nanking in China]. |
| oolong oulong | a kind of tea. [Chinese wu-lung, black dragon]. |
| packfong pakfong paktong pakthong | a Chinese alloy of nickel, zinc, and copper, resembling German silver. |
| pakapoo | a Chinese version of lotto. |
| peke | a breed of small dog. [From Peking]. |
| pekin | a fine soft silk. [From Peking]. |
| pekoe | a kind of tea. [Chinese pek-ho, white down]. |
| pela | white wax from a scale insect. [Chinese peh-la, white wax]. |
| petsai | Chinese cabbage. |
| petuntse petuntze | a feldspathic rock used in making Chinese porcelain. |
| pinyin | a system for romanizing Chinese ideograms in which tones are indicated by diacritics and unaspirated consonants are transcribed as voiced. |
| pongee | a thin, soft silk from China, naturally coloured beige or tan; a cotton or rayon imitation of this. [Perhaps from pun-chi, own loom] |
| putonghua | the Chinese language, standard Mandarin. |
| qi chi | the physical life-force postulated by certain Chinese philosophers; the material principle. |
| qin | see GUQIN. |
| qigong | a system of Chinese meditational exercises. |
| qinghaosu | a crystalline compound obtained from artemisia. |
| renminbi | a Chinese coin. |
| saimin | a Hawaiian noodle soup. [Chinese sai minh, fine noodles]. |
| samfoo samfu | an outfit worn by Chinese women. |
| sampan sanpan | a flat-bottomed Chinese skiff usually propelled by two short oars. |
| samshoo samshu | a spirituous liquor distilled by the Chinese from the yeasty liquor in which boiled rice has fermented under pressure. |
| sancai | in Chinese ceramics, a three-colour glaze. |
| sang | (Noun) a Chinese organ played by mouth: worth noting because it means SANGS is valid. |
| shanghai | to force aboard a ship for service. [Shanghai in China]. |
| shantung | a plain rough cloth of wild silk. [Shantung province in China]. |
| shen | the spiritual element of a person's psyche. |
| shitzu | a small long-haired dog bred from the Pekingese and Lhasa Apso. |
| shwanpan swanpan | a Chinese abacus. |
| souchong soochong | a fine sort of black China tea. [hsiao, small, + chung, sort]. |
| subgum | a Chinese dish of mixed vegetables and diced meat. |
| sycee | lumps of pure silver bearing the stamp of a banker or assayer and formerly used as money in China. |
| taipan | a foreigner living in China and head of a foreign business there. (Also, from an unrelated Native Australian root, a large venomous Australian snake). |
| tanka tankia | the boat-dwelling population of China. |
| tao | a path of virtuous conduct in Chinese philosophy. |
| tatsoi | a variety of Chinese cabbage. |
| tong | a Chinese criminal society. |
| tongman | a member of a Chinese TONG. Pl. TONGMEN. |
| tongster | a member of a Chinese TONG. |
| towkay | sir, master. |
| tuchun | a Chinese military governor. |
| tuina | a Chinese therapeutic massage system. |
| tung | a Chinese tree. |
| twankay twanky | a variety of green tea; (sl.) gin. [After Tong-ke in China]. |
| typhoon | a violent cyclonic storm of the China Sea (t'ai fung, big wind). |
| wampee | a tree of the Orange family, growing in China and the East Indies; also, its fruit, which is about the size of a large grape, and has a hard rind and a peculiar flavor. [hwang-pi, yellow skin]. |
| whangee | a kind of grass related to the bamboo; a cane made from the stem of this. [Chinese huang, yellow, + li, bamboo]. |
| wock wok | a pan used in Chinese cookery. [Cantonese wohk, pan.] |
| wonton | in Chinese cuisine, a spicy dumpling containing minced pork, esp. served in soup. |
| wushu | the Chinese martial arts. |
| wuxia | a genre of Chinese fiction involving the adventures of sword-wielding heroes. |
| yamen yamun | the offices and residence of a mandarin. |
| yin | one of the two opposing principles of Chinese philosophy. Cf. YANG. |
| yang | one of the two opposing principles of Chinese philosophy. Cf. YIN. |
| yen | a Chinese currency. |
| yu | a precious jade. |
| yuan | a Chinese monetary unit. |
| yulan | a kind of magnolia, producing large white flowers. |