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Updated by Day Translations on Mar 16, 2013
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English Words of Asian Origin

15

Ninja

Ninja

Japanese martial artists and secret agents

16

Samurai

Samurai

Japanese military nobility

17

Tsunami

Tsunami

Tidal wave

18

Go

Go

Japanese strategic board game for two players (also known as Igo, and as wéiqí in China, and as baduk in Korea)

19

Tycoon

Tycoon

A dominating business figure, from the Japanese word for 'great lord'

1

Tea

Tea

Because of the many merchants who sailed to the East and the Pacific islands, we now use "tea" (Mandarin word for energy) as part of the English language.

2

chi

chi

Mandarin for energy

3

cheongsam

cheongsam

Chinese dress discovered by the Western world through colonization of Asian countries.

4

Wushu

Wushu

Type of martial arts

5

Tai-chi

Tai-chi

A form of martial arts

6

Feng-shui

Feng-shui

Chinese system usually used in structures and dwellings to ensure positive energy flow.

7

Tofu

Tofu

bean curd

8

bok choy

bok choy

Cantonese word for the Chinese cabbage

9

chopseuy

chopseuy

Cantonese dish of various vegetables, because it literally translates to “mixed pieces”

10

chow

chow

from the Cantonese word that translates to “stir fry”

11

Chow Mein

Chow Mein

from Taishanese, which is a stir fried noodle

12

lychee

lychee

a fruit; word of Cantonese origin

13

gung-ho

gung-ho

meaning “to be extremely enthusiastic about something” from Mandarin

14

Mahjong

Mahjong

a kind of tile game