List of English Words of Chinese Origin - K

K

Kanji

Japanese name for Chinese characters: 漢字, lit. Chinese characters. Chinese: Hàn zì.

Kaolin

from 高嶺, lit. high mountain peak, the name of a village or suburb of Jingde Town, in Jiangxi Province, that was the site of a mine from which kaolin clay (高嶺土 gāo lǐng tǔ) was taken to make the fine porcelain produced in Jingde.

Keemun

kind of tea, 祁門 Mandarin qímén

Ketchup

possibly from Cantonese or Amoy 茄汁, lit. tomato sauce/juice

Koan

Japanese 公案 kōan, from Chinese 公案 (Mandarin gōng'àn), lit. public record

Kowtow

from Cantonese 叩頭 (Mandarin, kòu tóu), lit. knock head

Kumquat or cumquat

from Cantonese name of the fruit 柑橘 (Gamgwat)

Kung fu

the English term to collectively describe Chinese martial arts; from Cantonese 功夫 (Gongfu), lit. efforts