Chink

Chink

See also: chink

English

Alternative forms

• chink

Etymology

There are several possible origins of the term:

• From the Chinese courtesy ching-ching,[1] a reduplication of Mandarin 請 (qǐng, “please”). Compare chin-chin, Italian cincin, Portuguese tchim-tchim, tim-tim, Spanish chinchín, French tchin-tchin.
• From the alteration of China.[2]
• From the alteration of Qing (also spelled Ch'ing).[3]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡ʃɪŋk/

Noun

Chink (plural Chinks)

1. (slang, offensive, ethnic slur) A person of perceived Chinese ethnicity.
   • 1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, “chapter 51”, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], OCLC 365836:

     Then her eyes, always alert for the affairs of her kitchen, fell on some action of the Chinese cook which aroused her violent disapproval. She turned on him with a torrent of abuse. The Chink was not backward to defend himself, and a very lively quarrel ensued.

   • 1920, George Herriman, Krazy Kat comic strip, October 17:

     [Ignatz Mouse:] A new Chink in town, and acting mighty queer too – I suspect foul play.

   • 1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:

     He scratched his head. "Well, damn me," said he. "I never thought I would take orders from a Chink, but he says 'hist!' and by crums you've got to hist and no back talk either."

Synonyms

• (Chinese person): Chinaman, gook, ching chong

Derived terms

• chinky

Translations

offensive: Chinese person

Chinese: Mandarin: 支那人 (zh) (zhīnàrén) (used by Hong Kongers and Taiwanese when referring to mainland Chinese) Dutch: spleetoog (nl) m or f (offensive term for any Asian person) Esperanto: ĉinaĉo Finnish: kinkki (fi), kinuski (fi) French: chinetoque (fr) m or f, chinetoc (fr) m or f, chintok (fr) m or f German: Schlitzauge (de) n (offensive term for any Asian person) Indonesian: Cina (id), orang Cina, anak Cina, singkek (id) Japanese: チャンコロ (Chankoro), ちゃんころ (ja) (Chankoro), 不彀本 (Pokopen), 支那人 (ja) (しなじん, Shina-jin), ポコペン (Pokopen) Korean: 짱깨 (ko) (jjangkkae), 짱꼴라 (ko) (jjangkkolla), 되놈 (doenom), 뙤놈 (ttoenom) Mongolian: хужаа (mn) (xužaa) Persian: چشم تنگ‎ (fa) (chashm tang) (offensive term for any Asian person) Polish: Żółtek m (offensive term for any East Asian person), kitajec (pl) m Russian: китаёза m or f (kitajóza), узкогла́зый (ru) m (uzkoglázyj) (offensive term for any Asian person) Swedish: guling (sv) c (offensive term for any Asian person) Tagalog: Tsekwa Thai: เจ๊ก (th) (jék) Vietnamese: người Tàu (lit.: "boat person/people")

Adjective

Chink (comparative more Chink, superlative most Chink)

1. (slang, offensive, ethnic slur) Chinese, or perceived to be Chinese.

References

1. Cassell's Dictionary of Slang, Orion Publishing Group, November 2005, →ISBN
2. The Oxford Dictionary of Slang, Oxford University Press, December 2003, →ISBN
3. 21st Century Dictionary of Slang‎, Random House, Inc., 1 January 1994, →ISBN

Anagrams

• Hinck, Kinch