chino

See also: Chino, chinó, chinò, and chinō

English

Etymology

A term used by American veterans of the Spanish-American war. It is theorized that the cloth or the trousers were made in China.

The American Heritage Dictionary says that the word is from American Spanish chino, literally "toasted", in reference to its usual color. But this is not a usual meaning of the Spanish word.

Noun

chino (countable and uncountable, plural chinos)

1. A coarse cotton fabric commonly used to make trousers and uniforms.

Derived terms

• chinoed

See also

• camisa de chino

Further reading

• Chino cloth on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Choni, chion-, ichno-

Asturian

Adjective

chino

1. neuter of chinu

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈki.no/
• Rhymes: -ino
• Hyphenation: chì‧no

Etymology 1

From the short past participle of chinare (“to bend”) in Tuscan; compare the Standard Italian participle chinato.

Adjective

chino (feminine china, masculine plural chini, feminine plural chine)

1. lowered, bent, bowed

   Synonyms: curvo, piegato

Etymology 2

Verb

chino

1. first-person singular present indicative of chinare

Further reading

• Ledgeway, Adam. 2016. Italian, Tuscan, and Corsican. In Ledgeway, Adam & Maiden, Martin (eds.), The Oxford guide to the Romance languages, 206–227. Oxford: OUP.

Neapolitan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin plēnus.

Pronunciation

• (Naples) IPA^(key): [ˈkçiːnə], (feminine) [ˈkçeːnă]

Adjective

chino (feminine singular chiena, masculine plural chine, feminine plural chiene)

1. full

References

• AIS: Sprach- und Sachatlas Italiens und der Südschweiz [Linguistic and Ethnographic Atlas of Italy and Southern Switzerland] – map 1335: “pieno; piena; pieni; piene” – on navigais-web.pd.istc.cnr.it
• Giacco, Giuseppe (2003) “chiéna”, in Schedario Napoletano

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʃĩ.nu/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʃĩ.nu/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʃi.no/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈʃi.nu/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈʃi.nu/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃi.nu/

• Rhymes: -inu
• Hyphenation: chi‧no

Etymology 1

From China.

Adjective

chino (feminine china, masculine plural chinos, feminine plural chinas)

1. (rare outside of compounds) Chinese

   Synonym: chinês

Derived terms

• rato-chino

Noun

chino m (plural chinos, feminine china, feminine plural chinas)

1. (rare outside of compounds) Chinese

   Synonym: chinês

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

chino m (plural chinos)

1. (Madeira) Synonym of abatanado
2. (informal) knife

Derived terms

• chinar

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

chino

1. first-person singular present indicative of chinar

Further reading

• “chino”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2025
• “chino”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃino/ [ˈt͡ʃi.no]

• Audio (Spain):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ino
• Syllabification: chi‧no

Etymology 1

From China +‎ -o.

Variety stores are called chinos because almost all variety stores in Spain are run by Chinese people.

Adjective

chino (feminine china, masculine plural chinos, feminine plural chinas)

1. Chinese

Noun

chino m (plural chinos, feminine china, feminine plural chinas)

1. Chinese person

Noun

chino m (uncountable)

1. Chinese (language)

Noun

chino m (plural chinos)

1. (colloquial) gobbledygook (an incomprehensible language)
2. (colloquial) a Chinese-run establishment
   1. a Chinese restaurant

      Synonym: chifa

   2. (Spain) (US) variety store, dollar store, dime store, five-and-dime, (UK) pound shop (owned by a Chinese immigrant)

      Synonyms: bazar chino, (Spain, dated) todo a cien, (Argentina) todo por dos pesos, (Chile) todo a 1000, (Chile) todo a luca

3. (colloquial, Spain) heroin (taken by chasing the dragon)

Hyponyms

• pekinés
• shanghaiano

Derived terms

• achinado
• achinar
• aligátor chino
• antichino
• autillo chino
• berro chino
• caja china
• campanilla china
• carácter chino
• chino mandarín
• chino tuerto
• col china
• cuento chino
• damas chinas
• engañar como a un chino
• esto es chino para mí
• fumar como chino en quiebra
• gota china
• letras chinas
• mona china
• naranjo chino
• oropéndola china
• repollo chino
• rosa china
• tablero chino
• taco chino
• tinta china
• trabajo de chinos
• yute chino

Etymology 2

Use of enchinar (“to pave”), from en- + china.

Adjective

chino (feminine china, masculine plural chinos, feminine plural chinas)

1. curly
2. (colloquial, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras) fed up
3. (colloquial, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Cuba, Puerto Rico) beardless; having little or no body hair

   Synonyms: lampiño, liso

Noun

chino m (plural chinos, feminine china, feminine plural chinas)

1. someone with curly hair

Etymology 3

From Kichwa/Quechua china (“servant girl”).

Noun

chino m (plural chinos)

1. (Colombia) kid
2. (Latin America) boy, servant

   Tengo que llevar a los chinos al colegio.

   I have to take the kids to school.

   Apúrate chino Juan que a la fila llaman ya.

   Hurry up little John, because they're calling attendance already.

Related terms

• enchinar

Etymology 4

Variant of china.

Noun

chino m (plural chinos)

1. (Spain, Andalusia) Alternative form of china (“pebble”)
2. (in the plural) game where players try to guess the number of coins in another player's first

Further reading

• “chino”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10
• “chino”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010
• “estar”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010