chinois (French)

Where does "chinois" come from?

The French adjective 'chinois' is formed within French by combining 'Chine' with the suffix '-ois'[1]. The term 'Chine' traces back through Persian and Middle Persian forms ultimately to the Sanskrit word 'cīna'[2], which itself likely derives from the ancient Chinese state of Qin[4].

Open questions

The derivation of Sanskrit 'cīna' from Old Chinese is uncertain, with alternative theories proposing origins from other ancient states or kingdoms. [4]

Full etymology tree

chinois (French), 'of China; Chinese'
- derived Chine (French), 'China (a country in Asia)'
  - inherited چینی (čini) (Persian), 'Chinese'
    - compound چین (čin) (Persian), 'wrinkle'
      - inherited 𐭰𐭩𐭭 (čīn) (Middle Persian)
        inherited चीन (cīna) (Sanskrit), 'the Cīna or China (name of a people attested in classical literature, often identified as the Chinese)'
        derived 秦 (zin) (Old Chinese)
    - suffix ـی (-i) (Persian), 'a, one; marks a noun phrase as indefinite or non-specific, especially in the literary language'
- suffix -ois (French), 'Used to form adjectives related to a particular country, region or city, their associated inhabitant names, and the local language or dialect'

Ancestors

Chine (French)
-ois (French)

Descendants and derived words

badiane chinoise (French)
biscuit chinois (French)
caractère chinois (French)
champignon chinois (French)
chou chinois (French)
macaroni chinois (French)
pâté chinois (French)
ravioli chinois (French)
saucisse chinoise (French)

Sources

Updated August 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris