Dungan

D2U1N1G2A1N1
/ˈdʊŋˌɡɑːn//ˈdʊŋˌɡæn//ˈdʌŋɡən//ˈt-/

noun

A Muslim people originally from north-west China who currently reside in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia.

UncommonScrabble 8

Meanings

nounDungan pl (plural only)

alternative dated Tungan · alternative dated Tungani · alternative dated Dungani

  1. pluralplural onlyA Muslim people originally from north-west China who currently reside in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia.
proper noun

alternative dated Tungan · alternative dated Tungani · alternative dated Dungani

  1. The Sinitic language of this people, a variety of Mandarin written in the Cyrillic script.

Origin

From Turkic [Term?], probably via Russian, originally referring to any Hui Chinese. It is an exonym. Chinese scholar Lin Tao compiles a list of possible etymologies in Donggan yü lungao (2007): * From Chinese 東甘 /东甘 (dōng Gān, literally “Eastern Gan[su]”) — by a Russian consul in Ghulja of the name Pavlinov. * From Chinese 敦煌 (Dūnhuáng, “Dunhuang”, in Gansu) — by M. A. Terentʹjev. * From Chinese 潼關 /潼关 (Tóngguān, “Tong Pass”, in Gansu), early site of Bai Yanhu's activity. * From Turkic turmaq > turup qalghan > tunggan (“stayed behind”) — by scholar S. Lišonguj. * From Chinese 東岸 /东岸 (dōng'àn, literally “eastern coast [or perhaps, eastern side]”), in reference to the Fen River — by Mantarô Hashimoto. Lin agrees with the 東岸 /东岸 (dōng'àn) theory, having found during studies individuals who self-identify as 東岸子 /东岸子. Hai Feng proposes in 2005 that it is from Chinese 屯墾 /屯垦 (túnkěn), from late Qing policy regarding Xinjiang.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Cantonese 回回話 /回回话
  • 回回話 /回回话language
Chinese Mandarin 東干人, 東干族
  • 東干人 (Dōnggānrén)people
  • 東干族 (Dōnggānzú)people
  • 回回話 /回回话 (huíhuihuà)language
  • 東干語 /东干语 (dōnggànyǔ)language
  • 回族語言 /回族语言 (huízú yǔyán)language
Czech Dungan
  • Dunganpeople
French doungane
  • dounganelanguage
German Dungane, Dunganin
  • Dunganepeople
  • Dunganinpeople
Japanese ドンガン人, ドンガン語
  • ドンガン人 (donganjin)people
  • ドンガン語 (dongango)language
Korean 둥간어
  • 둥간어 (dungganeo)language
Russian дунга́нин, дунга́нка
  • дунга́нин (dungánin)people
  • дунга́нка (dungánka)people
  • дунга́нский (dungánskij)language
  • дунга́нский язы́к (dungánskij jazýk)language
Spanish dungano, dungano
  • dunganopeople
  • dunganolanguage
Turkish Dungan
  • Dunganpeople

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with Dungan

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

Dungan. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Dungan

MLA

“Dungan.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Dungan. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Dungan,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Dungan.

Source: Dungan on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.