Sino-Xenic

adjective

Related to pronunciations for reading Chinese in Japan, Korea and Vietnam, originating in medieval times and the source of large-scale borrowings of Chinese words into Japonic, Koreanic and Vietnamese languages, none of which are genetically related to Chinese (excluding Sinitic topolects).

OriginLate Latin Sīnae ← Ancient Greek ξένος →
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Meanings

adjectiveSino-Xenic (not comparable)

alternative Sinoxenic · alternative sinoxenic

  1. not comparablehuman sciencesRelated to pronunciations for reading Chinese in Japan, Korea and Vietnam, originating in medieval times and the source of large-scale borrowings of Chinese words into Japonic, Koreanic and Vietnamese languages, none of which are genetically related to Chinese (excluding Sinitic topolects).

    Japanese: 歴史 (れきし, rekishi) Jeju: 역ᄉᆞ(歷史) (yeoksaw) Korean: 역사(歷史) (yeoksa) (South Korea), 력사(歷史) (ryeoksa) (North Korea) Vietnamese: lịch sử (歷史)

    Example: the Chinese term 歷史／历史 (lìshǐ, “history”) has the following Sino-Xenic descendants

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekξένος“foreign”
  2. Late LatinSīnae“the Chinese”
  3. EnglishSino-Xenic

From Sino- + xeno- + -ic, from Late Latin Sīnae (“the Chinese”) + Ancient Greek ξένος (xénos, “foreign”); coined by American linguist Samuel Martin in 1953.

More words from Late Latin, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 漢字詞 /汉字词
  • 漢字詞 /汉字词 (Hànzìcí)related to Chinese readings in Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese borrowings from medieval Chinese
Finnish ulkokiinalainen
  • ulkokiinalainenrelated to Chinese readings in Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese borrowings from medieval Chinese
French sinoxénique
  • sinoxéniquerelated to Chinese readings in Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese borrowings from medieval Chinese
German sino-xenisch
  • sino-xenischrelated to Chinese readings in Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese borrowings from medieval Chinese
Hindi चीन-विदेशी
  • चीन-विदेशी (cīn-videśī)related to Chinese readings in Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese borrowings from medieval Chinese
Japanese 漢語
  • 漢語 (kango)related to Chinese readings in Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese borrowings from medieval Chinese
Korean 한자어
  • 한자어 (Hanja'eo)related to Chinese readings in Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese borrowings from medieval Chinese
Polish sinokseniczny
  • sinoksenicznyrelated to Chinese readings in Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese borrowings from medieval Chinese
Portuguese sino-xênico
  • sino-xênicorelated to Chinese readings in Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese borrowings from medieval Chinese
Cite this entry
APA

Sino-Xenic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sino-Xenic

MLA

“Sino-Xenic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sino-Xenic. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Sino-Xenic,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sino-Xenic.

Source: Sino-Xenic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.