sino-

UK/ˈsaɪnəʊ/UK/ˈsɪnəʊ/US/ˈsaɪnoʊ/US/ˈsaɪnɒ/

prefix

Sinus.

“He's a Sino-Kadazan: half Han, half Kadazan.”

Meanings

sino-1

prefix
  1. anatomySinus.

sino-2

prefix
  1. Alternative letter-case form of Sino- (“China”).

Sino-3

prefix

alternative sino-

  1. in compoundsCombining form of China and Chinese.

    He's a Sino-Kadazan: half Han, half Kadazan.

    1 more example

    In the 1970s, Sino-Soviet rivalry also spread to Africa and the Middle East.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see

Origin

  1. Old Chinese秦“Qin”
  2. Arabicصِين“China; the Chinese”
  3. Sanskritचीन“China”
  4. Ancient GreekΣῖναι
  5. Late LatinSīnae“the Southern Chinese; Southern China”
  6. Medieval LatinSina“China”
  7. EnglishSino-

From Medieval Latin Sina (“China”) and Late Latin Sīnae (“the Southern Chinese; Southern China”) + -o-, from Ancient Greek Σῖναι (Sînai), of uncertain etymology but likely from Sanskrit चीन (Cīna, “China”), possibly via Arabic صِين (Ṣīn, “China; the Chinese”) and usually held to ultimately derive from Old Chinese 秦 (*zin, “Qin”). See "Names of China" on Wikipedia.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 中-, 漢- /汉-
  • 中- (Zhōng-)Of or relating to China, the Chinese, or Chinese culture (prefix form)
  • 漢- /汉- (Hàn-)Of or relating to China, the Chinese, or Chinese culture (prefix form)
  • 華- /华- (Huá)Of or relating to China, the Chinese, or Chinese culture (prefix form)
Finnish kiinalais-
  • kiinalais-Of or relating to China, the Chinese, or Chinese culture (prefix form)
French sino-
  • sino-Of or relating to China, the Chinese, or Chinese culture (prefix form)
German sino-, Chinesisch-
  • sino-Of or relating to China, the Chinese, or Chinese culture (prefix form)
  • Chinesisch-Of or relating to China, the Chinese, or Chinese culture (prefix form)
Greek σινο-
  • σινο- (sino-)Of or relating to China, the Chinese, or Chinese culture (prefix form)
Hindi चीनी-
  • चीनी- (cīnī-)Of or relating to China, the Chinese, or Chinese culture (prefix form)
Irish Sín-
  • Sín-Of or relating to China, the Chinese, or Chinese culture (prefix form)
Italian sino-
  • sino-Of or relating to China, the Chinese, or Chinese culture (prefix form)
Japanese 中-, 漢-
  • 中- (Chū-)Of or relating to China, the Chinese, or Chinese culture (prefix form)
  • 漢- (Kan-)Of or relating to China, the Chinese, or Chinese culture (prefix form)
  • 華- (Ka-)Of or relating to China, the Chinese, or Chinese culture (prefix form)
Korean 중
  • 중 (jung-)Of or relating to China, the Chinese, or Chinese culture (prefix form)
Polish sino-
  • sino-Of or relating to China, the Chinese, or Chinese culture (prefix form)
Portuguese sino-
  • sino-Of or relating to China, the Chinese, or Chinese culture (prefix form)
Russian кита́йско-, си́но-
  • кита́йско- (kitájsko-)Of or relating to China, the Chinese, or Chinese culture (prefix form)
  • си́но- (síno-)Of or relating to China, the Chinese, or Chinese culture (prefix form)
Spanish chino-, sino-
  • chino-Of or relating to China, the Chinese, or Chinese culture (prefix form)
  • sino-Of or relating to China, the Chinese, or Chinese culture (prefix form)
Swedish sino-, Kina-
  • sino-Of or relating to China, the Chinese, or Chinese culture (prefix form)
  • Kina-Of or relating to China, the Chinese, or Chinese culture (prefix form)
Urdu چین, صِین
  • چین (cīn)Of or relating to China, the Chinese, or Chinese culture (prefix form)
  • صِین (ṣīn)Of or relating to China, the Chinese, or Chinese culture (prefix form)
Vietnamese Trung, Tàu
  • TrungOf or relating to China, the Chinese, or Chinese culture (prefix form)
  • TàuOf or relating to China, the Chinese, or Chinese culture (prefix form)
  • HánOf or relating to China, the Chinese, or Chinese culture (prefix form)
  • HoaOf or relating to China, the Chinese, or Chinese culture (prefix form)
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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