Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Chinese ·1950s
Paper tiger
from zhǐ lǎohǔ
- Meaning
- Something that looks threatening but has no real power.
- Source word
- zhǐ lǎohǔ
- Route into English
- Mandarin *zhǐ lǎohǔ* → English via Mao Zedong's 1946 speech calling US imperialism a paper tiger. The phrase existed in Chinese long before Mao, but his usage is what brought it to English political discourse.
- Arrived
- 1950s
From Chinese
Trade English from the South China Sea ports (especially Hokkien-speaking Xiamen and Canton) seeded the early borrowings; 20th-century diplomacy and military contact added the rest.
English borrows.
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