---
title: "Chinese Words That Sound Like English: 25 Loanwords With Pinyin and Audio"
description: "25 loanwords in Chinese, like 沙发 (shāfā, sofa) and 巧克力 (qiǎokèlì, chocolate), each with pinyin, meaning and sound. Keep them in one press or print them as flashcards."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-vocabulary/loanwords"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[Chinese vocabulary](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-vocabulary) · 25 words

# Chinese Words That Sound Like English

The loanwords to learn first, each with pinyin, meaning and sound.

[Print as flashcards](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-flashcards?level=mine&words=%E5%92%96%E5%95%A1%20%E6%B2%99%E5%8F%91%20%E5%B7%A7%E5%85%8B%E5%8A%9B%20%E5%95%A4%E9%85%92%20%E5%B9%BD%E9%BB%98%20%E6%B5%AA%E6%BC%AB%20%E9%80%BB%E8%BE%91%20%E9%85%B7%20%E5%90%89%E4%BB%96%20%E5%8D%A1%E9%80%9A%20%E8%8A%AD%E8%95%BE%20%E6%B2%99%E9%BE%99%20%E6%A8%A1%E7%89%B9%20%E7%B2%89%E4%B8%9D%20%E9%BB%91%E5%AE%A2%20%E5%9F%BA%E5%9B%A0%20%E5%85%8B%E9%9A%86%20%E9%9B%B7%E8%BE%BE%20%E5%9D%A6%E5%85%8B%20%E5%BC%95%E6%93%8E%20%E5%8D%A1%E8%BD%A6%20%E6%91%A9%E6%89%98%E8%BD%A6%20%E9%BA%A6%E5%85%8B%E9%A3%8E%20%E5%90%A8%20%E7%A3%85)

- [咖啡kāfēicoffee](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E5%92%96%E5%95%A1)
- [沙发shāfāsofa](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E6%B2%99%E5%8F%91)
- [巧克力qiǎokèlìchocolate](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E5%B7%A7%E5%85%8B%E5%8A%9B)
- [啤酒píjiǔbeer](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E5%95%A4%E9%85%92)
- [幽默yōumòhumorous](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E5%B9%BD%E9%BB%98)
- [浪漫làngmànromantic](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E6%B5%AA%E6%BC%AB)
- [逻辑luójílogic](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E9%80%BB%E8%BE%91)
- [酷kùcool](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E9%85%B7)
- [吉他jítāguitar](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E5%90%89%E4%BB%96)
- [卡通kǎtōngcartoon](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E5%8D%A1%E9%80%9A)
- [芭蕾bālěiballet](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E8%8A%AD%E8%95%BE)
- [沙龙shālóngsalon (gathering or venue)](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E6%B2%99%E9%BE%99)
- [模特mótèmodel (fashion, art)](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E6%A8%A1%E7%89%B9)
- [粉丝fěnsīfan](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E7%B2%89%E4%B8%9D)
- [黑客hēikèhacker](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E9%BB%91%E5%AE%A2)
- [基因jīyīngene](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E5%9F%BA%E5%9B%A0)
- [克隆kèlóngto clone](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E5%85%8B%E9%9A%86)
- [雷达léidáradar](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E9%9B%B7%E8%BE%BE)
- [坦克tǎnkètank (military)](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E5%9D%A6%E5%85%8B)
- [引擎yǐnqíngengine](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E5%BC%95%E6%93%8E)
- [卡车kǎchētruck](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E5%8D%A1%E8%BD%A6)
- [摩托车mótuōchēmotorcycle](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E6%91%A9%E6%89%98%E8%BD%A6)
- [麦克风màikèfēngmicrophone](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E9%BA%A6%E5%85%8B%E9%A3%8E)
- [吨dūnton](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E5%90%A8)
- [磅bàngpound (unit of weight)](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E7%A3%85)

## How do you say coffee in Chinese?

咖啡 (kāfēi). The most common loanwords are 沙发 (shāfā, sofa), 巧克力 (qiǎokèlì, chocolate), 啤酒 (píjiǔ, beer).

## What’s the best way to learn Chinese words by topic?

Hear each word and say it back, then keep the list and let Review bring the words back until they stick. They stick for good once you meet them in real stories and shows, which is what our free Library and extension are for.

## More free tools

- [Quiz yourself on these](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-quiz/loanwords)
- [Find them in a word search](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-word-search/loanwords)
- [Play them as bingo](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-bingo/loanwords)
- [Family members in Chinese](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-family-members)
- [Chinese numbers](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-numbers)
- [Chinese idioms by theme](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-idioms)
- [Every HSK word](https://mandarinthewild.com/words)

Pinyin and meanings from our own dictionary. Open a word for its characters and real sentences.