# China

> English word · Proper noun · IPA /ˈt͡ʃaɪnə/ · frequency rank #824

## Definitions
1. A cultural region and civilization in East Asia, occupying the region around the Yellow, Yangtze, and Pearl Rivers, taken as a whole under its various dynasties.
2. A large country in East Asia, occupying the region around the Yellow, Yangtze, and Pearl Rivers; the People's Republic of China, since 1949.
3. Synonym of mainland China.
4. China in One China, asserting that there is only one de jure Chinese nation
5. Any of the empires occupying similar territory to that of the modern nation of China, ruled under various dynasties up through the early 20th century.
6. The Republic of China prior to 1949, and sometimes after that time, particularly up through the early 1970's or so (when the People's Republic of China assumed the United Nations seat allocated to China).
7. A female given name.
8. An unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Indiana, United States.
9. A town in Kennebec County, Maine, United States.
10. An unincorporated community in Howell County, Missouri, United States.
11. A hamlet in Delaware County, New York, United States.
12. A small city in Jefferson County, Texas, United States.
13. A municipality and town in Nuevo León, Mexico.
14. A surname.

## Etymology
From Portuguese China, from possibly Venetan Cina probably under influence from Old French Chin, from Classical Persian چین (čīn) under influence from Medieval Latin Sina (“China”), from Middle Persian 𐭰𐭩𐭭 (Čīn, “China”), from Sanskrit चीन (cīna, “the Chinese; China”) of uncertain etymology. It is usually thought to be derived from Chinese 秦 (Qín) (sm Qín, mc d͡ziɪn, oc *zin, "Qin"), the westernmost ancient Chinese state, but other theories have been proposed, including derivation from 晉 /晋 (jìn) (sm Jìn, mc t͡siɪn, oc *ʔsins, "Jin"), another important ancient state; 荊 /荆 (jīng) (sm Jīng, mc kˠiæŋ, oc *keŋ, "Chu"), the southernmost ancient Chinese state; or Zina, the endonym of the people of the Yelang kingdom. See "Names of China" and "Chinas" at Wikipedia. As a female name, usually derived via china (“porcelain”) and china doll, ultimately from the same source.

## Easily confused with
- **CIA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/china-vs-cia)
- **chip** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/china-vs-chip)
- **coin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/china-vs-coin)
- **Chun** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/china-vs-chun)
- **chit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/china-vs-chit)
- **Chiu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/china-vs-chiu)
- **cine** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/china-vs-cine)
- **Chua** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/china-vs-chua)
- **coins** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/china-vs-coins)
- **chips** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/china-vs-chips)
- **chunk** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/china-vs-chunk)
- **Clint** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/china-vs-clint)
- **cling** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/china-vs-cling)
- **Chung** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/china-vs-chung)
- **ching** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/china-vs-ching)
- **Chong** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/china-vs-chong)
- **chino** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/china-vs-chino)
- **chirp** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/china-vs-chirp)
- **chins** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/china-vs-chins)
- **clink** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/china-vs-clink)

## Common misspellings (7)
`cchina`, `chhina`, `chian`, `chinna`, `chnia`, `cihna`, `hcina`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/china