shanghai
Shang·hai/ˈʃæŋ.haɪ/verb, noun
shanghai is spelled S-H-A-N-G-H-A-I: 8 letters and 2 syllables (Shang·hai). It appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,674th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, shanghai means “To force or trick someone to go somewhere or do something against their will or interest, particularly” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in shanghai?
| Letters | 8: S-H-A-N-G-H-A-I |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: Shang·hai |
| In writing | 11 times per million words; the 6,674th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is shanghai?
Shanghai appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,674th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce shanghai?
- US /ˈʃæŋ.haɪ/
- US /ʃæŋˈhaɪ/
- US /ʃɑŋˈhaɪ/
Shanghai has 2 syllables, split Shang·hai in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-Shanghai.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-Shanghai2.wav, En-us-shanghai.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of shanghai
- shanghais present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- shanghaiing participle, present
- shanghaied participle, past
- shanghai'd participle, past
- shanghae
- shangeye
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does shanghai mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To force or trick someone to go somewhere or do something against their will or interest, particularly
- 2
To press-gang sailors, especially (historical) for shipping or fishing work.
- 3
USslangTo trick a suspect into entering a jurisdiction in which they can be lawfully arrested.
- 4
USslangTo transfer a serviceman against their will.
“Why, if you so loved and cherished the armed guard,” Captain Banning continued, “did you arrange for transfer?” “I never, sir! ... But he shanghaied me out of the armed guard pronto.”
- 5
To commandeer, hijack, or otherwise (usually wrongfully) appropriate a place or thing.
Let's see if we can shanghai a room for a couple of hours.
- 6
AustraliaTo hit with a slingshot.
noun
- 1
datedA breed of chicken with large bodies, long legs, and feathered shanks.
- 2
USobsoleteA kind of daub.
The ‘shanghai’ is the glaring daub required by some frame-makers for cheap auctions. They are turned out at so much by the day's labor, or at from $12 to $24 a dozen, by the piece.
- 3
USobsoleteA tall dandy.
- 4
A kind of dart game in which players are gradually eliminated ("shanghaied"), usually either by failing to reach a certain score in 3 quick throws or during a competition to hit a certain prechosen number and then be the first to hit the prechosen numbers of the other players.
The hot twenty–including local favourites George Simmons, Tony Brown, Mick Norris and Lew Walker–have to sweat through nineteen 501s, one 1,001, one 2,001, one round-the-board-on-doubles, one shanghai and one halve-it.
- 5
AustraliaSynonym of slingshot.
Turn, turn thy shang~hay dread aside, Nor touch that little bird
noun
- 1
Alternative letter-case form of shanghai in its various senses derived from the Chinese city.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Shanghai in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to force or trick into work, especially joining a ship:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | shangaïer |
| German | schanghaien |
| Spanish | emborrachar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does shanghai come from?
1871, from the important Chinese port Shanghai, as a verb with reference to the former practice by some shippers on the West Coast of the United States of press-ganging crews for fishing or shipping in the Pacific Ocean.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).