I was reading, I know, what a shocker . . . So, I was reading and the author kept talking about the China the character was using. It was always China, China, China . . . and it was always in the middle of the sentence. Now, I can see capitalizing china when it’s at the start of a sentence or when referring to the country China, but I do NOT understand confusing the words china vs China. One is dishes and the other is a country full of Chinese people.
So please remember that this capitonym is distinct in terms of capitalization.
Exploring Later . . .
You may want to explore these posts on capitonyms: “Capri versus capris“, “french versus French“, “god versus God“, “jesus versus Jesus“, “lord versus Lord“, and “windbreaker versus Windbreaker“. You might also find this post on capitalization interesting: “Honorifics, To Cap or Not to Cap“.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| china | China |
|---|---|
 — |
 |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Adjective; Noun
Plural: china A.k.a. porcelain |
Noun, proper
Plural: China |
| Adjective: Made of china Indicating the twentieth event of a series, as a wedding anniversary Noun:
[Chiefly Midland and Southern US] A playing marble of china, or sometimes of porcelain or glass |
Noun: A country in East Asia, the fourth largest and the most populous in the world |
| Examples: | |
| Adjective: She acts like a bull in a china shop. You’ll need a china marker for that. Use chinaberries to make a rosary. Try using china clay for that. He bought her a china plate to celebrate their twentieth anniversary. Noun: I could see it was a special moment when she put out a china cup. Just use the breakfast china. She had a collection of china displayed in the china cabinet. I was surprised how heavy his china marbles were. |
Noun: The official name of China is the People’s Republic of China and also known as Nationalist China or the Republic of China. The Qing dynasty of China was overthrown in 1911. The People’s Republic of China was declared in 1949. People in China speak Chinese. “Since its launch in China in 2016, TikTok has become one of the world’s fastest-growing social networks” (The Editors). “I shipped for a voyage to Japan and China, and spent several more years trying to penetrate the forbidden fastnesses of Tibet” (Seaman). |
| Derivatives: | |
| Noun: chinaware | Noun: Chinaman, Chinatown |
| History of the Word: | |
| Late 16th century (as an adjective) from the Persian chīnī meaning relating to China, where it was originally made. | First recorded in 1550–60 and of uncertain origin, but probably ultimately from the Sanskrit Cīnas meaning the Chinese from the Chinese Ch’in. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Building Your Website, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Marketing Help & Resources, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, and/or Writing Ideas and Resources.
Resources for china versus China
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Apple Dictionary.com
Dictionary.com: china
The Editors. “10 Breakthrough Technologies 2021.” MIT Technology Review. 24 Feb 2021. Accessed 6 July 2024. <https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/02/24/1014369/10-breakthrough-technologies-2021/>.
Seaman, Augusta Huiell. The Boarded-Up House. Originally published by The Century Co, 1915. Project Gutenberg, 2010. <https://www.gutenberg.org/files/30905/30905-h/30905-h.htm>. Ebook.
Pinterest Photo Credits
The Great Wall of China is under the CC0 1.0 license, via RawPixel. Procession Figures Found in a Chinese Tomb by Thomas Quine is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Flickr and courtesy of the ROM Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario.
