chinoiserie

English

Alternative forms

• Chinoiserie

Etymology

Borrowed from French chinoiserie (“Chinese-esque”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃiːnwɑːzəˈɹiː/

Noun

chinoiserie (countable and uncountable, plural chinoiseries)

1. (art) A style in art, or an artistic object, that reflects the influence of Chinese art.
   • 1878, Henry James, chapter VI, in The Europeans‎^[1], Macmillan and Co.:

     The Baroness perceived that her entertainer had analyzed material comfort to a sufficiently fine point. And then he possessed the most delightful chinoiseries—trophies of his sojourn in the Celestial Empire: pagodas of ebony and cabinets of ivory; sculptured monsters, grinning and leering on chimney-pieces, in front of beautifully figured hand-screens; […]

Translations

art: style or object that reflects Chinese influence

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 中國風／中国风 (zhōngguófēng)

• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: kinoiseria (style)
• French: chinoiserie (fr) f
• German: Chinoiserie f
• Hungarian: please add this translation if you can
• Italian: cineseria (it) f
• Polish: chinoiserie (pl) f
• Portuguese: please add this translation if you can
• Russian: шинуазри (ru) (šinuazri), шинуазери (šinuazeri)
• Spanish: chinería f
• Ukrainian: шинуазрі́ (šynuazrí)

See also

• orientalism

French

Etymology

From chinois (“Chinese”) +‎ -erie (“having the quality of”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃi.nwaz.ʁi/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

chinoiserie f (plural chinoiseries)

1. (art) chinoiserie
2. (derogatory) knick-knack
3. (in the plural) complications

Descendants

• → English: chinoiserie
• → German: Chinoiserie

Further reading

• “chinoiserie”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.