خىتاي

Uyghur

Etymology

From Chagatai خِطَایْ (xiṭāy), from Old Turkic 𐰶𐰃𐱃𐰪 (Qïtań), from Khitan 𘱿𘲫 (*qid ún). Cognate with English Cathay, Chinese 契丹 (Qìdān).

Noun

Other scripts
Perso-Arabic	خىتاي
Latin	‍xitay‍
Cyrillic	хитай

خىتاي • (xitay) (plural خىتايلار (xitaylar))

1. (dated, now offensive, ethnic slur) A man who is Chinese.

   Synonym: كاپىر (kapir)

Proper noun

Other scripts
Perso-Arabic	خىتاي
Latin	‍Xitay‍
Cyrillic	Хитай

خىتاي • (Xitay)

1. (dated, now offensive) China (a country in Asia)

   Synonym: جۇڭگو (junggo)

Usage notes

Although this term for China is shared with most Central Asian and Slavic languages, whose forms of the name probably derive their -i and -y endings from Uyghur, as it refers to an era of nomadic domination over the Han, it is formally prohibited within China and functions as a kind of racial slur. While the Mongolian word ᠬᠢᠲᠠᠳ (kitad) is not prohibited.