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Long time no see (phrase)
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Long time no see is an English expression used when people haven\'t seen each other in a while. It has been in British usage since the early 1900s, deriving from Far East, specifically Chinese, pidgin, coming to the UK by way of the Merchant Service, reinforced by the Royal Navy. In Mandarin, the phrase 好久不見 (simplified: 好久不见; pinyin: hǎo jiǔ bú jiàn) can be translated literally as long time, no see. The lexicographer Eric Partridge notes that it is akin to the phrases no can do and chop chop. [1]
The North American use of the phrase probably comes from the same source but has been strongly influenced by two or three very widely distributed popular anecdotes. The \'OED New Supp.\' cites the oldest use in literature in 1901 in 31 Years on Plain by W. F. Drannan. \'When we rode up to him (an American Indian), he said: Good mornin. Long time no see you.\' It is used in Harry C. Witwer\'s \'Love and Learn,\' 1924 (p. 73).
There have been Chinese living and working up and down the West Coast of North America since at least the Gold Rush days of mid 1800s, and before, so Chinese-English pidgin would have abounded around the time the expression appeared. The influence of Native American Pidgins on British English is much less likely.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Long time no see is an English expression used when people haven\'t seen each other in a while. It has been in British usage since the early 1900s, deriving from Far East, specifically Chinese, pidgin, coming to the UK by way of the Merchant Service, reinforced by the Royal Navy. In Mandarin, the phrase 好久不見 (simplified: 好久不见; pinyin: hǎo jiǔ bú jiàn) can be translated literally as long time, no see. The lexicographer Eric Partridge notes that it is akin to the phrases no can do and chop chop. [1]
The North American use of the phrase probably comes from the same source but has been strongly influenced by two or three very widely distributed popular anecdotes. The \'OED New Supp.\' cites the oldest use in literature in 1901 in 31 Years on Plain by W. F. Drannan. \'When we rode up to him (an American Indian), he said: Good mornin. Long time no see you.\' It is used in Harry C. Witwer\'s \'Love and Learn,\' 1924 (p. 73).
There have been Chinese living and working up and down the West Coast of North America since at least the Gold Rush days of mid 1800s, and before, so Chinese-English pidgin would have abounded around the time the expression appeared. The influence of Native American Pidgins on British English is much less likely.
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