pidgin

English

Etymology

From pidgin English, from Chinese Pidgin English pidgin, a pronunciation of English business during trade in the Far East. All attestations of pidgin from the first half of the nineteenth century given in the third edition of the Oxford English Dictionary mean “business; an action, occupation, or affair” (the earliest being from 1807). Other suggested derivations include:

• Hebrew פִּדְיוֹן (pidyón, “exchange; trade; redemption”)
• Chinese pronunciation of Portuguese ocupação (“occupation; business”)
• South Seas pronunciation of beach
• Portuguese baixo (“low”)

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈpɪ.d͡ʒɪn/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) enPR: pĭjʹən, IPA^(key): /ˈpɪ.d͡ʒən/
• Rhymes: -ɪdʒən, -ɪdʒɪn
• Homophone: pigeon

Noun

pidgin (countable and uncountable, plural pidgins)

1. (linguistics) An amalgamation of two disparate languages, used by two populations having no common language as a lingua franca to communicate with each other, lacking formalized grammar and having a small, utilitarian vocabulary and no native speakers. The speech is slow and supported by mime and gesture.

   Synonym: baragouin

   • 2019, Chigozie Obioma, An Orchestra of Minorities, Abacus (2019), page 79:

     ‘I didnʼt know you can speak pidgin,’ he said and laughed.

2. (archaic, idiomatic) A person's business, occupation, work, or trade (also spelt as pigeon).
   • 1950, Robert A. Heinlein, The Man Who Sold the Moon:

     Forget money. That's my pidgin.

   • 2015, Guy Cullingford, Post Mortem:

     It's up to the detective sergeant to ask his own questions, that's not my pidgin. But I did wonder if either of you gentlemen had an idea of the exact time of the shot.

Usage notes

• Some pidgins that have developed into creoles nevertheless (confusingly) retain the word "pidgin" in their names.

Derived terms

• Chinese pidgin English
• expanded pidgin
• Melanesian Pidgin English
• New South Wales Pidgin English
• NSW Pidgin English
• pidginisation, pidginization
• pidginise, pidginize
• pidginist
• pidginogenic
• Pijin
• Port Jackson Pidgin
• prepidgin
• Queensland Pidgin English
• Tok Pisin
• West African Pidgin Portuguese

Related terms

• pidgin English

Translations

amalgamation of two languages having no native speakers

• Armenian: փիջին (pʻiǰin)
• Bislama: pijin
• Bulgarian: пи́джин m (pídžin)
• Burmese: ပစ်ဂျင် (pacgyang)
• Catalan: pidgin m
• Cherokee: ᏈᏥᏂ (quitsini)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 皮欽語 / 皮钦语 (zh) (píqīnyǔ), 混雜語言 / 混杂语言 (hùnzá yǔyán)

• Danish: pidgin (da) n, pidginsprog n
• Esperanto: piĝino
• Finnish: pidgin (fi)
• French: pidgin (fr) m, créole (fr) m, langue véhiculaire (fr) f
• German: Pidgin (de) n, Pidginsprache (de) f, Pidgin-Sprache (de) f
• Irish: nasctheanga f
• Italian: pidgin (it)
• Japanese: ピジン言語 (ja) (pijin gengo)
• Low German:

  German Low German: Pidgin n, Pidginspraak f, Pidgin-Spraak f

• Macedonian: пиџин m (pidžin)
• Māori: kōrapurapu, reo kōrapurapu
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: pidgin m or n, pidginspråk n

  Nynorsk: pidgin m, pidginspråk n

• Pijin: pijin
• Polish: pidgin (pl) m, pidżin m, pidżyn (pl) m
• Portuguese: pidgin (pt) m
• Russian: пи́джин (ru) m (pídžin)
• Spanish: pidgin (es) m
• Swahili: pijini
• Swedish: pidgin c, pidginspråk (sv) n
• Tamil: பிட்யின் (piṭyiṉ)
• Thai: พิดจิน (pid-jin)
• Tok Pisin: pisin (tpi)
• Turkish: pidgin
• Vietnamese: pít-gin
• Welsh: pijin m

See also

• creole
• Creole

Further reading

• Pidgin English - English Dictionary: from Webster's Dictionary - the Rosetta Edition.

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from English pidgin, from Chinese Pidgin English pidgin, from English business.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Balearic, Central, Northwestern) [ˈpid.ʒin]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈpid.d͡ʒin]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Noun

pidgin m (plural pidgins)

1. pidgin

Further reading

• “pidgin”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

Chinese Pidgin English

Alternative forms

• píǧin (Hall spelling)

Etymology

From English business.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈpɪd͡ʒɪn]

Noun

pidgin

1. business
2. affair

Polish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English pidgin, from pidgin English, from a Chinese Pidgin English pronunciation of English business during trade in the Far East.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpi.d͡ʐɘn/
• Rhymes: -id͡ʐɘn
• Syllabification: pi‧dgin

Noun

pidgin m inan

1. (linguistics) alternative spelling of pidżyn

Declension

Declension of pidgin

	singular	plural
nominative	pidgin	pidginy
genitive	pidginu	pidginów
dative	pidginowi	pidginom
accusative	pidgin	pidginy
instrumental	pidginem	pidginami
locative	pidginie	pidginach
vocative	pidginie	pidginy

Derived terms

adjective

• pidginowy

Further reading

• “pidgin”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[1] (in Polish)

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈpi.d͡ʒĩ/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈpid.ʒin/ [ˈpið.ʒin]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈpid.ʒin/ [ˈpið.ʒin]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈpid.ʒin/

• Hyphenation: pid‧gin

Noun

pidgin m (plural pidgins)

1. (linguistics) pidgin (amalgamation of two languages having no native speakers)

Further reading

• “pidgin”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpidxin/ [ˈpið̞.xĩn]
• Rhymes: -idxin
• Syllabification: pid‧gin

Noun

pidgin m (plural pidgins or pidgin)

1. (linguistics) pidgin (amalgamation of two languages having no native speakers)

Further reading

• “pidgin”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), 24th edition, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 30 October 2026