Chinese copy

noun

, Slang: Usually Offensive.

1. an exact copy, including all errors.

Chinese copy

noun

1. an exact copy of an original

Sensitive Note

This term is usually perceived as insulting to or by the Chinese. It may refer to the stereotype that Asian workers copy Western products and produce a cheaper version or to the notion that people whose native language is markedly different from English are incapable of recognizing errors in English writing. By the late 1800s, Chinese was being used in American military slang as an adjective meaning “inferior, clumsy, abnormal, etc.” Chinese.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Chinese copy¹

First recorded in 1915–20