different between chico vs chino

English

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Spanish chico.

Noun

chico (plural chicos)

1. (Canada, US, informal) A Latin-American boy; a Latino.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Spanish chicozapote (through a regional abbreviation), from Nahuatl xicotzapotl. Cognate of chicle.

Noun

chico (plural chicos)

1. The fruit of the sapodilla, Manilkara zapota.

Etymology 3

Perhaps from Spanish choclo, influded by chico.

Noun

chico (plural chicos)

1. (American Southwest, chiefly in the plural) Sweet corn that has been cooked and dried on the cob.

Portuguese

Noun

chico m (plural chicos)

1. (Brazil, regional, slang) ass (the anus)
2. (Brazil, regional, slang) period (menstruation)

Spanish

Etymology 1

Indirectly related to Latin ciccum (“insignificant thing; trifle”); found in several Romance languages as an expressive creation.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?t??iko/, [?t??i.ko]
• Hyphenation: chi?co

Adjective

chico (feminine chica, masculine plural chicos, feminine plural chicas)

1. small

   Synonym: pequeño

Descendants

• ? Papiamentu: chikí, chikitu

Noun

chico m (plural chicos, feminine chica, feminine plural chicas)

1. boy; kid

   Synonyms: cabro, chamaco, chaval, chavo, muchacho, niño

Usage notes

The noun chico is like most Spanish nouns with a human referent. The masculine forms are used when the referent is known to be male, a group of males, a group of mixed or unknown gender, or an individual of unknown or unspecified gender. The feminine forms are used if the referent is known to be female or a group of females.

Derived terms

Further reading

• “chico” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.

References

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Yucatec Maya chi?ik.

Noun

chico m (plural chicos)

1. (Mexico) white-nosed coati (Nasua Narica)
2. (Mexico) raccoon (Procyon lotor)

References

• Schoenhals, Louise C. (1988) A Spanish - English Glossary of Mexican Flora and Fauna?^[1], Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, page 583

Tagalog

Noun

chico

1. sapodilla fruit

English

Etymology

From American Spanish pantalones chinos ("Chinese pants"), which was later shortened to simply chinos.

Noun

chino (countable and uncountable, plural chinos)

1. A coarse cotton fabric commonly used to make trousers and uniforms.

Further reading

• Chino cloth on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Choni, chion-, ichno-

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?ki.no/
• Hyphenation: chì?no

Adjective

chino (feminine china, masculine plural chini, feminine plural chine)

1. lowered, bent, bowed

   Synonyms: curvo, piegato

Verb

chino

1. first-person singular present of chinare

Portuguese

Noun

chino m (plural chinos)

1. (Madeira) Synonym of abatanado
2. (informal) knife

Related terms

• chinar

Verb

chino

1. first-person singular (eu) present indicative of chinar

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?t??ino/, [?t??i.no]
• Rhymes: -ino

Etymology 1

From China +? -o.

Adjective

chino (feminine china, masculine plural chinos, feminine plural chinas)

1. Chinese

Noun

chino m (plural chinos, feminine china, feminine plural chinas)

1. Chinese person
2. (Latin America) boy, servant

chino m (plural chinos)

1. Chinese (language)
2. (colloquial) gobbledygook (an incomprehensible language)
3. (colloquial, Cuba, uncountable) chickenpox

   Synonym: varicela

4. (colloquial) a Chinese-run establishment
   1. a Chinese restaurant

      Synonym: chifa

   2. (Spain) variety store, pound shop, dollar store (owned by a Chinese immigrant)

      Synonym: bazar chino

5. (colloquial, Spain) heroin (taken by chasing the dragon)

Usage notes

• (variety store): More often used in the plural form with the same meaning. They are called chinos because Chinese citizens own almost all the variety stores in Spain.

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Use of enchinar (“to pave”), from en- + china.

Adjective

chino (feminine china, masculine plural chinos, feminine plural chinas)

1. curly

Noun

chino m (plural chinos, feminine china, feminine plural chinas)

1. someone with curly hair

Etymology 3

From Quechua/Kichwa ?ína (“servant girl”).

Noun

chino m (plural chinos)

1. (Colombia) kid

Related terms

• enchinar

Further reading

• “chino” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.