Chinese copy


noun Slang: Usually Offensive.

an exact copy, including all errors.

Origin of Chinese copy

First recorded in 1915–20

usage note for Chinese copy

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.” See also Chinese.

British Dictionary definitions for chinese copy

Chinese copy

noun

an exact copy of an original