Yangtze

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈjæŋ(t)si/

Alternative forms

• Yangzi (ISO pinyin)

Origin

An irregular transliteration from Mandarin , an older Chinese name of the part of the river near Yangzhou.

The folk etymology that it means "Son of the Ocean" derives from the homophonic misnomer 洋子江 which was apparently given to Matteo Ricci, whose posthumously-published journals popularized the name in Europe as Latin Iansu and Iansuchian.

Full definition of Yangtze

Proper noun

1. The longest river in China that flows to the East China Sea north of Shanghai.

Synonyms

• Chang Jiang
• Blue River
• Long River

Derived terms

• Yangtzean
• Yangtze river dolphin