英语 from HSK Level 2 Vocabulary List

The Chinese word for English, 英语 (yīngyǔ), is a compound of two characters: 英 (yīng), meaning "England" or "English", and 语 (yǔ), meaning "language" or "speech". The term 英语 was first used in the late 19th century to refer to the English language, and it has since become the standard Chinese word for English.The character 英 (yīng) is derived from the Chinese word for England, 英格兰 (yīnggélán), which was first used in the 16th century. The character 英 (yīng) is also used in other Chinese words related to England, such as 英镑 (yīngbàng), meaning "pound sterling", and 英国 (yīngguó), meaning "the United Kingdom".The character 语 (yǔ) is a common Chinese character that means "language" or "speech". It is used in many other Chinese words related to language, such as 汉语 (hànyǔ), meaning "Chinese language", and 法语 (fǎyǔ), meaning "French language".The compound word 英语 (yīngyǔ) is a concise and unambiguous way to refer to the English language. It is widely used in China and is understood by all Chinese speakers.