Chinese copy

American  

noun

Slang: Usually Offensive.

1. an exact copy, including all errors.

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Chinese copy British  

noun

1. an exact copy of an original

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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.” See also Chinese.

Etymology

Origin of Chinese copy

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

L. Bruce Jones, of Idaho, refuses to add a Chinese copy to his collection spanning roughly 450 pens from Switzerland, Italy and elsewhere—including limited-edition Montblancs that run up to $20,000 each.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 2, 2025

At first, Forgeard was quoted as dismissing Boeing's new plane as a "Chinese copy" of Airbus' similar A330.

From Time Magazine Archive

This work is simply a translation of the "Fo-pen-hing," made by Professor Beal from a Chinese copy, in the "Indian Office Library."

From Bible Myths and their Parallels in other Religions Being a Comparison of the Old and New Testament Myths and Miracles with those of the Heathen Nations of Antiquity Considering also their Origin and Meaning by Doane, T. W.