Chinese increasingly heard around the world

With the growing enthusiasm for learning Chinese around the world in recent years, there has been increased understanding of Chinese vocabulary and concepts among foreigners.

According to a report on overseas understanding of Chinese words issued by the China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration on Saturday, the first of its kind, there has been a drastic rise in the popularity of Chinese words among foreigners in the past few years.

The report indicates that most of the top 100 most frequently said Chinese words by foreigners belong to those related to Chinese traditions or culture, such as chunjie, or Spring Festival, and chongyang, or Double Ninth Festival (the ninth day of the lunar ninth month). Shaolin, referring to the Shaolin Temple, which is famous for promoting Chinese kung fu, was listed as the most recognized Chinese word.