Baozi
/ˈbaʊ.dziː/noun
A Chinese steamed bun typically filled with meat, vegetables, or sweet paste.
Did you know?The popular tale that baozi was invented by the strategist Zhuge Liang is a later legend, not securely documented history; the word itself simply combines 包, “to wrap,” with 子, a noun-forming suffix.
Etymological Timeline
Old Chinese
Old Chinese
包 (*pˤu)
“To wrap, enclose, or contain”
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese
包 (pæw)
“To wrap or bundle”
Classical Chinese
Chinese
包子 (bāozi)
“A wrapped or enclosed object; later, a filled steamed bun”
19th–20th Century
English culinary usage
baozi / pao-tzu
“A Chinese steamed stuffed bun, represented through different systems of romanization”
Modern English
English
baozi
“A Chinese steamed bun, usually treated as a culinary loanword”
Explore more surprising origins