Changjiang
/tʂʰǎŋ tɕjáŋ/noun
The Chinese name for the Yangtze River, the longest river in China.
Did you know?“Yangtze” is an outsider’s name derived from Yangzi, a historical name for the river’s lower reaches, while Changjiang is the standard Chinese name.
Etymological Timeline
Old Chinese, 1st millennium BCE
Old Chinese
長江
“Long River”
Middle Chinese, 6th–10th centuries
Middle Chinese
長江
“The Long River; the characters remained in use while their pronunciations changed”
Modern Mandarin
Mandarin
Cháng Jiāng
“Long River”
19th Century
European English
Yangtze Kiang
“A romanized form based on regional Chinese pronunciation and historical usage”
Modern English
English
Changjiang
“The Chinese name for the Yangtze River”