Mantou
/ˈmæn.taʊ/noun
A Chinese steamed bun made from wheat-flour dough, typically without a filling.
Did you know?A popular Chinese legend claims Zhuge Liang used mantou as symbolic substitutes for human heads during a river-crossing ritual, but historians generally treat this as folklore rather than documented origin.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Chinese, uncertain period
Chinese
饅／馒
“The first character of the modern form; its original etymology is uncertain.”
Medieval Chinese
Chinese
饅頭／馒头
“A term for a flour-based steamed food; historical spellings and explanations vary.”
Three Kingdoms legend
Chinese
蠻頭／蛮头
““Barbarian head,” the form used in a later folk explanation linking the food to Zhuge Liang; this is not securely established as the word’s true origin.”
19th–20th Century
Mandarin
mántou
“A plain steamed wheat bun, especially in northern Chinese cuisine.”
Modern English
English
mantou
“An English culinary loanword for the Chinese steamed bun.”