<p>Like you said in the comment, something like 格林 indeed would have been a better phonetic approximation. But the translation (even by sound) should also consider its meaning if possible. 岭 means hill or mountain in Chinese. And since a golf course resembles a hill for having ups and downs, 岭 would be more approriate to describe such an area. However I think 果 is purely phonetic.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-08T07:43:35.497Z
2019-07-08T07:43:35.497Z
trisct
<p><a href="https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&amp;wdrst=0&amp;wdqtm=0&amp;wdqcham=2&amp;wdqt=%E6%9E%9C%E5%B2%AD" rel="nofollow noreferrer">MDBG</a> has the following entry:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>果岭<br>
  guǒ​lǐng​</p>
  
  <p>green (golf) (loanword)</p>
</blockquote>

<p>果岭 doesn't really sound anything remotely like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golf_course#Greens" rel="nofollow noreferrer">green</a>, 岭 especially doesn't match up with the end of <em>green</em>.</p>

<p>How did green become 果岭?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-08T02:13:24.067Z
IMO if you cut off **uǒ​** from **guǒ​lǐng​** it’s a very close approximation of **green** (close as you can get for Mandarin). You just have to say **guǒ​lǐng​** by heavily de-stressing the first syllable.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-08T02:15:40.617Z
Never heard of the word
fefe
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-08T03:13:30.207Z
@droooze Makes sense. By that estimation something like 格林 would have been much more apt.
Mou某
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-08T03:17:33.977Z
You're right, but maybe it's a regional phonetic approximation rather than standard Mandarin.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-13T14:16:09.923Z
The word 果岭 means **putting green**, see here: [果岭](http://baike.baidu.com/view/31392.htm), a term in golf.
xenophōn
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-13T14:23:56.377Z
果岭 (putting ***green***) means: 球洞区 (***the green area where the hole located in***) in 高尔夫球场 (***a golf course***), 高尔夫球场的**球洞区**.
xenophōn
<translation><loanwords>
How is 果岭 a loanword from the English "green" (i.e.: putting green)?
# How is 果岭 a loanword from the English "green" (i.e.: putting green)?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-07-08)

[MDBG](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdrst=0&wdqtm=0&wdqcham=2&wdqt=%E6%9E%9C%E5%B2%AD) has the following entry:

> 果岭  
> guǒ​lǐng​
>
> green (golf) (loanword)

果岭 doesn't really sound anything remotely like [green](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golf_course#Greens), 岭 especially doesn't match up with the end of *green*.

How did green become 果岭?

**Tags:** translation, loanwords

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: IMO if you cut off **uǒ​** from **guǒ​lǐng​** it’s a very close approximation of **green** (close as you can get for Mandarin). You just have to say **guǒ​lǐng​** by heavily de-stressing the first syllable.  
> **username_2**: Never heard of the word  
> **username_0**: @username_1 Makes sense. By that estimation something like 格林 would have been much more apt.  
> **username_1**: You're right, but maybe it's a regional phonetic approximation rather than standard Mandarin.  
> **username_3**: The word 果岭 means **putting green**, see here: [果岭](http://baike.baidu.com/view/31392.htm), a term in golf.  
> **username_3**: 果岭 (putting ***green***) means: 球洞区 (***the green area where the hole located in***) in 高尔夫球场 (***a golf course***), 高尔夫球场的**球洞区**.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2019-07-08. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

Like you said in the comment, something like 格林 indeed would have been a better phonetic approximation. But the translation (even by sound) should also consider its meaning if possible. 岭 means hill or mountain in Chinese. And since a golf course resembles a hill for having ups and downs, 岭 would be more approriate to describe such an area. However I think 果 is purely phonetic.


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