<p>I try to make a rough translation here:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>便当， originated from the Southern Song Dynasty, meaning "convenient
  things, convenient, smooth". </p>
  
  <p>When introduced into Japan, it became “便道”、“辨道”、“辨当”. </p>
  
  <p>Later, when the term “便当” was transplanted back to China from Japan,
  it's referenced to 弁当(bentou/bento). </p>
  
  <p>The term 盒饭, (that is 盒装餐食), is used in mainland, while
  便当 is usually used in Taiwan. </p>
  
  <p>However, there is a nuance between 盒饭 and 便当. 便当 is more delicate than
  盒饭.  盒饭 is usually just simple and normal food.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-30T07:30:39.087Z
2017-10-30T07:30:39.087Z
dan
<p>The following excerpt is from <a href="https://www.zhihu.com/question/26290171?sort=created" rel="nofollow noreferrer">the top answer on 知乎</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>丈夫每天吃自己做的<strong>便当</strong>（没错，是他自己做的，不是他妻子做的）她吃大餐，去一次美容院就能花4.2万。看表情就知道，这位太太毫无愧疚之心，可能还觉得自己萌萌哒。两人摊牌后，妻子没有道歉，而是要求丈夫以后更努力工作赚钱。最后以这男人跳下站台自杀，妻子改嫁结束。</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The 便当 here means a bento-box. However, since it is clear that "bento" in English is a loanword from Japanese, I feel that it is a loanword from Japanese in Mandarin as well, not a word that had been incorporated into Japanese.</p>

<p>However, the Japanese word is 弁当, not 便当. So my question is:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Is my assumption correct that it is a loanword from Japanese?</p></li>
<li><p>If that is true, then why is it called 便当 in Chinese? And when did it start to be called as such?</p></li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-28T23:47:24.050Z
Baidu answer: 最早源于南宋时期的俗语“便当”，意思是“便利的东西、方便、顺利”。传入日本后，曾以“便道”、“辨道”、“辨当”等当字（当て字）表记。 “便当”一词后来反传入中国是源于日语“弁当”（音:bentou）。更多已经简化翻译成Bento了,在大陆大部分地区习惯称为“盒饭”，即盒装餐食。在台湾地区一般称为 便当,通常用于午餐、外卖、工作餐等场合。“便当”与“盒饭”在用法上有细微差异，“盒饭”一词更倾向于简单粗糙的饭食，如“日式便当”一词，就很少被说成“日式盒饭”。https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E4%BE%BF%E5%BD%93/6032932?fr=aladdin
dan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-30T07:02:27.787Z
@dan Can you make it as an answer, possibly in English and possibly in more elaboration?
Blaszard
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-30T07:31:45.340Z
I made a rough one below fyr.
dan
<etymology><word><history><loanwords>
The etymology of 便当 in Chinese
# The etymology of 便当 in Chinese

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-10-28)

The following excerpt is from [the top answer on 知乎](https://www.zhihu.com/question/26290171?sort=created):

> 丈夫每天吃自己做的**便当**（没错，是他自己做的，不是他妻子做的）她吃大餐，去一次美容院就能花4.2万。看表情就知道，这位太太毫无愧疚之心，可能还觉得自己萌萌哒。两人摊牌后，妻子没有道歉，而是要求丈夫以后更努力工作赚钱。最后以这男人跳下站台自杀，妻子改嫁结束。

The 便当 here means a bento-box. However, since it is clear that "bento" in English is a loanword from Japanese, I feel that it is a loanword from Japanese in Mandarin as well, not a word that had been incorporated into Japanese.

However, the Japanese word is 弁当, not 便当. So my question is:

* Is my assumption correct that it is a loanword from Japanese?
* If that is true, then why is it called 便当 in Chinese? And when did it start to be called as such?

**Tags:** etymology, word, history, loanwords

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Baidu answer: 最早源于南宋时期的俗语“便当”，意思是“便利的东西、方便、顺利”。传入日本后，曾以“便道”、“辨道”、“辨当”等当字（当て字）表记。 “便当”一词后来反传入中国是源于日语“弁当”（音:bentou）。更多已经简化翻译成Bento了,在大陆大部分地区习惯称为“盒饭”，即盒装餐食。在台湾地区一般称为 便当,通常用于午餐、外卖、工作餐等场合。“便当”与“盒饭”在用法上有细微差异，“盒饭”一词更倾向于简单粗糙的饭食，如“日式便当”一词，就很少被说成“日式盒饭”。https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E4%BE%BF%E5%BD%93/6032932?fr=aladdin  
> **username_0**: @username_1 Can you make it as an answer, possibly in English and possibly in more elaboration?  
> **username_1**: I made a rough one below fyr.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2017-10-30. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

I try to make a rough translation here:

> 便当， originated from the Southern Song Dynasty, meaning "convenient
> things, convenient, smooth".
>
> When introduced into Japan, it became “便道”、“辨道”、“辨当”.
>
> Later, when the term “便当” was transplanted back to China from Japan,
> it's referenced to 弁当(bentou/bento).
>
> The term 盒饭, (that is 盒装餐食), is used in mainland, while
> 便当 is usually used in Taiwan.
>
> However, there is a nuance between 盒饭 and 便当. 便当 is more delicate than
> 盒饭. 盒饭 is usually just simple and normal food.


---

