<ol>
<li>“俄罗斯”不是从英文或俄文来的。可能是从蒙古文Oros来的。</li>
<li>在中国元明朝时称俄罗斯族为“罗斯”或“罗刹国”.当时蒙古族人用蒙语拼读俄文“ROCIA”时,在“R”前面加一个元音.因此,“ROCIA”就成了“OROCCIA”.满清政府时,蒙语的“OROCCIA”转译成汉语时,就成了“俄罗斯”.</li>
</ol>

<hr>

<ol>
<li>The name of "Éluósī" does not come from English or Russian. It may come from
Mongolian Oros.</li>
<li>During the Chinese Yuan and Ming dynasties the Russian ethnic group was called "Luósī" or "Luóchàguó". At that time as Mongol people read Russian "ROCIA" phonetically in Mongol, they added a vowel before the "R". So, "ROCIA" became "OROCCIA". During the Manchurian Qing government, as Mongol "OROCCIA" was translated into Chinese, it became "Éluósī".</li>
</ol>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/1jrDF.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/1jrDF.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-12T04:36:48.640Z
:),My English is poor,I'll try to translate.
andrew
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-03-02T20:51:48.447Z
Wow do you speak Mongolian language?
Lucius Hu
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-28T05:01:12.667Z
Well it's a great answer now!
hippietrail
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-09T13:13:47.717Z
I advice you translate you answer to English to serve more people.
ltux
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-09T11:35:40.963Z
2016-07-12T04:39:48.457Z
2016-07-12T04:39:48.457Z
andrew
<p>After some searching, it seems that the name comes from the Mongolic/Tungusic language family group, of which Manchu is a member. This explains why the Qianlong Emperor decreed that the country be called by its Manchurian exonym. However, the reasons behind the appending of the "o" phoneme are unclear.</p>

<p>The "Oros" name is reflected in the languages of many other languages in the family which have a more extant distribution than Manchu, which is almost extinct. For example, <a href="https://mn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9E%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%8B%D0%BD_%D0%A5%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B1%D0%BE%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%8B_%D0%A3%D0%BB%D1%81" rel="noreferrer">Mongolian</a> and <a href="https://bxr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9E%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D1%85%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B1%D0%BE%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%BE_%D1%83%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81" rel="noreferrer">Buryatian</a>  render it as Орос (Oros). </p>

<p><a href="http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTotal-SAGA201301012.htm" rel="noreferrer">This paper</a> from the (unfortunately paywalled) <em>Northwestern Journal of Ethnology</em> seems to suggest that the term comes from the Mongolian/Manchurian language family.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The word"oros", derived from Mongolian language, had been recorded in official historic materials from early times that it was used to refer to a sovereign State in Manchu language.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-28T05:02:32.830Z
Manchu is almost extinct but Xibe/Xibo is pretty closely related and so far is still alive in northwest China.
hippietrail
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-09T11:29:16.293Z
2016-07-09T11:29:16.293Z
March Ho
<p><code>斡羅思</code> is most probably the origin, which is from the Mongolian word <em>Oros</em>.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>《新元史·列传·外国九》：“斡罗思，其族曰司拉弗哀。唐末，司拉弗哀人柳利哥兄弟三人皆有智勇，侵陵他族，为众部之长，其所居之地曰遏而罗斯，遂以此为部落之名。遏而罗斯急读为斡罗斯，亦译为兀鲁斯，又曰厄罗斯。”</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Some believe <em>Oros</em> is the exclamation <em>O</em> + <em>Ros</em>. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-09T11:31:13.507Z
+1 for the nice citation. However, is there any citation for the `O+ros` claim?
March Ho
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-09T11:29:56.447Z
2016-07-09T11:29:56.447Z
ElpieKay
<p>Because most chinese speakers (and APAC natives) cannot properly pronounce a strong 'r/R' sound. Therefore, they use their closest match: /ə/</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-25T01:13:55.853Z
Actually, I don't think you can say any consonants without saying a vowel too. That's why they are called consonants = with sounds. B = be, C = see, D = dee, R = are or er, depending on the word. I like saying a Spanish rrrrrrr , that makes Chinese friends laugh! Rrrrrrrrrrrusia!
Pedroski
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-03-02T18:21:48.867Z
2017-03-02T18:21:48.867Z
one
<p>The Chinese Wikipedia <a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BF%84%E7%BD%97%E6%96%AF">article</a> describes the name of Russia, and many of its historical Chinese exonyms. </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>按照俄语发音“Россия”，其名称应翻译为“羅西亚”。元朝时根据蒙古语译为「斡羅思」[b]，到清朝初年许多文献中曾称为「羅剎」[c]，但在以国家相称时则多译为「鄂羅斯」[d]或「俄羅斯」。清乾隆年间官修《四库全书》时将其正式统一为“俄羅斯”或简称“俄国”，自此沿用至今。[12] 日本漢字與朝鮮漢字則將俄羅斯稱為「露西亞」（日语：ロシア roshia */?，韓語：노서아 noseoa */?[e]），此譯名較為接近俄語原始發音。</p>
</blockquote>

<p>However, while the "罗斯" part corresponds to the "Rus" part of the name, the "俄" part seems to have no corresponding phoneme, either in Russian or any of the other language I have looked up. </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-24T08:56:04.010Z
In Hungarian it's similar: orosz.
We got this word from old Turkish if my info is correct.
Source: https://www.arcanum.hu/hu/online-kiadvanyok/Lexikonok-magyar-etimologiai-szotar-F14D3/o-o-F33F0/orosz-F34B0/
Zetto
<translation><etymology><pronunciation>
Why is Russia translated to 俄罗斯(E Luo Si)?
# Why is Russia translated to 俄罗斯(E Luo Si)?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-07-09)

The Chinese Wikipedia [article](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BF%84%E7%BD%97%E6%96%AF) describes the name of Russia, and many of its historical Chinese exonyms.

> 按照俄语发音“Россия”，其名称应翻译为“羅西亚”。元朝时根据蒙古语译为「斡羅思」[b]，到清朝初年许多文献中曾称为「羅剎」[c]，但在以国家相称时则多译为「鄂羅斯」[d]或「俄羅斯」。清乾隆年间官修《四库全书》时将其正式统一为“俄羅斯”或简称“俄国”，自此沿用至今。[12] 日本漢字與朝鮮漢字則將俄羅斯稱為「露西亞」（日语：ロシア roshia \*/?，韓語：노서아 noseoa \*/?[e]），此譯名較為接近俄語原始發音。

However, while the "罗斯" part corresponds to the "Rus" part of the name, the "俄" part seems to have no corresponding phoneme, either in Russian or any of the other language I have looked up.

**Tags:** translation, etymology, pronunciation

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: In Hungarian it's similar: orosz. We got this word from old Turkish if my info is correct. Source: https://www.arcanum.hu/hu/online-kiadvanyok/Lexikonok-magyar-etimologiai-szotar-F14D3/o-o-F33F0/orosz-F34B0/  

---

## 4 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2016-07-09. Score: 15

1. “俄罗斯”不是从英文或俄文来的。可能是从蒙古文Oros来的。
2. 在中国元明朝时称俄罗斯族为“罗斯”或“罗刹国”.当时蒙古族人用蒙语拼读俄文“ROCIA”时,在“R”前面加一个元音.因此,“ROCIA”就成了“OROCCIA”.满清政府时,蒙语的“OROCCIA”转译成汉语时,就成了“俄罗斯”.

---

1. The name of "Éluósī" does not come from English or Russian. It may come from
   Mongolian Oros.
2. During the Chinese Yuan and Ming dynasties the Russian ethnic group was called "Luósī" or "Luóchàguó". At that time as Mongol people read Russian "ROCIA" phonetically in Mongol, they added a vowel before the "R". So, "ROCIA" became "OROCCIA". During the Manchurian Qing government, as Mongol "OROCCIA" was translated into Chinese, it became "Éluósī".

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/1jrDF.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/1jrDF.png)

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: I advice you translate you answer to English to serve more people.  
> **username_2**: :),My English is poor,I'll try to translate.  
> **username_3**: Wow do you speak Mongolian language?  
> **username_4**: Well it's a great answer now!  

---

### Answer by username_0 on 2016-07-09. Score: 7

After some searching, it seems that the name comes from the Mongolic/Tungusic language family group, of which Manchu is a member. This explains why the Qianlong Emperor decreed that the country be called by its Manchurian exonym. However, the reasons behind the appending of the "o" phoneme are unclear.

The "Oros" name is reflected in the languages of many other languages in the family which have a more extant distribution than Manchu, which is almost extinct. For example, [Mongolian](https://mn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9E%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%8B%D0%BD_%D0%A5%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B1%D0%BE%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%8B_%D0%A3%D0%BB%D1%81) and [Buryatian](https://bxr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9E%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D1%85%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B1%D0%BE%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%BE_%D1%83%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81) render it as Орос (Oros).

[This paper](http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTotal-SAGA201301012.htm) from the (unfortunately paywalled) *Northwestern Journal of Ethnology* seems to suggest that the term comes from the Mongolian/Manchurian language family.

> The word"oros", derived from Mongolian language, had been recorded in official historic materials from early times that it was used to refer to a sovereign State in Manchu language.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: Manchu is almost extinct but Xibe/Xibo is pretty closely related and so far is still alive in northwest China.  

---

### Answer by username_6 on 2016-07-09. Score: 3

`斡羅思` is most probably the origin, which is from the Mongolian word *Oros*.

> 《新元史·列传·外国九》：“斡罗思，其族曰司拉弗哀。唐末，司拉弗哀人柳利哥兄弟三人皆有智勇，侵陵他族，为众部之长，其所居之地曰遏而罗斯，遂以此为部落之名。遏而罗斯急读为斡罗斯，亦译为兀鲁斯，又曰厄罗斯。”

Some believe *Oros* is the exclamation *O* + *Ros*.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: +1 for the nice citation. However, is there any citation for the `O+ros` claim?  

---

### Answer by username_7 on 2017-03-02. Score: 1

Because most chinese speakers (and APAC natives) cannot properly pronounce a strong 'r/R' sound. Therefore, they use their closest match: /ə/

> **Comments:**
> **username_8**: Actually, I don't think you can say any consonants without saying a vowel too. That's why they are called consonants = with sounds. B = be, C = see, D = dee, R = are or er, depending on the word. I like saying a Spanish rrrrrrr , that makes Chinese friends laugh! Rrrrrrrrrrrusia!  

---

