<p>As far as I know, there's no exception for translating "e-" to "电子" unless it doesn't indicate "digital" electronic.  </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-10T19:29:18.953Z
I hear the buzzword "e-cigarette" on this just about every day, are you saying that 电子 would not work in this situation?
小奥利奥
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-08T01:34:52.973Z
No. Just the exact opposite.
Winfred Huang
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-09-10T02:54:16.420Z
2019-09-10T02:54:16.420Z
Winfred Huang
<h3>电子</h3>
<p>I did some searching, and my impression is that most terms in English with the prefix &quot;e-&quot; can be translated into Chinese with the prefix 电子, with virtually no exceptions:</p>
<p><a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E9%82%AE%E4%BB%B6" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子邮件</a> (email), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E9%82%AE%E7%AE%B1" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子邮箱</a> = <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E4%BF%A1%E7%AE%B1" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子信箱</a> (email box), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%96%87%E4%BB%B6" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子文件</a> (e-file), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E7%8E%B0%E9%87%91" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子现金</a> (e-cash), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E8%B4%A7%E5%B8%81" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子货币</a> (e-money), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E5%AE%A2%E7%A5%A8" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子客票</a> (e-ticket), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E7%AD%BE%E5%90%8D" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子签名</a> (e-signature), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E5%AD%A6%E4%B9%A0" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子学习</a> (e-learning), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%95%99%E8%82%B2" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子教育</a> (e-education), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E4%B9%A6" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子书</a> = 电子书籍 (e-book), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%97%A5%E8%AE%B0" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子日记</a> (e-diary), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%96%87%E6%9C%AC" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子文本</a> (e-text), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E9%98%85%E8%AF%BB%E5%99%A8" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子阅读器</a> (e-reader), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%96%B0%E9%97%BB%E4%BF%A1" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子新闻信</a> (e-newsletter), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%9D%82%E5%BF%97" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子杂志</a> (e-zine [or: e-magazine]), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E7%89%88" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子版</a> (e-edition), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E7%AC%94" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子笔</a> (e-pen), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E8%AF%8D%E5%85%B8" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子词典</a> (e-dictionary), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E8%89%BA%E6%9C%AF" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子艺术</a> (e-art), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%95%99%E5%AE%A4" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子教室</a> (e-classroom), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%95%99%E5%B8%88" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子教师</a> (e-tutor), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E9%80%9A%E4%BF%A1" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子通信</a> (e-communication), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E7%AB%9E%E6%8A%80" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子竞技</a> (e-sports), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E7%83%9F" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子烟</a> (e-cigarette), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E5%95%86%E5%8A%A1" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子商务</a> (e-commerce), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E5%95%86%E5%8A%A1%E9%9B%B6%E5%94%AE%E5%95%86" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子商务零售商</a> (e-tailer [or: e-retailer]), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E8%B4%B8%E6%98%93" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子贸易</a> (e-trade), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E8%90%A5%E4%B8%9A" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子营业</a> (e-business), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E9%92%B1%E5%8C%85" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子钱包</a> (e-wallet), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E9%93%B6%E8%A1%8C" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子银行</a> (e-bank), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E8%B4%BA%E5%8D%A1" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子贺卡</a> (e-greeting-card), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E5%90%8D%E7%89%87" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子名片</a> (e-card), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B0%91%E4%B8%BB" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子民主</a> (e-democracy), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E4%BF%9D%E5%AF%86" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子保密</a> (e-security), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E8%B4%AD%E7%89%A9" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子购物</a> (e-shopping), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E5%81%A5%E5%BA%B7" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子健康</a> (e-health), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E7%8A%AF%E7%BD%AA" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子犯罪</a> (e-crime), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E5%9E%83%E5%9C%BE" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子垃圾</a> (e-waste).  And maybe even <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E7%89%B9%E4%BD%BF" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子特使</a> (e-envoy), <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E8%AE%B0%E4%BA%8B%E6%9C%AC" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子记事本</a> (e-notebook), and <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E7%8B%97" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子狗</a> (e-dog [slang]).</p>
<p>Possible exceptions:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%BD%91%E4%B8%8A%E4%BA%A4%E5%8F%8B" rel="nofollow noreferrer">网上交友</a> = <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%BD%91%E4%B8%8A%E7%BA%A6%E4%BC%9A" rel="nofollow noreferrer">网上约会</a> = <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%BD%91%E6%81%8B" rel="nofollow noreferrer">网恋</a> (e-dating), although <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E4%BA%A4%E5%8F%8B" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子交友</a> is also used.</li>
<li><a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%8A%A8%E8%87%AA%E8%A1%8C%E8%BD%A6" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电动自行车</a> (e-bike), although <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E8%87%AA%E8%A1%8C%E8%BD%A6" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子自行车</a> is also used.  zhantongz mentions <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%8A%A8%E8%BD%A6" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电动车</a> in the comments, although <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B1%BD%E8%BD%A6" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子汽车</a> is possible.</li>
<li><a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%8A%A8%E7%8E%A9%E5%85%B7" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电动玩具</a> (e-toys), although <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E7%8E%A9%E5%85%B7" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子玩具</a> is also used.</li>
<li><a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E6%98%93%E8%B6%A3" rel="nofollow noreferrer">易趣</a> = Ebay, although <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B8%AF%E6%B9%BE" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子港湾</a> (e-bay) is also used.</li>
</ul>
<p>A few variants:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E5%8C%96%E8%90%A5%E4%B8%9A" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电子化营业</a> = 电子营业</p>
</li>
<li><p><a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%95%86" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电商</a> = 电子商务</p>
</li>
<li><p><a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E7%AB%9E" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电竞</a> = 电子竞技</p>
</li>
<li><p><a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E5%9C%A8%E7%BA%BF%E5%AD%A6%E4%B9%A0" rel="nofollow noreferrer">在线学习</a> = 电子学习</p>
</li>
<li><p><a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%BD%91%E7%BB%9C%E9%9B%B6%E5%94%AE%E5%95%86" rel="nofollow noreferrer">网络零售商</a> = 电子商务零售商</p>
</li>
<li><p><a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%8C%96%E6%95%99%E8%82%B2" rel="nofollow noreferrer">电化教育</a> = <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%BD%91%E7%BB%9C%E6%95%99%E8%82%B2" rel="nofollow noreferrer">网络教育</a> = 电子教育</p>
</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-24T04:02:02.533Z
2020-01-24T06:11:55.353Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
Becky 李蓓
<p>For instance, "email" (or "e-mail") is one that has been essentially canonized (e.g. it has been added to various canonical dictionaries), but what about other instances of the addition of this morpheme and its Chinese translation? Is there a general heuristic or rule for indicating digitalization in Chinese, analogous to the English 'e-'?</p>

<p>After a few attempts on Google Translate, it seems like the way to go is to preface the word with “电子” (which means "electronic") – this seems right, but are there exceptions I should know about?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-04T13:39:58.200Z
For digitization, see also 云／云端 - cloud，网／网上 - online, 虚拟 - virtual. In the sense of electricity-powered, 电动 (e-bike 电动车)
xngtng
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-05T17:27:19.260Z
It's more like the marketing term. Electronic, cloud, connected, solid-state, shared, digital, etc...(Interestingly, computers has passed the "electronic" age since the 50s into the solid-state/semi-conductor phase, with the invention of transistor, like radios, but the name never changed. Right now the only consumer product that is truly "electronic" is only microwave oven).
user3528438
<word-choice>
What is the Chinese equivalent of the English morpheme 'e-' indicating "digitalization"?
# What is the Chinese equivalent of the English morpheme 'e-' indicating "digitalization"?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-06-04)

For instance, "email" (or "e-mail") is one that has been essentially canonized (e.g. it has been added to various canonical dictionaries), but what about other instances of the addition of this morpheme and its Chinese translation? Is there a general heuristic or rule for indicating digitalization in Chinese, analogous to the English 'e-'?

After a few attempts on Google Translate, it seems like the way to go is to preface the word with “电子” (which means "electronic") – this seems right, but are there exceptions I should know about?

**Tags:** word-choice

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: For digitization, see also 云／云端 - cloud，网／网上 - online, 虚拟 - virtual. In the sense of electricity-powered, 电动 (e-bike 电动车)  
> **username_2**: It's more like the marketing term. Electronic, cloud, connected, solid-state, shared, digital, etc...(Interestingly, computers has passed the "electronic" age since the 50s into the solid-state/semi-conductor phase, with the invention of transistor, like radios, but the name never changed. Right now the only consumer product that is truly "electronic" is only microwave oven).  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2019-09-10. Score: 1

As far as I know, there's no exception for translating "e-" to "电子" unless it doesn't indicate "digital" electronic.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: I hear the buzzword "e-cigarette" on this just about every day, are you saying that 电子 would not work in this situation?  
> **username_3**: No. Just the exact opposite.  

---

### Answer by username_5 on 2020-01-24. Score: 1

### 电子

I did some searching, and my impression is that most terms in English with the prefix "e-" can be translated into Chinese with the prefix 电子, with virtually no exceptions:

[电子邮件](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E9%82%AE%E4%BB%B6) (email), [电子邮箱](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E9%82%AE%E7%AE%B1) = [电子信箱](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E4%BF%A1%E7%AE%B1) (email box), [电子文件](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%96%87%E4%BB%B6) (e-file), [电子现金](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E7%8E%B0%E9%87%91) (e-cash), [电子货币](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E8%B4%A7%E5%B8%81) (e-money), [电子客票](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E5%AE%A2%E7%A5%A8) (e-ticket), [电子签名](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E7%AD%BE%E5%90%8D) (e-signature), [电子学习](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E5%AD%A6%E4%B9%A0) (e-learning), [电子教育](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%95%99%E8%82%B2) (e-education), [电子书](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E4%B9%A6) = 电子书籍 (e-book), [电子日记](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%97%A5%E8%AE%B0) (e-diary), [电子文本](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%96%87%E6%9C%AC) (e-text), [电子阅读器](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E9%98%85%E8%AF%BB%E5%99%A8) (e-reader), [电子新闻信](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%96%B0%E9%97%BB%E4%BF%A1) (e-newsletter), [电子杂志](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%9D%82%E5%BF%97) (e-zine [or: e-magazine]), [电子版](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E7%89%88) (e-edition), [电子笔](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E7%AC%94) (e-pen), [电子词典](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E8%AF%8D%E5%85%B8) (e-dictionary), [电子艺术](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E8%89%BA%E6%9C%AF) (e-art), [电子教室](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%95%99%E5%AE%A4) (e-classroom), [电子教师](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%95%99%E5%B8%88) (e-tutor), [电子通信](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E9%80%9A%E4%BF%A1) (e-communication), [电子竞技](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E7%AB%9E%E6%8A%80) (e-sports), [电子烟](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E7%83%9F) (e-cigarette), [电子商务](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E5%95%86%E5%8A%A1) (e-commerce), [电子商务零售商](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E5%95%86%E5%8A%A1%E9%9B%B6%E5%94%AE%E5%95%86) (e-tailer [or: e-retailer]), [电子贸易](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E8%B4%B8%E6%98%93) (e-trade), [电子营业](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E8%90%A5%E4%B8%9A) (e-business), [电子钱包](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E9%92%B1%E5%8C%85) (e-wallet), [电子银行](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E9%93%B6%E8%A1%8C) (e-bank), [电子贺卡](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E8%B4%BA%E5%8D%A1) (e-greeting-card), [电子名片](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E5%90%8D%E7%89%87) (e-card), [电子民主](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B0%91%E4%B8%BB) (e-democracy), [电子保密](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E4%BF%9D%E5%AF%86) (e-security), [电子购物](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E8%B4%AD%E7%89%A9) (e-shopping), [电子健康](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E5%81%A5%E5%BA%B7) (e-health), [电子犯罪](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E7%8A%AF%E7%BD%AA) (e-crime), [电子垃圾](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E5%9E%83%E5%9C%BE) (e-waste). And maybe even [电子特使](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E7%89%B9%E4%BD%BF) (e-envoy), [电子记事本](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E8%AE%B0%E4%BA%8B%E6%9C%AC) (e-notebook), and [电子狗](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E7%8B%97) (e-dog [slang]).

Possible exceptions:

* [网上交友](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%BD%91%E4%B8%8A%E4%BA%A4%E5%8F%8B) = [网上约会](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%BD%91%E4%B8%8A%E7%BA%A6%E4%BC%9A) = [网恋](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%BD%91%E6%81%8B) (e-dating), although [电子交友](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E4%BA%A4%E5%8F%8B) is also used.
* [电动自行车](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%8A%A8%E8%87%AA%E8%A1%8C%E8%BD%A6) (e-bike), although [电子自行车](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E8%87%AA%E8%A1%8C%E8%BD%A6) is also used. zhantongz mentions [电动车](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%8A%A8%E8%BD%A6) in the comments, although [电子汽车](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B1%BD%E8%BD%A6) is possible.
* [电动玩具](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%8A%A8%E7%8E%A9%E5%85%B7) (e-toys), although [电子玩具](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E7%8E%A9%E5%85%B7) is also used.
* [易趣](http://youdao.com/w/%E6%98%93%E8%B6%A3) = Ebay, although [电子港湾](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B8%AF%E6%B9%BE) (e-bay) is also used.

A few variants:

* [电子化营业](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E5%8C%96%E8%90%A5%E4%B8%9A) = 电子营业
* [电商](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%95%86) = 电子商务
* [电竞](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E7%AB%9E) = 电子竞技
* [在线学习](http://youdao.com/w/%E5%9C%A8%E7%BA%BF%E5%AD%A6%E4%B9%A0) = 电子学习
* [网络零售商](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%BD%91%E7%BB%9C%E9%9B%B6%E5%94%AE%E5%95%86) = 电子商务零售商
* [电化教育](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%94%B5%E5%8C%96%E6%95%99%E8%82%B2) = [网络教育](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%BD%91%E7%BB%9C%E6%95%99%E8%82%B2) = 电子教育


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