<p>Wiktionary [1] claims that among the explanations, none claims that 按 is a transcription for mort-. Seemingly there is a version that the original first character was 摸 /mo2/, which makes more sense, and it was replaced by 按 by meaning.</p>

<p>/mo2kit3/ is a MUCH better match than /on3kit3/, and with what other final could English [gɪdʒ] be approximated, if Cantonese allows only -p, -t, -k outside of nasals? [t̚] and [dʒ] are both approximately dental as opposed to labial or velar, and, as any Korean would confirm, when finally unreleased [tɕ~dʑ] defaults to [t̚], so transcription appears flawless. As soon as English card goes to /kaat1/ [2], the behaviour of [dʒ]should not be surprising.</p>

<p>References:</p>

<p>[1] <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E6%8C%89%E6%8F%AD" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E6%8C%89%E6%8F%AD</a></p>

<p>[2] <a href="https://wenlin.co/wow/Special:Wenlin/QQs%3Fs%3Dkaat1" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://wenlin.co/wow/Special:Wenlin/QQs%3Fs%3Dkaat1</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-09-06T14:58:07.170Z
2019-09-06T14:58:07.170Z
Alexander Z.
<p>I've seen a few claims that 按揭 is a loanword from English.</p>

<p>This article on <a href="http://gb.oversea.cnki.net/KCMS/detail/detail.aspx?filename=YWJZ200002013&amp;dbcode=CJFD&amp;dbname=cjfd2000" rel="nofollow noreferrer">cnki</a> says:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>【摘要】 &lt;正> 《咬文嚼字》1997年第1期《试说“按揭”》一文说:“‘按揭’源于英语的mortgage。该词的后一半,gage的发音和广州话‘揭’的发音(kit)相近。可以肯定,‘揭’是音译。而‘按’却是意译。广州话的‘按’也有押、抵押的意思。……‘按揭’是一个半意译半音译的外来词。” </p>
</blockquote>

<p>This comment on <a href="https://m.iask.sina.com.cn/b/1519651.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">iask</a> goes a step further to say that it is a transliteration.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>“按揭”是粤语的音译。“按揭”这个音译词要比意译简单,颇有新意和广告效应,并且国际通用,所以就比较盛行。我们传统的民族文化心理在吸收外来词时始终表现出一种倾向,即拒绝纯音译词,而乐于接受意译或部分意译。但是在新的历史条件下,人们的传统观念日益更新,更趋向于接受纯音译词,因此音译词的数量迅速增加。</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The ending "-<em>gage</em>" in "mortgage" sounds nothing like ‘揭’ (kit) to me. 按 as "on" seems even less convincing, although it seems like a case could be made for "ngon." </p>

<p>Maybe something in the sounds is getting lost on me. Any ideas?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-09-06T02:13:06.253Z
'-gage' sounds like kit to me though, and I'm a Vietnamese speaker. Like Cantonese, Vietnamese syllables can only have m/n/ng/p/t/k as a coda. -gage is pronounced /ɡɪdʒ/ and /t/ is the closest sound to /dʒ/. 按 is a mystery though...
范阮煌
<translation>
How is "按揭" a Cantonese loanword of Mortgage from English?
# How is "按揭" a Cantonese loanword of Mortgage from English?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-09-05)

I've seen a few claims that 按揭 is a loanword from English.

This article on [cnki](http://gb.oversea.cnki.net/KCMS/detail/detail.aspx?filename=YWJZ200002013&dbcode=CJFD&dbname=cjfd2000) says:

> 【摘要】 <正> 《咬文嚼字》1997年第1期《试说“按揭”》一文说:“‘按揭’源于英语的mortgage。该词的后一半,gage的发音和广州话‘揭’的发音(kit)相近。可以肯定,‘揭’是音译。而‘按’却是意译。广州话的‘按’也有押、抵押的意思。……‘按揭’是一个半意译半音译的外来词。”

This comment on [iask](https://m.iask.sina.com.cn/b/1519651.html) goes a step further to say that it is a transliteration.

> “按揭”是粤语的音译。“按揭”这个音译词要比意译简单,颇有新意和广告效应,并且国际通用,所以就比较盛行。我们传统的民族文化心理在吸收外来词时始终表现出一种倾向,即拒绝纯音译词,而乐于接受意译或部分意译。但是在新的历史条件下,人们的传统观念日益更新,更趋向于接受纯音译词,因此音译词的数量迅速增加。

The ending "-*gage*" in "mortgage" sounds nothing like ‘揭’ (kit) to me. 按 as "on" seems even less convincing, although it seems like a case could be made for "ngon."

Maybe something in the sounds is getting lost on me. Any ideas?

**Tags:** translation

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: '-gage' sounds like kit to me though, and I'm a Vietnamese speaker. Like Cantonese, Vietnamese syllables can only have m/n/ng/p/t/k as a coda. -gage is pronounced /ɡɪdʒ/ and /t/ is the closest sound to /dʒ/. 按 is a mystery though...  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2019-09-06. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

Wiktionary [1] claims that among the explanations, none claims that 按 is a transcription for mort-. Seemingly there is a version that the original first character was 摸 /mo2/, which makes more sense, and it was replaced by 按 by meaning.

/mo2kit3/ is a MUCH better match than /on3kit3/, and with what other final could English [gɪdʒ] be approximated, if Cantonese allows only -p, -t, -k outside of nasals? [t̚] and [dʒ] are both approximately dental as opposed to labial or velar, and, as any Korean would confirm, when finally unreleased [tɕ~dʑ] defaults to [t̚], so transcription appears flawless. As soon as English card goes to /kaat1/ [2], the behaviour of [dʒ]should not be surprising.

References:

[1] <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E6%8C%89%E6%8F%AD>

[2] <https://wenlin.co/wow/Special:Wenlin/QQs%3Fs%3Dkaat1>


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