china

Language: en

🇬🇧 /ˈtʃaɪnə/ 🇺🇸 /ˈtʃaɪnə/

📖 Definitions

  1. noun
    A fine white or translucent ceramic material made from kaolin and other materials, fired at high temperature; porcelain.; Dishes, plates, cups, and other domestic items made from porcelain or ceramic material.; A type of clay used in making porcelain; kaolin.; (British informal) A close friend or companion.

🔗 Details

Word forms

uncountable

Collocations

fine chinabone chinachina cabinetpiece of chinachina patternchina plate

Derivatives

chinaware

Synonyms

porcelainceramicearthenwarestonewarepottery

Commonly confused

China
EN: 'China' (capitalized) is the proper noun for the country; 'china' (lowercase) refers to porcelain or ceramic ware.
porcelain
EN: 'Porcelain' is a more technical term for the material; 'china' is the everyday word and can also refer to finished tableware collectively.

Spelling tips

EN: Remember to capitalize 'China' when referring to the country, but use lowercase 'china' for porcelain. Do not pluralize it; use 'pieces of china' instead of 'chinas.'

💬 Examples

  1. The antique vase was made of delicate blue and white china.

  2. She carefully unpacked the wedding china and placed it in the display cabinet.

  3. The region was known for its rich deposits of china clay.

  4. He's been my old china since we were at school together.