日本仔橋

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Chinese

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Japanese person; Jap bridge
trad. (日本仔橋) 日本仔
simp. (日本仔桥) 日本仔

Etymology

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From a misguided assumption by Chinese immigrants that Kosciuszko is a Japanese name.

Pronunciation

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Proper noun

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日本仔橋

  1. (Cantonese) Kosciuszko Bridge (a bridge in New York City, New York, United States)

References

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  • Aaron Reiss (actor) (2017 August 4), “622: Who You Gonna Call?”, in This American Life[1]:
    There are some puzzlers, like the Kosciuszko Bridge, named after Thaddeus Kosciuszko. Everyone calls it the 日本仔橋日本仔桥 (jat6 bun2 zai2 kiu4), which literally means "the Japanese Guy Bridge." I asked some older ladies in Chinatown why. / "Because it has so many consonants and vowels, that it looks like a Japanese name."