Phrase guide

pidgin English

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˈpɪ.dʒɪn ˌɪŋ.ɡlɪʃ/
  • US: /ˈpɪ.dʒən ˌɪŋ.ɡlɪʃ/

1

noun

Meaning 1

The Chinese pidgin English spoken in Canton and Hong Kong, later spreading throughout the Chinese and Southeast Asian coastal region.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Qualifier: originally

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Any English-lexifier pidgin.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Any very basic English; broken English.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: broadly, countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.