Shanghai

• Shang-hai, Shanghae, Shang-hae, Shanhae, Chang-hai (obsolete)

c. 1840, likely from an English-derived romanization of the Mandarin Chinese pronunciation of Chinese 上海 (Shànghǎi), reinforced by Wade–Giles, Postal Romanization, and Hanyu Pinyin.[1]

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈʃæŋ.haɪ/, /ʃæŋˈhaɪ/, /ʃɑŋˈhaɪ/, enPR: shǎngʹhīʹ
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ʃæŋˈhaɪ/, /ˈʃæŋ.haɪ/

• Audio (Southern England)

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• Audio (Southern England)

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• Audio (US)

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• Audio (AU)

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• Rhymes: -aɪ
• Hyphenation: Shang‧hai

Shanghai

1. A major port city and direct-administered municipality of China, the largest urban area in China.
   • 1840 September 12, “IX.—From Shanghai to Pekin.”, in The Penny Magazine‎, number 542, Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, →OCLC, page 358, column 2:

     SHANGHAI (the emporium of Nanking) is the first town of any importance on the coast of Kiangnan province. […] If, however, these difficulties were surmounted, and suitable precautions taken against existing dangers, the embouchure of this river would be one of the most eligible points for the establishment of British commerce in the whole empire. Be this as it may, however, certain it is that even now Shanghai carries on the greatest native trade of any port on the coast. […]
     The city of Shanghai is built on the left bank, some distance from the mouth. It is laid out with sufficient elegance, and numerous temples.

   • 1951, Herbert Hoover, “Engineering in China—1899–1902”, in The Memoirs of Herbert Hoover, Years of Adventure 1874-1920‎, New York: Macmillan Company, →OCLC, →OL, page 55:

     In January 1901, we reached Japan where Mrs. Hoover remained for the winter while I went to Shanghai in search of a method of reaching North China. The Port of Taku being frozen and there being then no railway connection between Shanghai and the north, all communication had been suspended for the winter.

   • 1999, “Shanghai”, in The Book of the World, 2nd United States edition (Atlas), Macmillan, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 411, column 1:

     By the year 2000, Shanghai is scheduled to become an international center of commerce and finance; economic strategists predict that by 2010 the city will have become the world's largest trading center. This "secret capital" of China has set some ambitious goals for itself. The population is proudly celebrating their collective "coming out," and business is booming.

   • 2024 January 17, Nicoco Chan, “Some Shanghai singles struggle to get married as economy slows”, in Reuters‎, archived from the original on 21 January 2024, China‎:

     Victor Li is determined to get married soon, but like many other young Chinese grappling with an uncertain economic outlook, the well-heeled Shanghai entrepreneur isn't sure he can afford to.
     "It's very expensive for us to get married, especially in a big city like Shanghai," the 32-year-old said, as he took a break from a ticketed networking event for wealthier, top university-educated singles at an upmarket Shanghai jazz bar.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Shanghai.
2. A major international port including the eastern coast of Shanghai Municipality and the northeastern islands of Zhejiang Province.

• (dated) Paris of the East

• (districts) Huangpu, Jing'an, Xuhui, Minhang, Jiading, Changning, Putuo, Hongkou, Yangpu, Baoshan, Jinshan, Songjiang, Qingpu, Fengxian, Chongming, (former) Zhabei
• (new area) Pudong

• Shanghainese, Shanghailander
• shanghai
• Shanghai French Concession
• Shanghai oil

Shanghai (plural Shanghais)

1. Alternative letter-case form of shanghai in its various senses derived from the Chinese city.

• Shanghai at Google Ngram Viewer
• “shanghai, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 2020.
• “shanghai, v.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 2019.
• “shanghai”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “shanghai”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “shanghai”, in Collins English Dictionary..
• "shanghai" in Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary, 1908.

• Audio

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Shanghai n (proper noun, strong, genitive Shanghais)

1. Alternative spelling of Schanghai

From Mandarin 上海 (Shànghǎi, literally “Upon-the-Sea”).

Shanghai

1. Shanghai (a major port city and direct-administered municipality of China, the largest urban area in China)

• Sciangai

Borrowed from Mandarin 上海 (Shànghǎi, literally “Upon-the-Sea”).

• IPA^(key): ^*/ʃanˈɡaj/
• Rhymes: -aj

Shanghai ?

1. Shanghai (a major port city and direct-administered municipality of China, the largest urban area in China)

• Shangai (Gascony)

Shanghai ?

1. Shanghai (a major port city and direct-administered municipality of China, the largest urban area in China)

Shanghai f

1. Alternative spelling of Xangai; Shanghai (a major port city and direct-administered municipality of China, the largest urban area in China)