Dictionary

chow mein en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˌtʃaʊ ˈmeɪn/
• /tʃaʊ min/ (Hong-Kong)
• (US) audio

Etymology

Borrowed from Taishanese 炒麵／炒面 (cau² men⁵, “stir-fry noodles”).

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) A westernized Chinese dish of stir-fried noodles with vegetables and meat or seafood.
   • I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand Walking through the streets of Soho in the rain He was looking for the place called Lee Ho Fook's Gonna get a big dish of beef chow mein. 1978, “Werewolves of London”, in Warren Zevon, LeRoy Marinell and Waddy Wachtel (music), Excitable Boy, performed by Warren Zevon:
   • Our tasty grooves are better than a chicken chow mein! 2006, “POD (The Pick of Destiny)”, in The Pick of Destiny, performed by Tenacious D:
   • Without access to key ingredients from their homeland, Chinese immigrants in the United States working on the Central Pacific Railroad in the 1860s improvised dishes like chow mein and chop suey that nobody back in their native land would have recognized. 2007 June 18, Nina Zagat, Tim Zagat, “Meanwhile: Eating Beyond Sichuan”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:
2. (India, countable, offensive, slang) A person from Northeast India.
   • Since I come from the North-eastern part of India myself and belong to a minority race, I too have suffered from racism, at least in its milder forms. I’ve been called "chinky", "momo", "chowmein", and more. 2017 May 23, Alana Golmei, “Let’s talk about racism”, in Hindustan Times, Delhi:

Forms

Coordinates

lo mein

Deriveds

chowmeinery · chow mein bun

Translations (13)

ko 차오몐 (Westernised Chinese dish of stir-fried noodles with vegetables and meat or seafood) · hu pirított tészta (Westernised Chinese dish of stir-fried noodles with vegetables and meat or seafood) · de Chow-Mein (Westernised Chinese dish of stir-fried noodles with vegetables and meat or seafood) · fi chow mein (Westernised Chinese dish of stir-fried noodles with vegetables and meat or seafood) · nl tjauwmin (Westernised Chinese dish of stir-fried noodles with vegetables and meat or seafood) · cmn 炒麵 /炒面 (Westernised Chinese dish of stir-fried noodles with vegetables and meat or seafood) · ru чаомя́нь (Westernised Chinese dish of stir-fried noodles with vegetables and meat or seafood) · hu sült tészta (Westernised Chinese dish of stir-fried noodles with vegetables and meat or seafood) · pt chow mein (Westernised Chinese dish of stir-fried noodles with vegetables and meat or seafood) · nan-hbl 炒麵 /炒面 (Westernised Chinese dish of stir-fried noodles with vegetables and meat or seafood) · es chow mein (Westernised Chinese dish of stir-fried noodles with vegetables and meat or seafood) · yue 炒麵 /炒面 (Westernised Chinese dish of stir-fried noodles with vegetables and meat or seafood) · ja 炒麺 (Westernised Chinese dish of stir-fried noodles with vegetables and meat or seafood)