手机 : shǒujī - cellphone

手机 (shǒujī, "hand-machine") seems to be the most common word for "cellphone".

"Cellphone" is of course a shortened form of "cellular telephone" which describes the technology used. It gets further abbreviated to "cell", these days people say "call me on my cell". So the English word for a tiny room has now become the word for a tiny phone.

But "cellphone" is American English. In Britain it would be "mobile phone". In London they'll say "call me on my mobile".

In Chinese there's also the term 移动电话 (yídòng diànhuà, "move-phone"), which is closer to mobile phone. And there's a more typically Taiwanese term 行动电话 (xíngdòng diànhuà, "move-about-phone"). 电话 ("electric speech") as I've mentioned before is "telephone".

But 手机 contains another common and useful character "机" (jī), meaning "machine". The radical (the left half of this character) is 木 (mù), "wood" or "tree", it looks like a tree. The machine this character originally meant was a loom.

机 appears in many, many interesting technical words. 计算机 (jìsuànjī) is another word for computer. 机器人 (jīqìrén) is a robot. 机器 is the word (as opposed to just the character) for "machine". It's found in the name of IBM, 国际商用机器 (guójì shāngyòng jīqì) or 国际商业机器 (guójì shāngyè jīqì).

• Cool new cellphones on Engadget


• Cell Phone Culture at the MIT Communications Forum [2005]

外包 : wàibāo - outsourcing

When I first came across the word 外包 I thought it meant "outside wrapper"! Makes sense, but in fact 外包 (wàibāo) is "outsourcing". It's a shortened form of 外包工 (wàibāogōng).


It's a hot topic these days for many reasons. I don't really want to get into the political debates, I can certainly sympathize with the strong feelings of American programmers and other IT workers. But it's a force that seems inevitable, and probably here to stay.

外 (wài) is "outside" or "foreign". Many English speakers are familiar with the Chinese word 外人 (wàirén, "foreigner, outsider") as the Japanese "gaijin".

包 (bāo) is "to wrap" or a package (and it looks like it). You may see it on the menu at your local Chinese restaurant（包子, "steamed bun"). But 包 can also mean to hire or charter, and 包工 (bāogōng) means to contract for a job, specifically for a time limit, within specifications.

• It's Cheaper in China (CIO Magazine)


• Outsourcing to China - Are Your Processes Ready? (IDG Report)
  
• Objectiva (I'll give them a plug since management is from MIT!)
• 外包网 [China Outsourcing Network]
• Rough Guide to Outsourcing in China (humourous, but interesting account of a small company's experience)