Long Time No See
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"Long time no see" Is an English expression used when people haven't seen each other in a while. It probably originates from a Chinese expression, hence the non-English syntax. The Simplified Chinese is 好久不见 ('hao jiu mei jian' or 'ho noi mou gin' in Cantonese) which literally means, "very long-time no see". An alternative, though less convincing, theory is that it comes from Native American Pidgin English, or an imitation of such speech.
It has been in British usage since the early 1900s, deriving from Far East, specifically Chinese, pidgin, coming to the UK by way of the Merchant Service, reinforced by the Royal Navy.
The North American use of the phrase probably comes from the same source but has been strongly influenced by two or three very widely distributed popular anecdotes. The 'OED New Supp.' cites the oldest use in literature in 1901 in "31 Years on Plain" by W. F. Drannan. 'When we rode up to him (an American Indian), he said: "Good mornin. Long time no see you".' It is used in Harry C. Witwer's 'Love and Learn,' 1924 (p. 73).
There have been Chinese living and working up and down the West Coast of North America since at least the Gold Rush days of mid C19, and before, so Chinese-English pidgin would have abounded around the time the expression appeared. The influence of Native American Pidgins on British English is much less likely.
Long Time No See may refer to:
- Long Time No See (5566 album)
- Long Time No See (FM album), an album by FM
- Long Time No See (novel), a novel by Susan Isaacs
- "Long Time No See: Jiraiya Returns!" (Naruto episode)
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