How do you say PATADA CHINA in English?

Well, if we really mean that astonishing kick some Chinese fighters display in the movies then CHINESE KICK would be the right translation.
But that is not what we usually mean. In Ecuador, the disease known as CONJUNCTIVITIS (CONJUNTIVITIS in Spanish) is also commonly known as PATADA CHINA. Obviously, that is only a nickname and therefore we need a term with similar attributes and that would be PINK EYE. 
CONJUNCTIVITIS or PINK EYE is an inflammation of the inner section of the eyelids. It is usually caused by an infection (viral in origin, but apparently there is also a bacterial type). Most of the time it appears first in one of the eyes, though in a matter of hours, the infection spreads to the other one.
Why do we refer to PINK EYE as PATADA CHINA in Ecuador? 
I would say there is a racist connotation to it, so that is how far I will go with that.

Comments

LeBon said…
I prefer to say Conjunctivitis cuz it sounds appropriate when we talk about illnesses
June 17, 2021 at 5:05 PM
Torres Alvear Odette said…
I think that the name is because the Chinese people have eyes a little closed and when you have "Conjuntivitis" the eyes they look like this. Yeah, this sounds a racist connotation but what can be done, once again these are bad Ecuadorian customs.
June 17, 2021 at 8:23 PM
Arly López said…
I think we refer to this conjunctivitis as "Patada China" capable because the eye often starts to become squinty as if a person had kicked you in the eye. According to the internet it says that in the 80's a series of Chinese movies were broadcasted and one of them was called the "Parada China" and during its transmission there was an epidemic of conjunctivitis in the country and that's why the nickname.

June 17, 2021 at 8:23 PM
Blanca Landivar said…
I have always heard it said that conjunctivitis is called that and of course now I realize that it does indeed have a small racist connotation because when we suffer from that little condition we look like Chinese because of the way our eyes turn ... Now that I realized that. I will no longer use the expression Patada China!
June 17, 2021 at 8:33 PM
Jenny Vega Luna said…
I think that saying conjunctivitis,it's okay, it sounds good, but I really like the expression "Patada china" I find it funny
June 17, 2021 at 8:52 PM
Juan Jesús said…
We have a great vocabulary. It is not racist, it is just an expression. Our country, our rules. As other languages and countries have phrases without sense, our country as well.
June 17, 2021 at 8:57 PM
Kymberlyn Carriel said…
I think in Spanish we say "Patada China", because the effect of conjunctivitis is similar to the consequence of a kick to the eye. When I was 8 years old I did not know its proper name and I also said "Patada China", but after I found out that I was wrong, I started calling it by its real name "conjunctivitis".
June 17, 2021 at 9:06 PM
Alejandra Del Valle said…
I made a little research about the origin of the term "Patada china". Some say that it is called "china" because of the oriental look the eye gets with conjunctivitis. Which makes sense. In Colombia, it is known as "Mirada china", which also makes sense. But why "patada" then? It remains a mystery.
June 17, 2021 at 9:09 PM
LILIANA EDITH ROMERO MEDINA said…
It is funny to know that conjunctivitis is called Chinese kick not only because it is put in a snuck eye, but that it is because of a viral bacterial infection that communmente happens in one eye but in a matter of hours the other is infected, some think by saying Chinese kick takes it as racism only because the eyes become small by the conjunctivitos
June 17, 2021 at 9:11 PM
Manuel Erazo said…
I've never called it like patada China , but it is good to know the variation in English which is Pink eye, I don't know why they call it like that but it's ok, and I think that is called Patada because of the swelling it causes is similar to that is caused by a kick.
June 17, 2021 at 9:18 PM
Johanna Arteaga said…
I feel more familiar with calling it "conjunctivitis", it has always seemed more appropriate to me, and I'm not sure if it is the first time I hear the term "pink eye", because it seems familiar to me. Anyway, I suppose they say that in Ecuador because it gives the impression that someone has kicked them in the face.
June 17, 2021 at 9:51 PM
Angie Rodriguez said…
Angie Rodriguez
I have always said conjunctivitis, but it is good to know that in English it is pink eye.
June 17, 2021 at 10:11 PM
Ericka Zambrano said…

Sincerely, I have never thought before why do people say "patada china" when the right way is "conjuctiviti" but probably it's because it sounds a little funny and also equadorians uses a lot of idioms and slangs... so, that's a new interesting word to add to our vocabulary; I didn't know that we can say "pink eyes", well, even in Spanish I didn't know. Probaby, it's due to the swelling that occurs in the eyes which looks like a kick.
June 18, 2021 at 12:34 AM
Samuel Macías said…
I prefer to say PATADA CHINA, I really don't like PINK EYES, it sounds very strange, although it is very interesting to know what they call conjunctivitis in the United States.
June 18, 2021 at 12:42 AM
Ginger Nicole Alvia González said…
I prefer Patada china, it is kind of funny to call it in that way and because of the way that our eyes look when we got conjunctivitis, that is why we call it like that and because Ecuadorian people like creating new interesting vocabulary.
June 18, 2021 at 9:29 AM
Evelin Arellano said…
Oh, I didn't know that, so thank you so much for sharing this information with us, I think in Ecuador it is common for people to have this type of infection.
June 18, 2021 at 11:41 AM
Nicole Cedeño Gines said…
I think the reason that Ecuadorians call conjunctivitis "patada china" is because the infection can make the eyes small as Chinese people usually have.
June 18, 2021 at 2:00 PM
Suleyka Tello Bermudez said…

Since I can remember, they have always said "patada china" to conjunctivitis. I think it refers to the fact that the eyes of Asian people are almost closed.
June 18, 2021 at 10:07 PM
Unknown said…
Dave Criollo
Ok ok. From now on I will say conjunctivitis and not "Patada China".
June 19, 2021 at 2:19 PM
Emily Saca Salinas said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
June 20, 2021 at 4:21 PM
Emily Saca Salinas said…
Personally, I've never liked how the expression 'Patada china' sounds like. From my perspective, it's a little rude, but if others like how it sounds and perhaps, find it funny, that's cool.
I'm more likely to use the term conjunctivitis when referring to such eye condition. 'Pink eye'is a curious expression, but it sounds good as well.
June 20, 2021 at 4:23 PM
Ferruzola Martínez Rita said…
It's an interesting fact that we can also say Pink Eye instead of Conjunctivitis.
June 21, 2021 at 11:05 AM
Saraí Pesantes Parreño said…
I think we called it in this way in Spanish because of Asian action movies. (I don't know really, it's just my point of view) In those movies most of the time they fight using martial arts, and whenever the get hurt by a kick, their eyes turn reddish. (I'm not pretending to sound racist or anything like that. I'm not). Anyways, the right term is conjunctivitis and we must use the right terms to refer to things.
June 21, 2021 at 9:13 PM
Briggitte Vera said…
So interesnting! I thnik it is called "patada china" because this ill makes eyes like a chinise, Idn. I'm going to try this new word!
June 22, 2021 at 1:57 AM
Joselyne Fernández said…
Good information!
In spanish sounds heavier than in English, "Pink eyes" sounds sweet. In addition, I think it isn't racist, but this desease makes your eyes tiny as chinese eyes haha.
June 26, 2021 at 8:27 PM
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