<p>Although it might be obvious that app(/æp/) stands for application(/æplɪˈkeɪʃn/), most Chinese just say "A-P-P" because they simply have no idea what does it represent and won't notice the correlation between "app" and "application" for the first time they see it(which might be the same situation even if they're getting more familiar with the word add).  </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-06T18:44:36.077Z
2013-12-06T18:44:36.077Z
ashbringer
<p>Still a lot of people in China can not understand English very well, just like say 'app'. Pronounce them seperately is easier for most Chinese people.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-11T07:53:45.127Z
2013-12-11T07:53:45.127Z
junL
<p>I noticed that Chinese sometimes prefer to say "ay pee pee" rather than just "app" when referring to a computer application. I infer there is a chance that "app" already had a meaning in a Chinese language other than application. Can anyone tell me what meaning it may have in Mandarin or Cantonese? Thanks.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-22T14:23:52.827Z
As a Chinese, I assure you that A-P-P means nothing else. People just used to spell it in this way.
faraday
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-22T16:11:11.347Z
This does not provide an answer to the question. To critique or request clarification from an author, leave a comment below their post - you can always comment on your own posts, and once you have sufficient [reputation](http://chinese.stackexchange.com/help/whats-reputation) you will be able to [comment on any post](http://chinese.stackexchange.com/help/privileges/comment).
Stan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-22T22:11:49.813Z
@OlleLinge Yes, the usual way to say it in English is "L-E-D display" (at least in American English AFAIK).
Claw
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-23T01:05:52.477Z
The poster is not asking how 'app' is pronounced, but whether it has other meanings aside from a computer/mobile application.
deutschZuid
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-24T10:26:06.817Z
I believe APP is just used for mobile applications. Otherwise people would(should?) usually use 软件.
Niklas Berglund
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-26T03:56:00.377Z
Because lots of Chinese are unfamiliar to the rules of English Pronunciation but can read each letter, you can also hear Chinese say "S-I-M", "U-G-G" etc., I personally also just read the letters of those words before I came to Au.
Kai
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-06T20:29:31.447Z
"App" is not a valid syllable in Mandarin, so I imagine the pronunciation A-P-P was easier to pronounce for some people.
Stumpy Joe Pete
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-07T02:59:29.287Z
This is part of a larger trend, too, people say L-E-D for LED as well, for instance. My guess is that these are more easily accepted as new words (even though they are original abbreviations) in English because they don't violate morphological rules as much as they do in Chinese. Also, I suspect that single-syllable foreign words pronounced in the middle of a Chinese sentence will be much harder to understand than a three-syllable abbreviation, which is obviously not a Chinese word.
Olle Linge
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-08T15:12:52.707Z
@OlleLinge, LED is pronounced as an initialism in English as well, in fact (in my experience at least) more commonly than as an acronym.
Janus Bahs Jacquet
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-08T23:09:07.043Z
Perhaps a bad example then (but would you really say L-E-D display, for instance?), but I still think the general tendency is there (of not making words of acronyms in Chinese, I mean).
Olle Linge
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-11T08:59:53.247Z
My own experience is, it depends on how natural/convenient it is pronounced when we embed it into a Chinese sentence. Here're some examples that most Chinese people would pronounce as acronyms: PIN, SARS, Ajax, SOHO, COM, FLAC, grep, GRID.
Stan
<meaning>
What does the sound "app" mean in Chinese?
# What does the sound "app" mean in Chinese?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-12-06)

I noticed that Chinese sometimes prefer to say "ay pee pee" rather than just "app" when referring to a computer application. I infer there is a chance that "app" already had a meaning in a Chinese language other than application. Can anyone tell me what meaning it may have in Mandarin or Cantonese? Thanks.

**Tags:** meaning
> **Comments:**
> **username_7**: "App" is not a valid syllable in Mandarin, so I imagine the pronunciation A-P-P was easier to pronounce for some people.  
> **username_8**: This is part of a larger trend, too, people say L-E-D for LED as well, for instance. My guess is that these are more easily accepted as new words (even though they are original abbreviations) in English because they don't violate morphological rules as much as they do in Chinese. Also, I suspect that single-syllable foreign words pronounced in the middle of a Chinese sentence will be much harder to understand than a three-syllable abbreviation, which is obviously not a Chinese word.  
> **username_9**: @OlleLinge, LED is pronounced as an initialism in English as well, in fact (in my experience at least) more commonly than as an acronym.  
> **username_8**: Perhaps a bad example then (but would you really say L-E-D display, for instance?), but I still think the general tendency is there (of not making words of acronyms in Chinese, I mean).  
> **username_2**: My own experience is, it depends on how natural/convenient it is pronounced when we embed it into a Chinese sentence. Here're some examples that most Chinese people would pronounce as acronyms: PIN, SARS, Ajax, SOHO, COM, FLAC, grep, GRID.  
> **username_1**: As a Chinese, I assure you that A-P-P means nothing else. People just used to spell it in this way.  
> **username_2**: This does not provide an answer to the question. To critique or request clarification from an author, leave a comment below their post - you can always comment on your own posts, and once you have sufficient [reputation](http://chinese.stackexchange.com/help/whats-reputation) you will be able to [comment on any post](http://chinese.stackexchange.com/help/privileges/comment).  
> **username_3**: @OlleLinge Yes, the usual way to say it in English is "L-E-D display" (at least in American English AFAIK).  
> **username_4**: The poster is not asking how 'app' is pronounced, but whether it has other meanings aside from a computer/mobile application.  
> **username_5**: I believe APP is just used for mobile applications. Otherwise people would(should?) usually use 软件.  
> **username_6**: Because lots of Chinese are unfamiliar to the rules of English Pronunciation but can read each letter, you can also hear Chinese say "S-I-M", "U-G-G" etc., I personally also just read the letters of those words before I came to Au.  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_10 on 2013-12-06. Score: 1

Although it might be obvious that app(/æp/) stands for application(/æplɪˈkeɪʃn/), most Chinese just say "A-P-P" because they simply have no idea what does it represent and won't notice the correlation between "app" and "application" for the first time they see it(which might be the same situation even if they're getting more familiar with the word add).


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### Answer by username_11 on 2013-12-11. Score: 0

Still a lot of people in China can not understand English very well, just like say 'app'. Pronounce them seperately is easier for most Chinese people.


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