From “carbohydrate” to standardized Chinese terminology: historical evolution and implications for nutrition communication

. During the early Republic of China, "tanshui huawu/" became the most commonly used term, which was later revised around 1920 with the addition of a semantic radical to the character "tan." In 1932, the National Institute for Compilation and Translation introduced the term "tang/," which gained popularity alongside "tanshui hua(he) wu." However, "tang" was officially abolished in the mid-to-late 1950s and gradually phased out in subsequent decades. By 1980, "tanshui huahe wu/)" and "tang lei/" were officially established as equivalent translations. Currently, "tang lei" is preferred in some disciplinary standards, although "tanshui huahe wu" remains widely used by convention. By reviewing this history, the present work highlights three key principles for addressing terminological ambiguity in nutrition communication. While this historical narrative is anchored in the Chinese context, the communication risks and mitigation strategies discussed might be relevant to other cross-lingual or cross-disciplinary setting, where everyday dietary language interfaces with technical biomedical terminology.