"Long time no see" is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

expression used as an

informal Formal, formality, informal or informality imply the complying with, or not complying with, some set of requirements (forms, in Ancient Greek). They may refer to: Dress code and events * Formal wear, attire for formal events * Semi-formal attire ...

greeting Greeting is an act of communication in which human beings intentionally make their presence known to each other, to show attention to, and to suggest a type of relationship (usually cordial) or social status (formal or informal) between indivi ...

by people who have not seen each other for an extended period. The phrase is also acronymized as LTNS in

Internet slang Internet slang (also called Internet shorthand, cyber-slang, netspeak, digispeak or chatspeak) is a non-standard or unofficial form of language used by people on the Internet to communicate to one another. An example of Internet slang is "LOL" m ...

. Its origins in American English appear to stem from

pidgin English Pidgin English is a non-specific name used to refer to any of the many pidgin languages derived from English. Pidgins that are spoken as first languages become creoles. English-based pidgins that became stable contact languages, and which have ...

, and is widely accepted as a

fixed expression A phraseme, also called a set phrase, idiomatic phrase, multi-word expression (in computational linguistics), or idiom, is a multi-word or multi-morphemic utterance whose components include at least one that is selectionally constrained or restric ...

. The

phrase In syntax and grammar, a phrase is a group of words or singular word acting as a grammatical unit. For instance, the English expression "the very happy squirrel" is a noun phrase which contains the adjective phrase "very happy". Phrases can consi ...

is a

multiword expression A multiword expression (MWE), also called phraseme, is a lexeme-like unit made up of a sequence of two or more lexemes that has properties that are not predictable from the properties of the individual lexemes or their normal mode of combination. ...

that stands against most varieties of

Standard English In an English-speaking country, Standard English (SE) is the variety of English that has undergone substantial regularisation and is associated with formal schooling, language assessment, and official print publications, such as public service a ...

. It may, thus, derive ultimately from an English pidgin such as that spoken by Native Americans or

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

, or an imitation of such. The

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries. * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoreti ...

Eric Partridge Eric Honeywood Partridge (6 February 1894 – 1 June 1979) was a New Zealand–British lexicographer of the English language, particularly of its slang. His writing career was interrupted only by his service in the Army Education Corps and ...

notes that the phrase is akin to "no can do" and " chop chop". Partridge, Eric, and Beale, Paul (2002)
''A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English''
p. 1386. Routledge. , .

Origin

The phrase "long time no see" first appeared in the ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...

'' in 1901. Two etymological explanations exist. The expression might be derived from

Native American Pidgin English Native American Pidgin English (AIPE) was an English-based pidgin spoken by Europeans and Native Americans in western North America. The main geographic regions in which AIPE was spoken was British Columbia, Oregon, and Washington. AIPE is ment ...

, as close variations of the expression appear in at least two novels from 1900, both attributed to Native American characters. Alternatively, it might be a literal translation of the

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...

phrase zh, j=hou2 gau2 bat1 gin3, labels=no ( zh, t=好久不見, s=好久不见).

In literature

The phrase can be found in ''Thirty-One Years on the Plains and in the Mountains'', by author W. F. Drannan, which recorded a Native American man greeting the narrator by saying, "Good morning. Long time no see you." Another early use of the phrase in record, though not as a greeting, may be found in the 1843 publication by James Campbell, titled ''Excursions, Adventures, and Field-Sports in

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

'': "Ma-am—long time no see wife—want go to Colombo see wife."Campbell, James (1843).
Excursions, Adventures, and Field-Sports in Ceylon
; Its Commercial and Military Importance, and Numerous Advantages to the British Emigrant">Ceylon">Excursions, Adventures, and Field-Sports in Ceylon
; Its Commercial and Military Importance, and Numerous Advantages to the British Emigrant', Vol. 1, p. 254. London: T. and W. Boone.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Long Time No See (Phrase) English phrases