The names of China are expressed differently in different languages and different times. Some of these names come from ancient times, while others are from modern times. In Chinese, the name of China is "Zhōngguó" (/, "central country") in its national language, Standard Mandarin. China, while the name in English for the country, came from Portuguese in the 16th century. This became common usage in the West in the subsequent centuries. It is believed to come from Middle Persian. Though some people thought it traced further back to Sanskrit. Some also thought that the ultimate source of the name China is the Chinese word "Qin" (), the name of the dynasty of China. However, others have different opinions. 