The Chinese Woman

"**The Chinese Woman**"
"The Chinese Woman"
Seinfeld episode
Episode no.	Season 6; Episode 4
Directed by	Andy Ackerman
Written by	Peter Mehlman
Production code	604
Original air date	October 13, 1994
Guest appearances
	Jerry Stiller as Frank Costanza ; Estelle Harris as Estelle Costanza ; Kelly Coffield as Noreen; Angela Dohrmann as Donna Chang; Will Utay as Dr. Korval; Lucy Lin as Hostess; Jack Tracy as Man;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The Pledge Drive"	Next →; "The Couch"
	Seinfeld season 6
	List of episodes

Last updated January 15, 2026

"The Chinese Woman" is the 90th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld . This was the fourth episode for the sixth season.^[1] It aired on October 13, 1994.^[1] In this episode, a woman named Donna Chang benefits from goodwill towards Chinese people, George's father is seen with a mysterious caped man, Kramer must give up wearing briefs to restore his sperm count, and Elaine accidentally sabotages her friend Noreen's love life again.

Plot

Jerry lets Elaine carry his groceries home for him. They are puzzled at Frank Costanza meeting an unidentified man in a cape, and cross the street to avoid them. Due to crossed phone lines, every call for George goes to a woman named Donna Chang. On his second such call, Jerry gets a date with Donna, musing that he likes Chinese women. Elaine is surprised that Donna picked a Chinese restaurant.

Kramer insists on wearing briefs despite them shrinking, but Elaine is concerned that they will reduce his sperm count. Since he has never caused a pregnancy in his long sexual history, Kramer becomes anxious that he will be the last of his line. A fertility clinic confirms that Kramer is low on sperm, and prescribes wearing boxer shorts exclusively. Unable to kick his briefs habit, Kramer forces Jerry to take all his briefs, then embraces going commando outright.

George asks his father about the caped man, but only tips him off that Jerry and Elaine avoided him. Noreen has already moved on to a new boyfriend: Paul, a "long talker" who answers every call with boring, interminable chitchat. Elaine hangs up on Paul every time he answers for Noreen, since she cannot disengage once he gets going. This creates the impression that another man is calling Noreen, straining her relationship with Paul.

Donna turns out to be Caucasian, with Chang being shortened from "Changstein". Jerry realizes that Donna welcomes misunderstandings over her last name, which she uses gratuitously. Donna gets a call from Estelle Costanza, and they have a long chat in which Estelle divulges that she is getting a divorce. George immediately becomes suicidal from the news, then complains that he will need to visit his parents separately. George suspects the caped man, but Jerry cites Superman in defense of caped people.

Elaine explains to Noreen that Paul is boring, which Noreen never noticed before. Jerry is appalled by Elaine putting Noreen off another boyfriend so soon, and reminds Elaine that Noreen is so impressionable that she both joined the army, and deserted, on Elaine's advice. Donna talks Estelle out of the divorce by quoting Confucian wisdom, and gets invited over for dinner. George finally learns that the caped man is his father's lawyer, who does not "follow the trends". When Estelle sees that Donna is not Chinese, she feels deceived and proceeds with the divorce after all.

Kramer seizes his chance to get together with Noreen, and, taking charge, cuts off Elaine and makes Noreen reenlist. George kvetches at his parental visits now taking a whole day, while Kramer triumphantly announces that Noreen is having her period late. Later, Noreen is about to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge, but Frank's caped lawyer finds her and leads her to safety.

Production

Some of Seinfeld's ad-libs were cut for time. He responded to Kramer's declaration "I feel like a naked, innocent boy roaming the countryside" with "Someone better warn the sheep quick", and when George puts his head in the oven, he improvised "George, it's an electric."^[2] Cut scenes include George angrily confronting the man in the cape, who is played by an uncredited Larry David.

References

1 2 "Seinfeld Season 6 Episodes". TV Guide . Retrieved December 2, 2021.
↑ Seinfeld Season 6: Notes about Nothing - "The Chinese Woman" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2005.

External links

"The Chinese Woman" at IMDb

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[tvguide-1] 1 2 "Seinfeld Season 6 Episodes". TV Guide . Retrieved December 2, 2021.

[2] Seinfeld Season 6: Notes about Nothing - "The Chinese Woman" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2005.

[1]

[2]

v t e Seinfeld episodes
Season 1	"The Seinfeld Chronicles" "The Stake Out" "The Robbery" "Male Unbonding" "The Stock Tip"
Season 2	"The Ex-Girlfriend" "The Pony Remark" "The Jacket" "The Phone Message" "The Apartment" "The Statue" "The Revenge" "The Heart Attack" "The Deal" "The Baby Shower" "The Chinese Restaurant" "The Busboy"
Season 3	"The Note" "The Truth" "The Pen" "The Dog" "The Library" "The Parking Garage" "The Cafe" "The Tape" "The Nose Job" "The Stranded" "The Alternate Side" "The Red Dot" "The Subway" "The Pez Dispenser" "The Suicide" "The Fix-Up" "The Boyfriend"† "The Limo" "The Good Samaritan" "The Letter" "The Parking Space" "The Keys"
Season 4	"The Trip"† "The Pitch" "The Ticket" "The Wallet" "The Watch" "The Bubble Boy" "The Cheever Letters" "The Opera" "The Virgin" "The Contest" "The Airport" "The Pick" "The Movie" "The Visa" "The Shoes" "The Outing" "The Old Man" "The Implant" "The Junior Mint" "The Smelly Car" "The Handicap Spot" "The Pilot"†
Season 5	"The Mango" "The Puffy Shirt" "The Glasses" "The Sniffing Accountant" "The Bris" "The Lip Reader" "The Non-Fat Yogurt" "The Barber" "The Masseuse" "The Cigar Store Indian" "The Conversion" "The Stall" "The Dinner Party" "The Marine Biologist" "The Pie" "The Stand In" "The Wife" "The Raincoats"† "The Fire" "The Hamptons" "The Opposite"
Season 6	"The Chaperone" "The Big Salad" "The Pledge Drive" "The Chinese Woman" "The Couch" "The Gymnast" "The Soup" "The Mom & Pop Store" "The Secretary" "The Race" "The Switch" "The Label Maker" "The Scofflaw" "The Highlights of 100"† "The Beard" "The Kiss Hello" "The Doorman" "The Jimmy" "The Doodle" "The Fusilli Jerry" "The Diplomat's Club" "The Face Painter" "The Understudy"
Season 7	"The Engagement" "The Postponement" "The Maestro" "The Wink" "The Hot Tub" "The Soup Nazi" "The Secret Code" "The Pool Guy" "The Sponge" "The Gum" "The Rye" "The Caddy" "The Seven" "The Cadillac"† "The Shower Head" "The Doll" "The Friar's Club" "The Wig Master" "The Calzone" "The Bottle Deposit"† "The Wait Out" "The Invitations"
Season 8	"The Foundation" "The Soul Mate" "The Bizarro Jerry" "The Little Kicks" "The Package" "The Fatigues" "The Checks" "The Chicken Roaster" "The Abstinence" "The Andrea Doria" "The Little Jerry" "The Money" "The Comeback" "The Van Buren Boys" "The Susie" "The Pothole" "The English Patient" "The Nap" "The Yada Yada" "The Millennium" "The Muffin Tops" "The Summer of George"
Season 9	"The Butter Shave" "The Voice" "The Serenity Now" "The Blood" "The Junk Mail" "The Merv Griffin Show" "The Slicer" "The Betrayal" "The Apology" "The Strike" "The Dealership" "The Reverse Peephole" "The Cartoon" "The Strongbox" "The Wizard" "The Burning" "The Bookstore" "The Frogger" "The Maid" "The Puerto Rican Day" "The Chronicle"† "The Finale"†
† Indicates two-part episode

The Chinese Woman

Contents

Plot

Production

References

External links