China's Top Slang

[Randy W]

Literally meaning “big white,” 大白 (dà bái) is a widely used nickname for the frontline workers who wear hazmat suits to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. The term was originally the Chinese name for Baybax, an inflatable health care robot who is caring and selfless, from the Disney movie “Big Hero 6.”

Check out more Daily Tones: https://buff.ly/3wToXo5

from the Sixth Tone on Facebook 
https://www.facebook.com/sixthtone/posts/3191031647882340

 

Edited January 5, 2023 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

Along with 躺平 (tǎng píng), or lying flat, 摆烂 (bǎi làn) has become an anti-rallying cry of sorts for young people tired of social competition and hopeless about the future.

Related read: http://ow.ly/I8na50JzNa4

from the Sixth Tone on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/sixthtone/photos/a.1604152706570250/3253700218282149

 

After lying flat, a new trend among China's youth is to “let it rot (bai lan)” which worries CCP

from China Insights

Edited June 17, 2022 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

Does this cat look subversive to you? A Shanghai cat shelter raised money with slacker-themed T-shirts. China’s biggest e-commerce platform Taobao says they threatened “public order and morality.”
“Lying flat” merchandise appears to be widely banned: A Sixth Tone search for “lying flat” on the shopping site yields results mostly about deck chairs, and several books with similar names but unrelated themes.

tang ping

Taobao Bans ‘Lie Flat’ Cat Cartoon
A Shanghai cat shelter raised money with slacker-themed T-shirts. China’s biggest e-commerce platform says they threatened “public order and morality.”

Lie-flat cat T-shirt. From @RHR上海领养之家 on WeChat public account

Quote

 

The shelter has relisted the products on the e-commerce section of Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, and held a livestream fundraiser Wednesday night to take advantage of interest driven by the ban.

“We regard ‘lying flat’ as positive. No one can strive all the time … (We can) rest well before starting off, and adjust ourselves well before fighting,” wrote the shelter.

Taobao did not reply to a request for comment by press time.

 

 

Edited December 30, 2022 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

You know that feeling when someone else speaks out on an issue even more eloquently — or fearlessly — than you could yourself? In China, that person is known as your “mouth double.” The term has gained popularity as a way people express solidarity and appreciation for others who share their opinions publicly — and have a habit of really nailing it.

Check out more Daily Tones: http://ow.ly/v6CS50L9Nwm

from the Sixth Tone on Facebook   https://www.facebook.com/sixthtone/photos/a.1604152706570250/3349870488665121

 

 

Edited October 15, 2022 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

“The Chosen Laborers” refers to those workers whose residential compounds have not been locked down, allowing (or forcing) them to go to work every day. Some use the term sarcastically to express their envy of their coworkers who can stay home; other “chosen laborers” are just happy they can go out for a walk.

from the Sixth Tone on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/sixthtone/photos/a.1604152706570250/3364830540502449

 

[Randy W]

People are abandoning their careers and pivoting to computer programming all over China, hoping they can code their way to a better future. The trend has become so big, there’s now even a Chinese phrase for it: 转码 (zhuǎn mǎ). The term originally meant “transcoding,” but now refers to people with no computer science background getting into programming.

Read more: http://ow.ly/JaiF50LqncE

from the Sixth Tone on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/sixthtone/photos/a.1604152706570250/3366244923694344

 

 

Edited November 1, 2022 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

When eating shrimp, it’s best to ignore the head. And in China, a lot of people think the same about their boyfriends. A “shrimp-like boyfriend” is a man who has an average (or below-average) face, but a smoking hot body. The term was first used by Chinese netizens to describe Li Dan, a popular Chinese talk show performer.

Besides “shrimp-like boyfriends,” young Chinese often also describe men as “dog-like boyfriends” – referring to someone who’s a devoted partner – or as a mature, considerate “father-like boyfriend.”

Check out more Daily Tones: http://ow.ly/If9r50Lu1rc

from the Sixth Tone on Facebook 
https://www.facebook.com/sixthtone/photos/a.1604152706570250/3368885873430249

 

[Randy W]

What’s your favorite cyber pickle to watch during a meal? 

Check out more Daily Tones: http://ow.ly/SF0h50LAIFr

from the Sixth Tone on Facebook 
https://www.facebook.com/sixthtone/posts/pfbid02aCXnUn8QXsYR2TxtbsJtjdH8VNH1sBDs9mSdZkdfG56tw9wSexh7HTxavEwToMrdl

[Randy W]

Thirty years ago, “going to sea” (下海, or xià hǎi) and getting a job in China’s private sector was all the rage. Now, at a time when more and more young Chinese say they feel spiritually and economically adrift, everyone just wants to make it back to dry land.

Check out more Daily Tones: http://ow.ly/WPBH50LMHky

from the Sixth Tone on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/sixthtone/photos/a.1604152706570250/3385989221719914

 

 

[Randy W]

Have you heard of China’s nicknames for Hollywood stars😎? 

Here are some examples. Chinese fans like to give nicknames to the stars they like and sometimes, these nicknames are more recognizable than their actual names.

Do you know which other Hollywood stars have interesting nicknames in other countries? Tell us what these nicknames are, and what they mean in the comment section below!

#goldthread #goldthread2 #nickname #hollywood #ryangosling #scarlettjohansson #timotheechalamet #china #chineseculture #chinese #katyperry #benedictcumberbatch

from Goldthread on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/goldthread2/posts/pfbid0228FkVEmRUSUetsJdRFjNTe3X7vU4PxG6musV3DzpsYLNkFBLNfwHZXBoWz5h6vEKl

Edited November 29, 2022 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

The term 割韭菜 (gē jiǔ cài) is now a catch-all for scams and bad deals, such as a recent incident in which pop idol Ouyang Nana was criticized for “harvesting her fans like chives” by making up the prices of her new fashion line.

Related read: http://ow.ly/gThY50LW2zS

from the Sixth Tone on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/sixthtone/photos/a.1604152706570250/3396717220647114/

 

[Randy W]

If the act of lying flat, or tang ping, took over the Chinese internet in 2021, actively embracing a deteriorating situation, or bai lan, became its equivalent in 2022.

Such catchphrases have become an essential part of the digital lexicon in recent years and are used by Chinese social media users to express a collective sentiment. This year’s online buzzwords were mostly associated with COVID-19, and the others reflected the state of mind of the digital masses and the state of society.

Here are Sixth Tone’s top internet buzzwords of 2022: http://ow.ly/xjpe50MebXT

from the Sixth Tone on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/sixthtone/posts/pfbid02vTz99SMrngsz51FfRyDa7NYco6u2uE7xRULTGVrxTwQguv58SWmTAtLRHjH3ogKUl

 

 

[Randy W]

Yang Kang (杨康, yáng kāng) is a character in renowned wuxia novelist Jin Yong’s “The Legend of the Condor Heroes” series; he’s also one of China’s hottest online memes. Yang’s name is a homonym for 阳康 (yáng kāng), a term used to describe those who’ve recovered from COVID-19.

Check out more Daily Tones: http://ow.ly/nE6u50MiPbT

from the Sixth Tone on Facebook
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Yang Kang (杨康, yáng kāng) is a character in renowned wuxia novelist Jin Yong’s “The Legend of the Condor Heroes” series;...

Posted by Sixth Tone on Thursday, January 5, 2023

 

 

[Randy W]

In Chinese, 传宗接代 (chuán zōng jiē dài) is a traditional term meaning to carry on one’s ancestral line by producing an heir. More recently, social media users have reacted to the news that banks will now provide 30-year mortgages to the elderly, provided one of their children co-sign the loan, by replacing the idiom’s final character with the homophone 贷 (dài).

Related read: http://ow.ly/aFLe50MXB7V

from the Sixth Tone on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/sixthtone/photos/a.1604152706570250/3461891884129647

 

 

 

[Randy W]

China’s Zoomers are finally getting the full Millennial experience. With youth unemployment spiking, many young, educated Chinese are moving back in with their parents and becoming “full-time kids.”

from the Sixth Tone on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=596983932464344&set=a.595092215986849

 

China’s Zoomers are finally getting the full Millennial experience. With youth unemployment spiking, many young,...

Posted by Sixth Tone on Friday, April 7, 2023