Chinese Internet Slang - Wikipedia

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Chinese Internet slang (Chinese: 中国网络用语; pinyin: zhōngguó wǎngluò yòngyǔ) refers to various kinds of Internet slang used by people on the Chinese Internet. It is often coined in response to events, the influence of the mass media and foreign culture, and the desires of users to simplify and update the Chinese language. Slang that first appears on the Internet is often adopted to become current in everyday life. It includes content relating to all aspects of social life, mass media, economic, and political topics and the like. Internet slang is arguably the fastest-changing aspect of the language, created by a number of different influences—technology, mass media and foreign culture amongst others.

The categories given below are not exclusive and are used distinguish the different kinds of Chinese internet slang. Some phrases may belong in more than one category.

Numeronyms

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• 114514 – Borrowed from a Japanese homophonic shorthand for a line (いいよ，こいよ "sure, come on") in A Midsummer Night's Lewd Dream. Considered a humorous reference to the said gay porn in China,[1] Japan, and Taiwan among anime-adjacent circles.[2] A Chinese homophone is 逸一时，误一世, "a moment of leisure can lead to a lifetime of loss", generally used to "explain" the number in a more sanitized way.[3] Also derived from the same work are: 1919, 810.
• 520 – "I love you". 520 (pinyin: wǔ'èrlíng) represents 我爱你 (pinyin: wǒ ài nǐ).[4]
• 996 – The 996 working hour system (pinyin: jiǔjiǔliù)[5]

Latin abbreviations

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Chinese users commonly use a pinyin-enabled QWERTY keyboard. Upper-case letters are easy to type and require no transformation. (Lower-case letters spell words which are changed into Chinese characters). Latin alphabet abbreviations (rather than Chinese characters) are also sometimes used to evade censorship.[6]

• BZ – bǎnzhǔ (版主), the moderator of an internet discussion forum[7]
• BS – bǐshì (鄙视), to despise (verb)[7]
• JB – jiba (鸡巴), vulgar word referring to a man's private parts (male genitalia)[7]
• CCAV – China Central Adult Video, ironic nickname for China Central Television (CCTV)[7]
• CD – Cross-dressing
• CN – chǔnǚ or chǔnán (处女 or 处男), virgin (female or male)[7]
• FL – fàláng (发廊), hairdresser, possibly providing sex services[7]
• FQ – fènqīng (愤青), indignant/angry youth[7]
• GC – gāocháo (高潮), orgasm[7]
• GCD – gòngchǎndǎng (共产党), the Communist Party[7]
• GG – gēge (哥哥), literally older brother, by extension male friend, or guy.[7] Nowadays, people say "GG" to mean good job on the game (these two letters also mean "Good Game").
• HLL – huá lì lì (华丽丽), glamorous, high-profile[7]
• JC – jǐngchá (警察), police[7]
• JP – jípǐn (极品), high quality, but used ironically for things that are extremely low quality[7]
• JY – jīngyīng (精英), elite, right-wing intellectuals, but also jīngyè (精液) sperm, semen[7]
• KJ – kǒujiāo (口交), oral sex[7]
• LD – lǐng dǎo (领导), leadership, i.e. the government and officials[7]
• ML – to make love[7]
• MM – mèimèi (妹妹, 美美, 美妹 or 美眉), little sister, young girl, pretty girl. Often written as "MM", which usually refers to a young girl or pretty girls[7]
• NB – niúbī (牛逼), an awesome, formidably impressive person, similar to "badass"[7]
• NMSL – nǐmāsǐle (你妈死了), lit. "Your mom is dead", used as an insult[8]
• PG – pìgu (屁股), buttocks[7]
• P民 – pì mín (屁民), rabble, hoi polloi, ordinary people, often used ironically[7]
• PS or P出 – Photoshopped (picture)[7]
• SB – shǎbī (傻逼), lit. "dumb cunt", commonly used as an insult[7]
• SN – sauna,[7] reinforced by its Chinese translation sāngná (桑拿)
• TMD – tāmāde (他妈的), common Chinese expletive used for "damn", "fuck", and the like[7]
• TT – tàotao (套套), condom[7]
• WDR – wàidìrén (外地人), stranger, outsider, foreigner[7]
• XJ – xiǎojiě (小姐), young woman, but also commonly for prostitute[7]
• XXN - xiăo xiān nǚ (小仙女), "little fairies", means "pretty girl" or "young girl"[9]
• XP – xìngpì (性癖), aesthetics or orientation of appearance[7]
• YD – yín dàng (淫荡), obscene, perverted[7]
• YY – yì yín (意淫), fantasizing, sexual thoughts[7]
• ZF – zhèngfǔ (政府), government[7]
• ZG – zhōngguó (中国), China[7]

Chinese characters abbreviations

[edit]

• Life is so hard that some lies are better not exposed (人艰不拆, rénjiānbùchāi) – This comes from the lyrics of a song entitled "Shuo Huang" (Lies), by Taiwanese singer Yoga Lin. The phrase implies a situation that is too harsh to be contemplated. For example, it can be used to describe a large group of unemployed recent college graduates. This slang reflects that some people, especially young people in China, are disappointed by reality. The phrase is often paired with "too tired to love" (see below).[10]
• Short, ugly and poor (矮丑穷, ǎichǒuqióng or 矮丑矬, ǎichǒucuó) – The opposite of gāofùshuài below, the least ideal[7]
• Tall, rich and handsome (高富帅, gāofùshuài) – This is the opposite of "ǎichǒuqióng" or "diaosi". Used to describe men with great wealth, a perfect body, as well as high qualifications and social status—ideal characteristics in mainland China. The word comes from an animated TV series, Tall, Rich and Handsome, in which the protagonist's name was "Tall, Rich and Handsome". This slang has become widely used on the internet, symbolizing the perfect man that many women in China dream of marrying.[7]
• Too tired to love (累觉不爱, lèijuébùài) – This slang phrase is a literal abbreviation of the Chinese phrase "too tired to fall in love anymore." It originated from an article on the Douban website posted by a 13-year-old boy who grumbled about his single status and expressed his weariness and frustration towards romantic love. The article went viral, and the phrase was subsequently used as a sarcastic way to convey depression when encountering misfortunes or setbacks in life.[11]
• White complexion, rich, and beautiful (白富美, báifùměi) – Female equivalent of gāofùshuài. The ideal girlfriend or wife.[7]
• Get rid of single status (脱单, tuōdān or 脫魯, tuōlǔ in Taiwan) – No longer single, as if changing relationship status on social media.[7] In Taiwan, tuōlǔ means no longer a loser (魯蛇, lǔshé) the Taiwanese equivalent of ǎichǒucuó as relationship status is one of the success indicators.
• Go to surf (去浪, qùlàng) – To hang out[7]

Neologisms

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• 50 Cent Party (五毛党, wǔmáo dǎng) – Internet users paid by the government or the Communist Party to post comments.[7][12]
• US Penny Party (美分党, Měifēn dǎng) – Internet users paid by foreign governments or parties to post comments.
• Fanchuan (反串黑, fǎnchuànhēi) – An indirect attack on a specific entity, such as a celebrity, video game, or brand. Individuals first feign support for the entity, and exhibit this allegiance widely; they then engage in offensive or irritating behavior, attempting to undermine the entity by association. This deceptive conduct is designed to tarnish the reputation of the target or its fan community.[13]
• Little fresh meat (小鲜肉, xiǎo xiānròu) – Young, cute, handsome male idol, of around 12 to 25 years old. Originally used for stars, now used more generally by extension
• Loser (屌丝, diǎosī) – "Diaosi" is used to describe young men born into a poor family and are unable to change the circumstances of their poverty. People usually use this phrase in an ironic and self-deprecating way. For example, someone might say "I am a diaosi" with a sigh when they see wealthy people with private cars and luxurious houses. The origin of this slang is unknown, but it is widely used today on the internet, and can be said to reflect that many people feel upset and discontented as they fail to change their lives no matter how much effort they have put in.[7]
• Masculine woman (女汉子, nǚ hànzi) – The phrase nühanzi literally means "female man", and refers to women who possess traditionally masculine personality traits such as being brave and more independent. They eschew makeup or do not like going shopping. Some repair electrical appliances. More importantly, these women do not have any boyfriends. The emergence of this type of women reflects the increasing social and economic status of women.[7]
• The one to be blamed (黑锅俠, hēiguōxiá) – Internet slang for people who usually take responsibilities for others' faults (背黑锅, bei hei guo)[14]
• Pure love warrior (纯爱战士, Chún'ài zhànshì, sometimes written as 纯爱战神) – The term to refer people who believes in pure, unconditional love and unable to accept any forms of betrayal or lost all grip on reality in a romantic relationship.
• Single dog (单身狗, dānshēngǒu) – The term that single people in China use to poke fun at themselves for being single.[14]
• Slash youth (斜杠青年, xiégàngqīngnían) – Slash here means having multiple identities or careers. Youth refers to young people, usually from the twenties to thirties. It is used by young people to reflect the multiple part-time jobs/hobbies they undertake.[5]
• Buddha-like mindset[15][16] (佛系) is a term used by Chinese youth to describe people who reject the rat race in favour of a tranquil, apathetic life. The term has been applied to numerous areas such as parenting, employment, online shopping, fans, and relationships. For Buddha-like parenting, the adherents say that "there are not that many kids who will really amount to much, so why give them an exhausting childhood?"[17]

With altered meanings

[edit]

• Chinese aunt (中国大妈, Zhōngguó dàmā) – This phrase refers to middle-aged Chinese women who purchase large amounts of gold. On April 15, 2013, Wall Street traders decided to sell large amounts of gold which caused a substantial fall in gold prices. However, a swarm of Chinese dama (middle-aged women) bought the gold and therefore raised the world gold price significantly. Three hundred tons of gold were moved instantly in the markets which shocked many economists. While this can be said to reflect the overall improvement of living standards in China, it has also been criticized as a blind way to invest.[citation needed]
• Vulgar tycoon (土豪, tǔháo) – Refers to irritating online game players who buy large amounts of game weapons in order to be glorified by others. Starting from late 2013, the meaning has changed and is now widely used to describe the nouveau riche in China (people who are wealthy but less cultured).[7]
• Spare tire (备胎, bèitāi) – Refers to the person who is reserved for relationship; a backup[7]
• Big aunt (大姨妈, dàyímā) – A woman's period[7]
• The Eight Trigrams (八卦, bāguà) – To gossip[7]
• Cute (治愈, zhìyù) – original meaning is "heal". Nowadays, it is used as an adjective to describe something as cute or heartwarming.[5]
• Run (润, rùn) – originally "profitable" or "to moisten or lubricate", now a term that expresses the desire to smoothly escape one's current country of residence.[18][19]

Puns

[edit] Further information: Homophonic puns in Standard Chinese

• River crab (河蟹, héxiè) – Pun on héxié (和谐) meaning "harmony". Online Chinese term for Internet censorship commonly seen in forums and blogs.[7]
• Let's do it (冲鸭, chōngyā) – Used as a verb, it means "come on, let's do it!" It is a homophonic expression of the word "冲呀" (chōngya) where 呀 has been replaced with 鸭 as it looks cuter.[5]

Borrowings

[edit]

From Japanese

[edit]

• 3P – Threesome, as in the pornographic kind[7]
• OL – office lady, a woman with an office job.[7]
• Otaku (male, 宅男, zháinán) – Men with obsessive interests that leave no time for normal life outside the home, similar to geek or nerd in English.[7]
• Otaku (female, 宅女, zháinǚ) – Female equivalent of 宅男, zháinán[7]

Criticism

[edit]

The People's Daily coined the term "vulgar Internet language" to refer the Internet language that "offends the moral" and suggested a blacklist to discourage the usage of them.[20]

See also

[edit]

• List of Internet phenomena in China
• Mandarin Chinese profanity
• Cantonese internet slang
  • Cantonese profanity

References

[edit]

1. ^ "114514是什么梗日语是什么意思 日本密码114514出处-闽南网" [What does 114514 mean in Japanese / Meaning of Japanese code 114514]. www.mnw.cn.
2. ^ 聯合新聞網. "YouTuber阿哲配出「114514元」電腦單 網笑：性能十分甚至九分好用" [Youtuber A-Zhe posts a "114514 NTD" computer setup; netizens: performance is 10 out of 10, 9 out of 10 even]. udn遊戲角落 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2025-02-12. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
3. ^ "福州屏东中学的学生在《我的世界》中还原母校 项目命名为"逸一时误一世"！-360游戏大厅" [Fuzhou Pingdong Middle School students recreate school in Minecraft; Project is called "a moment of leisure can lead to a lifetime of loss"]. 360game.360.cn.
4. ^ Why Thai Laugh When Chinese Cry? Accessed 4 February 2015 Archived 20 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
5. ^ a b c d "10 Popular Chinese Slangs". maayot. 17 August 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-10-25. Retrieved 19 Aug 2020.
6. ^ "How the QWERTY Keyboard Is Changing the Chinese Language, accessed 15 February 2015". Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax "ChinaSMACK glossary, accessed 6 February 2015". Archived from the original on 6 February 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
8. ^ "'Your Mom Is Dead': The Origins Of The Chinese Internet Slang NMSL, accessed 17 June 2020". Archived from the original on 18 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
9. ^ "14 Useful Chinese Slang Words to Get You Speaking like a Local". Hired China. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
10. ^ ""Life is harsh, don't expose it." Latest slangs go viral on the internet". Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
11. ^ "Quick review of internet slang in 2013:You are out of date if you don't know what "too tired to love" means (in Chinese)". Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
12. ^ Sterling, Bruce. "Web Semantics: Popular Chinese Internet Slang, Expressions and Acronyms, Wired, accessed 6 February 2015". Wired. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
13. ^ Wei, Y; He, J; Tyson, G (2025). "Understanding Fanchuan in Livestreaming Platforms: A New Form of Online Antisocial Behavior". Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction. 9 (7): 1–31. doi:10.1145/3757690.
14. ^ a b "Contemporary Chinese pop slangs 101: the (slightly) naughty guide, accessed 18 December 2016". Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
15. ^ Liangyu (2017-12-28). "Yearender-China Focus: China's "Buddha-like" youth quietly accept life for what it is". Xinhua News Agency. Archived from the original on 2021-06-01. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
16. ^ "Chinese youth adopt "Buddha-like" mindset in face of modern pressures". Xinhua News Agency. 2018-03-14. Archived from the original on 2021-06-01. Retrieved 2021-06-01 – via People's Daily.
17. ^ Yang, Jie (2021). "The Rise of the Therapeutic in Contemporary China". In Minas, Harry (ed.). Mental Health in China and the Chinese Diaspora: Historical and Cultural Perspectives. International and Cultural Psychology. Cham: Springer Nature. pp. 134–135. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-65161-9. ISBN 978-3-030-65160-2. S2CID 242854101. Archived from the original on 2024-06-19. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
18. ^ Spagat, Elliot; Tang, Didi (30 October 2023). "As economy falters, more Chinese migrants take a perilous journey to the US border to seek asylum". AP News. Archived from the original on 5 April 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
19. ^ Maizland, Lindsay (27 May 2022). ""Runology:" How to "Run Away" From China". Council on Foreign Relations. Archived from the original on 11 September 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
20. ^ "新词迭出，更得咬文嚼字（解码·语言规范）". Archived from the original on 2019-05-15. Retrieved 2019-05-15.

External links

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• "2013網絡新詞考卷：不懂人艱不拆累覺不愛就out了--傳媒--人民網". Retrieved 2014-05-16.
• "网络俚语反映社会现实_IT电子报_光明网". Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2014-05-16.

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