"NG" And "CP" In Taiwan - Language Log

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From an anonymous contributor:

Surprisingly for a store that is advertising its wares, the "NG" on this sign stands for "not good".  The "kùcún 庫存" means "(in) stock; inventory".  The right side of the sign tells us that the store also sells 2nd hand tools / utensils / furniture (using a Taiwanese [ke-si / kee-si] / Cantonese [gaa1si1]  term — 傢俬 / 家俬 that has also been borrowed by other Sinitic topolects, including Mandarin).

In fact, as used in Taiwanese merchandising, "NG" seems to mean about the same as "imperfect ("A piece of merchandise having a minor flaw that does not impair its use, usually sold at a discount." [American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th ed.]) or "second" ("often seconds An article of merchandise of inferior quality." [American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th ed.]) in English.  This usage apparently originated in Japan and was brought back to the States after WWII.  Most people from Taiwan whom I asked about NG and use the expression themselves are unaware that it literally means "not good".

Melvin Lee explains:

Many people would buy "NG" products in Taiwan. They are usually perfectly fine products but don't look as good in appearance due to some minor mistakes during production. These products are usually much cheaper in price. When stores have big sales, they will clear the inventory by putting a lot of these NG products on special sale. In fact, many bakeries in Taipei like to put the "NG" pastries by the cashier counter and they actually are quite popular and are usually sold out very fast.

And here, from a Taipei supermarket, is a product that is "bù NG 不 NG ("not not good"):

The first two large characters mean "love love"; the second line of large characters means "blissful experience".

Note the use of the Japanese kana "no の" for the possessive particle "ê [e]".  See "No character for the most frequent morpheme in Taiwanese" (12/10/13).

Another widely used acronymic expression in Taiwan is "CP", as in "CP zhí CP值" ("CP value") (e.g., see this article on buffets in the Taipei area).  The most convincing explanation I have received for "CP" in this expression is that it stands for "cost-performance [ratio]", although again, as with "NG", people who employ this expression may be unaware of the English terminology behind it.

In vernacular Mandarin, the equivalent expression would be "huásuàn 划算" ("cost-effective").  Another explanation for "CP zhí CP值" ("CP value") is that it is equivalent to "price–performance ratio", the comparable term for which in Chinese is "xìngjiàbǐ 性價比".

For people in Taiwan to use "NG" and "CP" without knowing exactly what they mean in English is not much different from people around the world — including Americans — using the American expression "OK" without realizing that it comes from "all correct".

Selected readings

• "'No' in Chinese" (3/19/19)
• "Keep on -inging" (10/30/17)
• "I don't feel OK" (12/27/18)
• "Burlesque Matinée at the Max Planck Gesellschaft" (12/4/08)

[Thanks to Grace Wu]

November 24, 2019 @ 12:37 am · Filed by Victor Mair under Abbreviation, Language and business

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