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Slang 101: A-OKAY

By on May 16, 2013 in Beginner Chinese, Chinese Slang 101

That nod of approval, the a-okay hand signal .. all these signs that’ll mean the green light. Whether it’s getting the okay on building a new project you’ve presented to the boss or that new approval on your credit card application, I don’t think it’s as interesting and rather funny as how this phrase can [...]

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Hold住 – What Disney & Spielberg Did To Be Successful

By on May 9, 2013 in Beginner Chinese, Chinese Slang 101, Intermediate and Advanced Chinese

Not many get to where they are without hard work, perseverance and determination. Before Walt Disney became a internationally loved entertainment company, he was fired by a newspaper editor because, “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” Before Steven Spielberg became a renowned director, he was rejected from the University of Southern California School of [...]

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Slang For The NEW “What?!” – Horse God

By on March 1, 2013 in Advanced Chinese Slang, Intermediate and Advanced Chinese

One of the hottest slang words used in China isn’t as complicated as “grenade,” “yolo” or any other similar mumbo-jumbo. Instead it’s as simple as “what” (什么 – shén me). We all know Chinese is a tonal language (well, now you do if you didn’t) and that the slightest difference in pronunciation could mean something [...]

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Top Slang Phrases Of 2012

By on December 27, 2012 in Advanced Chinese Slang, Advanced Chinese Vocab, Hot on Weibo, Intermediate and Advanced Chinese

Whoa what a year 2012 has been with the Mayans predicting doomsday and Xi Jinping replacing Hu Jingtao as the leader of the Chinese Communist Party! Whether it’s finding the latest on “The Voice of China” or what’s going on with the Diaoyu islands, everything is a click away on the internet. This year we’ve [...]

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Spike Up Your Energy & Pump That Gas!

By on December 10, 2012 in Beginner Chinese, Chinese Slang 101, Chinese Vocab 101

We’ve all been there before, rooting and cheering on the sidelines for our teammates, family or friends to win. Without fail, the crowd will shout out “com’on” or “let’s go” or “woooo” as they’re off their seats with excitement in the United States. Well, in China they’d shout “加油″ which is the equivalent of “com’on” [...]

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The “Nibble Old Group” and Other Notable 族s

By on June 2, 2012 in Advanced Chinese Slang, Intermediate and Advanced Chinese

Of course everyone would want free rent, free food, and free transportation…just not if it means living with your parents. We all know the person who is all grown up but still living at home.  This also exists in China, and they have a great phrase describing it. The 啃老族  (kěn lǎo zú) – Nibble [...]

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Hot on Weibo: Top 10 Chinese Pet Phrases

By on March 15, 2012 in Chinese Slang 101, Chinese Vocab 101

Want to know the most used Chinese phrases? It’s your lucky week - the hot topic on Weibo is “What’s your pet phrase?” (#你的口头禅是什么?#) 你(nǐ): you 口头禅(kǒu tóu chán): pet phrase 是(shì): to be 什么(shén me): what The top 10 Chinese pet phrases in all their glory, based on official stats: 10. 没意思(méi yì si): boring. Eg.: “how was [...]

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Chinese Words for “Fake”: 山寨 vs 盗版 vs 假冒

By on February 17, 2012 in Advanced Chinese Vocab

Eskimos have hundreds of words for “snow.” Actually, that’s a widespread misconception.  But what about Chinese words for “fake”? Just off the top of our heads here, you have 7: 山寨 (shān zhài) 假冒 (jiǎ mào) 盗版 (dào bǎn) 高仿 (gāo fǎng) 仿制 (fǎng zhì) 仿造 (fǎng zào) 三无产品 (sān wú chǎn pǐn) Maybe you already know these, especially the [...]

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Chinese Slang 101: “Color Wolf”

By on February 10, 2012 in Chinese Slang 101

Have you ever been approached at a club by someone who seemed like a womanizer? There’s Chinese slang for that! The phrase 色狼 (sèláng) literally translates as “color wolf”. This has no real meaning in English but most closely means “womanizer” or “sex maniac”. There is also a female version of this – 色女 (sènǚ), [...]

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Chinese Slang: “Minding My Own Business”

By on February 1, 2012 in Advanced Chinese Slang

Do you ever just want to stay uninvolved or tell someone else to mind their own business? If so, today’s Chinese slang word - 打酱油 (dǎ jiàng yóu – get soy sauce) – will be useful. For example, if someone asks you a controversial question and you don’t’t want to get involved, you can say: “我打酱油的” [...]

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