Chinese (Mandarin)/Slang
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Mandarin, like any language, has its own slang words and informal meanings of common words. For example, 同志 (tongzhi - comrade, a commonly used honorific) now has a second meaning of "gay person", and the female equivalent 小姐 (xiaojie, often used with service personnel such as waitresses) can also refer to a prostitute.
[edit] Slang List
| 酷 | ku4 | cool (好酷喔 hao3 ku4 oh5: that's cool!) |
| 帥 | shuai4 | (of a guy) good looking, handsome |
| 帥呆(了) | shuai4dai1(le5) | 1. (of a guy) very goodlooking, a hunk 2. (of a situation) very good |
| 爽 | shuang3 | (very) comfortable, pleasing (as in 我昨天去按摩超爽(的) 'The massage yesterday was very comfortable' |
| 過隱 | guo4yin3 | (very) comfortable, pleasing |
| 超 | chao1 | extremely / super (as in 超冷 'very cold', 超酷 'very cool' etc) |
| 惹 | re3 | upset, annoy, get on someone nerves(as in 你幹嘛老是惹我 'why do you always get on my nerves?') |
| 離譜 | li2pu3 | preposterous, far from normalcy (as in 你這樣作實在是太離譜 'you are really out of line doing things like that') |
| 扯 | che3 | farfetched, unimaginable, defying all logic (as in 很扯! 'unbelievable', 太扯了吧! 'that is ridiculous', 你扯到哪裡去? 'what are you talking about?' ) |
| 扯xx(的)後腿 | che3 xx (de5)hou4tui3 | be a drag on someone, be a hindrance |
| 正 | zheng4 | good quality, high class (as in 正妹 'a classy chick', 他的女朋友很正 'he has a knock out girl friend') |
| 耍 | shua3 | cheat, deceive (as in 你想耍我嗎? 'you must be kidding') |
| 耍嘴皮 | shua3zui3pi2 | talk slickly |
| 耍賴 | shua3lai4 | act indifferent, don't do what one's supposed to do |
| 賴皮 | lai4pi2 | see 耍賴 |
| 混 | hun4 | partake in a given activity (work, study etc) in a lazy and unserious manner (as in 我這裡已經快混不下去了 'I'm about to get kicked out of here' (school or company etc), 你還想混多久? 'How much longer are you planning to go on like this?') |
| 模魚 | mo2yu2 | be lazy on the job (lit. rub fish) |
| 爛 | lan4 | crappy |
| 爛攤子 | lan4tan1zi5 | someone's bad situation (that they leave to you) (as in 我可以收他的爛攤子 '(and now) I can take care of the mess he created') |
| 爛醉 | lan4zui4 | piss drunk |
| 爛掉 | lan4diao4 | gone bad (of something that was formerly OK) |
| 爛好人 | lan4hao3ren2 | a person that tries to please everyone and can never say no (creating problems for the people around him) |
| 透 | tou4 | 1. to go through 2. (as a suffix) extremely (as in 爛透了 'extremely crappy') |
| 嚇死 | xia4si3 | terrified (as in 嚇死我了 'I'm scared shitless') |
| 難搞 | nan2gao3 | difficult to please, hard to deal with |
| 修理 | xiu1li3 | 1. repair 2. mess somebody up, punish |
| 休想 | xiu1xiang3 | (as an utterance) no way, don't even think about it, in your dreams |
| 吹牛 | chui1niu2 | brag |
| 自大 | zi4da4 | arrogant, overbearing |
| 臭屁 | chou4pi4 | arrogant, overbearing (lit. stinking fart) |
| 擺架子 | bai3jia4zi5 | put on an air, arrogant |
| 假君子 | jia3jun1zi5 | a wolf in sheep's clothes (lit. fake gentleman) |
| 上流社會 | shang4liu2she4hui4 | the upper crust of society, the rich and famous |
| 黑社會 | hei1she4hui4 | the underworld |
| 流氓 | liu2mang2 | gangster, loodlum |
| 老大 | lao3da4 | the big boss |
| 小弟 | xiao3di4 | 1. young male child 2. younger members of a gang |
| 吵架 | chao3jia4 | quarrel, have an argument |
| 鬥嘴 | dou4zui3 | quarrel, have an argument (lit. fighting with the mouth) |
| 打架 | da3jia4 | (physically) fight, exchange blows |
| 把風 | ba3feng1 | be on the look out (during a heist) |
| 壞胚子 | huai4pei1zi5 | a bad element (said of a person (mostly as a joke) ) |
| 好兄弟 | hao3xiong1di4 | 1. ghosts, spirits of the deceased 2. good friends / like brothers |
| 不乾淨 | bu2gan1jing4 | 1. not clean 2. haunted (by ghosts) |
| 夜總會 | ye4zong3hui4 | 1. nightclub 2. graveyard |
| 豬頭 | zhu1tou2 | idiot (lit. pig's head) |
| 笨蛋 | ben4dan4 | idiot (lit. stupid egg) |
| 昏蛋 | hun1dan4 | asshole (lit. turbid egg) |
| 壞蛋 | huai4dan4 | asshole (lit. rotten egg) |
| 王八蛋 | wang2ba1dan4 | asshole (lit. king eight egg) |
| 白痴 | bai2chi1 | idiot, retard (lit. white fool) |
| 蠢貨 | chun3huo4 | idiot (not used a lot) |
| 傻瓜 | sha3gua1 | fool (sometimes used lovingly) |
| 小子 | xiao3zi3 | insignificant person, 'prick' |
| 瘋子 | feng1zi5 | crazy person |
| 發瘋 | fa1feng1 | go crazy |
| 娘娘腔 | niang2niang2qiang1 | sissy, girly dude |
| 傢伙 | jia1huo5 | 1. person (mostly used negatively), 2. gun |
| 毒蟲 | du2chong2 | junky, someone on drugs |
| 吸毒 | xi1du2 | take drugs |
| 上隱 | shang4yin3 | get addicted to something (can be drugs, but can also refer to good things such as sports) |
| 崩潰 | beng1kui4 | (mentally) collapse (of a person) |
| 欠 xx | qian4 xx | 1. owe xx (like 欠錢 'owe money', 欠情 'owe someone a favor') 2. asking for a xx (as in 欠念 'asking for a verbal dress down', 欠揍 'asking for a beating') |
| 放xx鴿子 | fang4 xx ge1zi5 | stand xx up, be a no-show (as in 不要放我鴿子喔 'don't stand me up!') |
| 吃xx(的)豆腐 | chi1 xx (de)dou4fu3 | touch a woman in such a manner that it is close to (but not yet) borderline sexual harassment (as in 不要吃我的豆腐 'don't touch me', 你想吃我的豆腐嗎? 'would you like to touch me?') |
| 沒水準 | mei2shui3zhun3 | have no class, low level (of a person) |
| 沒家教 | mei2jia1jiao4 | unmannered, not well behaved, impolite (lit. without home teaching, i.e., without parents that instilled basic manners into their offspring) |
| 下流 | xia4liu2 | 1. downstream 2. uncoth, low class, shameless, low life |
| 土 | tu3 | 1. earth, soil 2. of no class, like a buffoon (as in 你的衣服好土喔! 'your clothes are so low class!') |
| 飆車 | biao1che1 | (in car / motorcycle) ride like crazy, race |
| xx族 | xx zu2 | people that xx (like 上班族 'people that work', 飆車族 'people that drive too fast', 草莓族 'the younger generation that doesn't understand hard work (that bruise like strawberries) )' |
| 種草莓 | zhong4cao3mei2 | give someone a hickey |
| 丟臉 | diu1lian3 | loose face, embarrass (as in 你在朋友的面前這樣說我真丟臉 'the way you spoke about me in front of our friends really made me loose face') |
| 沒面子 | mei2main4zi5 | loose face (as in 你害我沒面子 'you made me loose face') |
| 厚臉皮 | hou4lian3pi2 | thick skinned, willing to ask for / demand things other people would not dare demand |
| 囂張 | xiao1zhang1 | brazen, shameless |
| 酒吧 | jiu3ba1 | bar |
| 酒店 | jiu3dian4 | 1. hotel 2. restaurant 3. hostess bar (Taiwan only) |
| 夜店 | ye4dian4 | nightclub |
| 夜貓子 | ye4mao1zi5 | someone with a rich nightlife |
| 恐龍妹 | kong3long2mei4 | ugly chick (literally 'dinosaur girl') |
| 辣妹 | la4mei4 | hot chick (literally 'spicy girl') |
| 放電 | fang4dian4 | 1. give off electricity 2. (of women) 'create an air filled with feminine attraction' |
| 把妹 | ba3mei4 | hunt for girls, on the prowl for female companionship |
| 把馬子 | ba3ma3zi5 | same as 'ba3 mei4' |
| 把凱子 | ba3kai3zi5 | hunt for (rich) hunks (by women) |
| 亂講 | luan4jiang3 | nonsense |
| 放屁 | fang4pi4 | 1. fart 2. speak nonsense |
| 廢話 | fei4hua4 | as retort to a superfluous utterance: 'tell me something I didn't already know' (lit. garbage talk) |
| 囉嗦 | luo2suo1 | talk too much (as in 你很囉嗦 'you talk too much', 不要囉嗦了 'stop rambling!') |
| 哈啦 | ha1la1 | argue, incessantly talk to try to convince someone of something (as in 你不用哈啦這麼多, 就直接認錯吧! 'stop arguing and just admit you're wrong!', 哇,你很會哈啦喔! wow, you really know how to argue! (to get things your way) ) |
| 閉嘴 | bi4zui3 | shut up! |
| 插嘴 | cha1zui3 | interrupt (someone talking) (as in 你不要老是插嘴 'stop interrupting me') |
| 頂嘴 | ding3zui3 | talk back, be a wise guy (as in 如果你再頂嘴我就修理你 'I am going to take care of you if you talk back to me again') |
| xx 個屁 / xx 個頭 | xx ge5pi4 / xx ge5tou2 | both are similar to 'my ass' as a suffix (as in A: 這電影好浪漫喔 B: 浪漫個屁阿! A: This movie is so romantic.. B: romantic my ass!) |
| 小弟弟 | xiao3di4di4 | 1. little brother 2. male reproductive organ |
| (小)雞雞 | (xiao3)ji1ji1 | male reproductive organ |
| 小鳥 | xiao3niao3 | 1. a small bird 2. male reproductive organ |
| 那話兒 | na4huar4 | male reproductive organ (lit. 'that talk') |
| 蛋 | dan4 | 1. egg 2. (of the male reproductive organ) balls (as in 打架的時候要好好保護你的蛋(蛋) 'when fighting you have protect your balls') |
| 奶子 | nai3zi5 | (female) breasts |
| 高潮 | gao1chao2 | 1. high tide 2. orgasm |
| 做愛 | zuo4ai4 | make love |
| 炒飯 | chao3fan4 | 1. fry rice 2. make love |
| 上床 | shang4chuang2 | 1. go to bed 2. make love |
| 色狼 | se4lang2 | sex maniac |
| 變態 | bian4tai4 | someone with sick sexual preferences |
| (有)外遇 | (you3)wai4yu4 | having an affair |
| 劈腿 | pi1tui3 | having an affair |
| 一夜情 | yi1ye4qing2 | one night stand (lit. emotions for one night) |
| 分手 | fen1shou3 | (of a relationship) break up |
| 追 | zhui1 | 1. to follow, pursuit 2. to try to get a relationship with someone (as in 他還在追那個美妹嗎? 'is he still after that pretty girl?') |
| 狐狸精 | hu2li2jing1 | a woman that steals another woman's man (lit. a fox spirit) |
| 母老虎 | mu3lao3hu3 | a very dominant wife (lit. mother tiger) |
| 幹 | gan4 | 1. to do (something), as in 幹活 'work' 2. [vulgar] as an exclamation: 'f**k!' 3. [vulgar] make love |
| 幹掉 | gan4diao4 | to kill someone |
| 幹你娘 | gan4ni3niang2 | [very vulgar] do the act with your mother (never to be used in public unless one wants to appear boorish) |
| 幹嘛 | gan4ma2 | 1. as a stand alone phrase: 'what is it now?', 'what do you want now?' (indicating a certain irritation) 2. why (inpolite) (as in '你幹嘛花這麼多錢買這麼爛的東西? 'Why would you spend so much money buying something as crappy as that?') |
| (他)媽的 | (ta1)ma1de5 | [vulgar] 1. as loose utterance: shit! 2. can be used to add punching power to an otherwise bland phrase (as in 你也他媽的夠了吧! 'you are really out of line!') |
| 操 | cao4 | 1. operate (a machine etc) 2. [vulgar] perform the act (from 肏 which has the same pronunciation) |
| 操你媽的屄 | cao4ni3ma1de5bi1 | [very vulgar] perform the act with your mother (never use in public, or for that matter, at home) |
| 屌 | diao3 | 1. (among guys) used as utterance to show admiration or approval 2. male reproductive organ |
| 老外 | lao3wai4 | foreigner (not necessarily a negative term) |
| 洋妞 | yang2niu1 | foreign chick |
| 阿都仔 | a1dou1zai3 | foreigner (Taiwan only) |
| 同志 | tong2zhi4 | 1. comrade (communist jargon), 2. gay/lesbian |
| 小姐 | xiao3jie3 | 1. young woman 2. (China) girl working in a hostess bar 3. (China) prostitute |
| 檳榔西施 | bin1lang2xi1shi1 | betelnut beauty: a young, attractive (and usually scantily clad) girl hired to sell betelnuts in street stalls (西施 is the name of a classic beauty from China's past) |
| 殺價 | sha1jia4 | haggle, get the price down (but no matter how hard you try as foreigner you will be made to pay more) |
| 動手 | dong4shou3 | 1. start (doing something) 2. hit someone |
| 動手腳 | dong4shou3jiao3 | to sabotage something / cheat by modifying something |
| 灌醉 | guan4zui4 | get someone drunk |
| 海量 | hai3liang4 | be able of holding one's liquor (a highly valued 'asset' in the Chinese sport of drinking each other under the table) |
| 灌水 | guan4shui3 | 1. (of a business) sell inferior goods that have been tampered with (like adding water to milk) 2. (of sports) loose a game on purpose |
| 黑貨 | hei1huo4 | goods that have been tampered with, potentially causing serious health issues |
| 排馬屁 | pai2ma3pi4 | kiss up to other people |
| 排排屁股走(人) | pai2pai2pi4gu3zou3(ren2) | run away, take off without caring for the consequences (while engaged in a relationship or project) |
| 條子 | tiao2zi5 | cop |
| 內鬼 | nei4gui3 | snitch |
| 飯桶 | fan4tong3 | 1. bucket that holds rice 2. a guy that lives off his girlfriend, a no good bum |
| 吃軟飯 | chi1ruan3fan4 | living off your girlfriend (lit. eat soft rice) |
| 毛毛的 | mao2mao2de5 | creapy, give one the goosebumps (as in 他那樣瞪我, 我都覺得毛毛的 'the way he stared at me made me feel spooked') |
| 人情味 | ren2qing2wei4 | 'the smell of human feelings': used to describe a situation where people are friendly and care for each other (as in 中國很有人情味) |
| 累死了 | lei4si3le5 | exhausted, very tired |
| (老)油條 | (lao3)you2tiao2 | a slick person (油條 is a staple food consisting of a long stick of deep fried batter) |
| 狗仔(隊) | gou3zai3(dui4) | paparazi |
| 小強 | xiao3qiang2 | cockroach (lit. little strong (one) ) |
| 炒魷魚 | chao3you2yu2 | 1. fry squid 2. fire someone (from a job) |
| 睡過頭 | shui4guo4tou2 | oversleep |
| 賴床 | lai4chuang2 | stay in bed (too long), not getting up |
| 昏昏欲睡 | hun1hun1yu4shui4 | sleepy |
| 拖拖拉拉 | tuo1tuo1la1la1 | slow, sluggish, tardy |
| 溼達達(的) | shi1da2da2(de5) | soaking wet |
| A | ei1 | steal (as in A錢) |
| A片 | ei1pian4 | a porn movie |
| K書 | kei1shu1 | study (as in pounding something into one's head) |
| SPP | song1piao4piao4 | no class, (Taiwan only, based on Hoklo dialect) |
[edit] External links
- Chinese Chat Codes - This page contains numeric codes used in chatting or pager messages similar to English acronyms like IMHO (In My Humble Opinion) or LOL (Laughing Out Loud).
- Chinese Slang Dictionary - A dictionary of Chinese slang, colloquialism, curse, vulgarism, dialect, street talk, with Chinese characters, pinyin romanization, and English version
