| 草食男 |
| cǎoshí nán |
| 'Herbivorous men'; men who despite being cultivated and graceful, are overly gentle and cannot hit on a woman or initiate a romantic relationship |
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| 丁克族 |
| dīngkè zú |
| 'DINK' - 'double income no kids'; Chinese couples who choose not to have children, an economic decision that nagates the lifestyle of traditional families |
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| 草莓族 |
| cǎoméi zú |
| 'Strawberry group/clan'; post 1980s or 1990s youngsters who enjoyed a cozy childhood and now cannot deal with the pressures of adult life and reality... |
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| 酱 |
| jiàng |
| 'Jiang' means 'sauce' though in slang it can replace '这么' meaning 'so', 'such' |
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| Hold住 |
| hold zhù |
| A Chinese-English hybridization, initiated by Hong Kong TV star Miss Lin. The term meaning 'hold steady', expressing astonishment, has become widespread in summer 2011. |
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| 伤不起 |
| shāng bù qǐ |
| 'Cannot get hurt', cannot 'afford' to get hurt; being sensitive and not wanting to get hurt emotionally, having been hurt in the past and not being able to go through pain once more. This expression was invented and spread by netizens in 2010-2011 |
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| 意淫 |
| yì yín |
| Fantasizing, sexual thoughts |
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| 山寨 |
| shānzhài |
| 'Mountain camp', used to describe something which is fake, copy, substitute |
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| PK |
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| 'Player killer', competition, contest (such as TV reality contests) |
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| 国猪 |
| guózhū |
| Chinese aren't so proud of their football; the term 国足 (guózú), national football is here being modified to 'national pig', maintaining a quite similar pronounciation |
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| 浮云 |
| fúyún |
| 'Floating cloud'; something trivial and insignificant |
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| 非主流 |
| fēizhǔliú |
| 'Not in the main flow', alternative, underground. Could describe a certain style or a person |
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| 倒 |
| dǎo |
| Knocked down, fall over |
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| 蛋疼 |
| dàn téng |
| 'Eggs ache', 'balls ache'; doing something stupid out of boredom |
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| 给力 |
| gěi lì |
| 'Give power'; a northern-Chinese expression, that became widespread during the 2010 football World Cup. '给力' means 'energetic', 'effective', usually referring to a certain action. It can also be equivalent to '加油- jiayou' ('go!', 'step on it!'). |
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| adj + 坏了 |
| huài le |
| Adjective + 坏了 (bad, awfully) is used by Chinese to stress a high level of a negative adjective, for example 累坏了 (terribly tired) 忙坏了 (awfully busy), etc. |
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| 平常心 |
| píngcháng xīn |
| 'Ordinary heart'; composure, indifference ordinariness. A person which constantly remains indifferent and non-reactive. |
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| 哥+verb+的不是+noun，是寂寞 |
| gē +verb+ de búshì +noun, shì jìmò |
| 'Brother, it isn't (verb), it is loneliness' - This expression indicates that the inner root of one's action is loneliness. For example, if someone is smoking (抽烟), you can tell him '哥抽的不是烟，是寂寞' ('brother' you are not smoking a cigarette, you are smoking loneliness). In the same way, when one is drinking alcohol (喝酒), it can be said to him '你喝的不是酒,是寂寞' ('brother' you are not drinking alcohol, but rather loneliness) and so on. |
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| 被 |
| bèi |
| 被 is a common word indicating passive action, but in slang it is often used when someone expresses an achievement, such as 我被毕业 (I graduated), or 我被就业 (I got a job). Such a passive form emphasizes the luck or outer hand involved in the process, as if saying that nowadays one cannot control his or her faith but needs fortune and the assistance of the system. |
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| 楼脆脆 |
| lóu cuì cuì |
| 'Crispy Building' - A building in a fragile condition, which seems as if it could collapse in any moment. |
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| 妻管严 |
| qī guǎn yán |
| 'Wife managing strictly' - This term describes a man who is scared of his powerful wife. |
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| 淡定 |
| dàn dìng |
| 'Fixed indifference' - Someone who is calm and non moveable in every situation, even the most stressful one. |
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| 剩斗士 |
| shèng dòushì |
| 'Left over warriors' - In modern slang this expression refers to single ladies, who have failed to find a husband until now. |
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| 做人要厚道 |
| zuò rén yào hòu dao |
| 'When conducting yourself be kind and sincere' - Be kind and fair towards others. Can be said straightforward or satirically. |
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| 衰 |
| shuāi |
| 'Feeble, weak' - Someone weak, unskilled, unimpressive. |
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| 恶搞 |
| ě wù |
| Satire, caricature. |
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| 跳槽 |
| tiàocáo |
| 'Jump slot' - Change to a better job. |
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| 晕！ |
| yùn |
| 'Faint, dizzy' - Extremely surprised, shocked. |
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| 汗！ |
| hàn |
| This is a reaction which expresses surprise along with some skepticism and embarrassment. It is also the title of an expressive icon used in Chinese interent chat programs. |
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| 牛(逼) |
| niú bī |
| 'A bull's force' - Sharp, fierce, quite similar to Chinese adjective 厉害 (lìhài). |
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| 百事可乐 |
| bǎi shì kělè |
| 'A hundred amusing thing, a hundred things which cause happiness' - The Chinese name for 'Pepsi Coke'. |
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| 放鸽子 |
| fàng gēzǐ |
| 'To put a pigeon' - To stand someone up. |
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| 雷 |
| léi |
| 'Thunder' - Something amazing or surprising, such as a surprising skill expressed by someone. Could said on something positive or negative. |
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| 脑残 |
| nǎo cán |
| 'Deficient Brain' - Disabled brain, brain has a problem (curse-word). |
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