May 12
Date:2008-05-12
沙发客 (sha1fa1ke4)
couch surfer
People who offer their couches free to others who are travelling around the world in exchange for free accommodation when they travel.
掌门驴 (zhang3men2lu2)
leading tour pal
People who organize travels usually as part of a group. They are the group members who play the role of leaders by organizing and guiding the others.
色驴 (se4lu2)
shutterbug tour pals
A portmanteau of Chinese names for shutterbugs and tour pals.
索女 (suo3nu3)
chic woman
An expression borrowed from Cantonese dialect referring to fashionably dressed but, more importantly, elegantly behaved women.
没品 (mei2pin2)
unethical person
Netizens use the colloquial expression to describe those who often act without following basic morals or honoring promises.
选择性失明(xuan3ze2xing4shi1ming2)
selective blindness
Frequently used to describe some Western media that deliberately turn a blind eye to the positives when reporting about China.
厕所户口 (ce4suo3hu4kou2)
public toilet registered as residence
In China, a registered permanent residence can determine which public school a child can go to. So their children can go to a good public school, some parents register their residence as a public toilet near the chosen school.
信誉刷手 (xin4yu3shua1shou3)
credit score booster
A derogatory term referring to posting positive comments online about each other抯 online shops in order to boost credit scores.
中国式奢侈 (zhong1guo2shi4she1chi3)
Chinese-style luxury
It refers mainly to many local government officials who spend beyond their fiscal means to build super luxury office buildings and buy expensive cars for official use.
暖春之旅 (nuan3chun1zhi1lu3)
warm spring trip
Refers to the recent visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao to Japan. Hu described his visit as a 搘arm spring trip?to indicate the efforts made by the two countries to enhance their bilateral relations.
贱女孩 (jian4nu4hai2)
low-taste girl
Specifically refers to the twin sisters in Beijing who have opened a blog to ridicule their teachers and rebel against accepted social ethics.
May 5
Date:2008-05-05
看点(kan4dian3)
selling point, key attraction
Any part of an event or publication that attracts most attention from spectators or readers.
话题人物(hua4ti2re2nwu4)
most talked about person, target of gossip
A person who is talked about by the general public, usually due to media coverage.
救市(jiu4shi4)
to shore up the market
The Chinese government has introduced policies to stop continuous nosedives in the country's securities market.
老板键(lao3ban3jian4)
boss shortcut key
Used by Internet users to quickly hide or close software or Web pages they don't want the boss to know they are browsing at work.
小腹婆(xiao3fu4po2)
Ms Fat Belly
Similar in pronunciation to "Little Ms Rich" in Chinese, but describes ladies who have fat accumulated around their waist.
活人墓(huo2ren2mu4)
tomb for the living
Many rich people have built tombs for themselves or family members in a county in the Three Gorges Dam area. Building tombs for oneself or living family members has become a status symbol in some places in China.
手足口病(shou3zu2kou3bing4)
Hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD), enterovirus 71 (EV71)
Disease that has killed at least 24 children and infected more than 5,000 others in several provinces.
农业通胀 (nong2ye4tong1zhang4)
agflation
A blend of "agriculture and "inflation. It refers to the inflation driven predominantly by rising prices of agricultural products.
April 27
Date:2008-04-28
跨界车 (kua4jie4che1)
crossover vehicle
Refers to vehicles that have qualities of a sedan, like high fuel efficiency and comfortable seating, and easy operation of an SUV.
人肉搜索 (ren2rou4sou1suo3)
human search engine
Refers to Netizens using their human network to track down someone they have seen on the Internet.
数字原生代 (shu4zi4yuan2sheng1dai4)
digital native
Usually refers to people who grew up with computers, mobile phones and other digital devices. They are not necessarily defined by age — those not “born digital” can be just as connected as their younger counterparts.
倒卡族 (dao4ka3zu2)
coupon scalping clan
Those who make profits dealing in a variety of coupon-like cards.
透视装 (tou4shi4zhuang1)
see-through dress
A piece of see-through clothing, barely suitable for public view.
野猫罢工 (ye3mao1ba4gong1)
wildcat strike
Jargon in the human resources sector that refers to an unauthorized work stoppage while a labor contract is still in effect.
天使投资人 (tian1shi3tou4zi1ren4)
angel investor
An affluent individual who provides capital for a business start-up, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity. Angels have begun forming angel groups or angel networks to share research and pool investment capital.
黑嘴 (hei1zui3)
crooked stock analysts
Literarily meaning “black mouth,” it is used to describe some stock analysts who use smooth-tongued rhetoric to coax small investors into buying shares not worth buying.
April 21
Date:2008-04-20
上班蟑螂(shang4ban1zhang1lang2)
clockroach
A combination of “clock” and “cockroach” Refers to employees who idle their time away by watching the clock.
指责风暴 (zhi3ze2feng1bao4)
blamestorming
This term borrows from “brainstorming”. It means a meeting to review a failed project and pin down the person responsible.
A货 (A huo4)
top-grade fakes
Quality matters even in the case of bogus goods. If a counterfeit can challenge the professional eye, it is a top-grade fake.
裸博(luo3bo2)
school-school PhD
PhD students who graduate with a diploma but no work experience because they have moved only from school to school are sometimes discriminated against by employers.
八点女王(ba1dian3nu3wang2)
prime-hour soap star
An actress who helps ensure high ratings for prime hour TV soap operas.
不雅照(bu4ya3zhao4)
indecent photo
Any picture that is sexually explicit or involves a wardrobe malfunction. It is used as an understatement for steamy pictures after the sex picture scandal in Hong Kong.
高楼(gao1lou2)
high-rise posting
Widely used online, it refers to topics that attract hundreds of postings. In online communities, one posting is regarded as one storey, so popular topics are like high-rise towers.
键盘爱国者(jian4pan2ai5guo2zhe3)
keyboard patriot
Netizens who express their patriotism in cyberspace but never really take action, such as millions of Internet users who added a red heart and“China” at the beginning of their names on MSN to express support for the Beijing Olympics and a love of their country.
April 14
Date:2008-04-14
辣奢族(la4she1zu2)
luxury-craving clan
Refers to die-hard pursuers of luxury products. They are usually aged 15-30, come from a wealthy family or earn 20,000-50,000 yuan a month. For them, getting their hands on luxury items is more important than sleeping and eating.
穷忙族(qiong2mang2zu2)
working-poor clan
Urbanites who work in a frantically busy way, but barely earn more than enough to cover basic living costs.
食男族(shi2nan2zhe3)
man-killer
A beautiful woman who conquers many men's hearts with her undisputed charm.
反厌食条约(fan2yan4shi3tiao2yue1)
anti-anorexia charter
French fashion industry representatives recently signed a government-backed charter pledging not to encourage eating disorders and to promote healthy body images.
牙膏贴(ya2gao1tie1)
toothpaste postings
Refers to online postings which have an attractive start to a story but are updated at an extremely slow speed, just like squeezing toothpaste out of a tube.
永久性脑残(yong3jiu3xing4nao3can4)
PhD (permanent head damage)
Widely used in Chinese online BBS communities to tease someone who has done something considered out of line and crazy.
信骚扰(xin4sao1rao3)
spam message harassment
The pronunciation of the term is similar to "sexual harassment" in Chinese. However, it describes junk short messages or advertisements sent to mobile phone users.
麦芽糖女人(mai4ya2tang2nu3ren2)
malt sugar women
Refers to women who are always possessive and demand their boyfriends or husbands spend every minute with them, just like the sticky malt sugar.
April 7
Date:2008-04-07
草台班子(cao3tai4ban1zi1)
fly-by-night band
It refers to unregistered and illegal performing troupes that stage indecent shows in rural areas and city suburbs.
没女(mei2nu3)
no-no woman
It is an expression used by young people these days to refer to women who are neither rich nor beautiful but are well-educated and kind-hearted. It is pronounced similar to 美女, which means a beautiful woman.
腐女族(fu3nu3zu4)
fujoshi
This term, which is literally “rotten girl,” is a Japanese word referring to girls and young women who are Yaoi (boy love) fans and devoted to comics and pornography which focus on love, sex and romance between men. They often fantasize about relations between two boys. However, these women are not lesbians.
酷格格(ku4ge2ge2)
cougar woman
The description of “cougar woman” refers to women in their mid-30s to 50s who chase younger men. They are usually fi nancially stable and independent, such as Samantha on “Sex and the City” and Gabrielle on “Desperate Housewives.”
走餐族(zou3can1zu2)
walk-eating clan
The fast pace of urban life has reduced many offi ce workers to eating their breakfast while walking in a hurry to catch buses and subway trains as they head to work during rush hour.
社会企业(she4hui4qi3ye4)
social business
Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus coined the phrase to mean a new kind of business whose motive is one of social benefi ts, such as helping the poor, rather than maximizing profits.
金蓝领(jin1lan2ling3)
golden blue collar
It refers to well-paid technicians such as plumbers. Many educational experts argue that China should train more technicians rather than college students to meet the market demand.
加草站(jia1cao3zhan4)
grass station
Instead of fueling at gas stations, some eco-friendly vehicles now use bio-fuels, some of which are even refi ned from wild grass alongside the road.
March 31
Date:2008-03-31
黑卡(hei1ka3)
Centurion card, Black Card
It refers to the Centurion card issued by the American Express. Some people take it as a symbol of status because only those who get an offer from the card issuer can apply for one.
无公害蔬菜(wu2gong1hai4shu1cai4)
residue-free vegetable
It refers to the vegetables that have little, if any, traces of fertilizer, pesticide or additives when put on the market.
不过电(bu2guo4dian4)
dumbheaded
The expression is often used these days to refer to a person who is slow in responding to a hint dropped by others.
易登机(yi4deng1ji1)
easy boarding service
Easy boarding is a service for passengers who pay for the privilege of speedier security checks and priority boarding. China’s top aviation administration recently banned this service for security reasons.
动批族(dong4pi1zu2)
wholesale buyers
The term refers to people who are fond of shopping at wholesale markets. They usually pretend to be shop owners to get a cheaper price.
埋伏营销(mai2fu2ying2xiao1)
ambush marketing
This refers to a marketing campaign associated with an event without paying sponsorship fees. Such activities can be seen almost everywhere in the country these days relating to the upcoming summer
Olympic Games in Beijing.
小白(xiao3bai2)
layman, illiterate
The word literally means “little white.” The term is used by Internet users to refer to any one who knows little of a specific field, such as IT or computer. So, one may call such a person IT or computer illiterate.
破发(po4fa1)
below IPO price
Nowadays more and more stocks have seen their closing price on the fi rst day of trading drop below the initial price.
March 24
Date:2008-03-24
二次污染 (er4ci4wu1ran2)
secondary pollution
Unclean cisterns installed on top of some residential buildings and the landfill sites for wastes often become the source of secondary pollution for tap water and the surrounding environment.
傍名牌 (bang4ming2pai2)
imitation brand name
This term refers to a type of unfair competition in the market where small companies name their products with names close to famous brand names to mislead the customers. Governments are cracking down on this free riding on established brands.
排 (pai2)
support
The word, which literally means "line up" in Chinese, is widely used by Internet users on bulletin boards to show their support when they agree with someone else's opinion.
单细胞动物 (dan1xi4bao1dong4wu4)
simple-minded people
The term, initially appeared in some cartoon strips, means single-cell creatures in Chinese. It is now used by young people to describe someone who is simple-minded and easy to get along with.
恶意圈钱 (e4yi4quan1qian2)
malicious money grabbing
Domestic stock markets plunged to a seven-month low last week amid mounting apprehension over new share offerings, which investors believed were part of a malicious intent to grab money from the markets. China Securities Regulatory Commission has warned listed firms to consider market conditions, investor sentiment and their own funding needs before deciding the timing and size of refinancing.
白开水女生 (bai2kai1shui3nu3sheng1)
plain water girl
This term refers to young women who are shy and introverted, particularly in front of strangers. People think them as boring and uninteresting just like plain water.
现贷派(xian4dai4pai4)
loan taker
The Chinese phrase is a play on words as it has the same pronunciation as "modern people".It refers to those who are inclined to spend tomorrow's money for today's pleasures.
三拍工程(san1pai1gong1cheng2)
"three-pat" project
The term refers to a project launched with little feasibility study and often ending in disaster. The three-pat means people patting their head to make a decision, patting their chest to make an empty promise, and then patting the dust off their bottoms as they leave the disastrous project behind them.
