July 30

贝多芬 (bei4duo1fen1)
back-baring lady
This phrase is quite popular among college students who use it to refer to those young women who wear fashionable clothes that bare as much of their back as possible. This Chinese term is actually a translation of the name of Ludwig van Beethoven, but the first character of the term sounds like "back," the second means "more" and the last "fragrance."

免提听筒 (mian3ti2 ting1tong3)
chatterbox
It literally means the hands-free telephone receiver. In daily talks, youngsters use it to describe those super-talkative guys who just keep on talking as if to themselves and don't even bother to wait for any response from listeners.

穿越小说 (chuan1yue4 xiao3shuo1)
back-in-time novel
It refers to those novels that feature a modern-era hero or heroine who is thrown back to an ancient time and relives the well-known historical events, which however are spiced with supernatural and romantic plots.

骨感型 (gu3gan3xing2)
boney clan
The term means the boney type. Young women who desire a slim figure often follow the example of boney fashion models strutting the catwalk. However, many people see this trend as unhealthy and unattractive.

特困生 (te4kun4sheng1)
super-sleepy student
The Chinese expression literally means a student from an extremely poor family. But it is now often used on campuses to refer to students who often take naps during the class. The middle character in this Chinese term means "poor" here, but it sounds the same as another Chinese word meaning "sleepy."

数字家庭 (shu4zi4 jia1ting2)
digital home
The term means a fully automated residence. China is trying to help more and more families have access to Internet services and other home appliances powered by digital technology.

朝九晚无 (zhao1jiu3 wan3wu3)
working overtime
This term is created by employees who always work overtime. They have borrowed it from the common phrase of "nine-to-five" working hours and then changed the last character "five" to "no end," since both characters sound nearly the same in Chinese.

网络钓鱼 (wang3luo4 diao4yu2)
phishing
This term refers to the activity of using social engineering techniques to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as passwords and credit card details, in an electronic communication. Phishing is usually carried out by using e-mail, fake Websites, copy-cat Web pages or an instant message.