手办 (shou3 ban4)
in-action figure
The term “in-action figure” refers to plastic figurines modeled on comic book or science fiction characters. These figurines are normally 10-30 centimeters in height and produced in small quantities.

怪咖 (guai4 ka1)
geek
The slang refers to those intellectuals obsessed with mind games, such as sudoku and crosswords. Although being described as a geek tends to be an insult, the term has recently become a fond nickname, or even a badge of honor.

城市补丁 (cheng2 shi4 bu3 ding1)
run-down neighborhoods
The Chinese term literally means “city patches,” which is a reference to an urban area marked by crowded and dirty run-down housing, against the backdrop of spanking new high-rises.

纸枷锁 (zhi3 jia1 suo3)
paper yoke
In ancient China, some offenders were shackled with a pillory and made to hold a bowl of water with their enclosed hands. If they spilled the water they would be clubbed to death. Now people use paper pillory to refer to subtle oppression one may face in life.

零人格 (ling2 ren2 ge2)
zero integrity
This term refers to someone who has no integrity. It first appeared in the Hong Kong media and has led to another term called "negative integrity," meaning worse than "no integrity."

蟑螂族 (zhang1 lang2 zu2)
cockroach clan
The term is used to describe people who are unperturbed by any negative publicity about them and who insist on living in an environment that is unsuitable for them. Like cockroaches, they have the ability to survive in hostile conditions.

彩虹族 (cai3 hong2 zu2)
rainbow clan
Rainbow is seen as colorful and cheerful. So, this term refers to people who are good at finding a balance between work and life. They pay attention to diet, health and quality of life without sacrificing career advancement.

易服 (yi4 fu2)
cross-dress
This term is used to describe people who dress like a member of the opposite sex. Actually, transvestism is not new to the Chinese. Back in the Northern Wei Dynasty (AD 386-534) a young woman named Hua Mulan disguised herself as a man to join the army to spare her elderly father of military service.

蛇夫座 (she2 fu1 zuo4)
Ophiuchus
Some people support the introduction of Ophiuchus (November 30-December 17) as the 13th sign of the zodiac in order to correct calendar calculation errors. Meaning "snake-holder" in Greek, Ophiuchus would be inserted between Scorpio and Sagittarius.

打底衫 (da3 di3 shan1)
backing shirt
It refers to the shirt, usually with solid colors and simple styles, that is worn immediately under an outfit or suit to set the latter off.

爬梯 (pa2 ti1)
party
Chinese Netizens these days use this term, which literally means "ladder-climbing," as a substitute expression for "party" as the Chinese expression sounds just like the English word.

л型人才 (л xing2 ren2 cai2)
л-type talent
It is a kind of person that has good command of two fields of professional skills as well as having expertise in management and administration. The two professional skills are the two vertical strokes while the administrative expertise is the horizontal one.

百搭简历 (bai3 da1 jian3 li4)
all-fitting resume
It is a kind of resume that job seekers prepare in such an ambiguous way that it apparently meets the requirements of many kinds of job.

海投 (hai3 tou2)
resume flooding
As the job market turns grim, job hunters send their resumes in large numbers randomly to various companies in the hope of scooping a few chances of being interviewed.

悠客 (you1 ke4)
no-hurry tourist
Those who take their time and don't mind how long they linger at each tourist site or destination.

贺岁片 (he4 sui4 pian1)
New Year movie
"Hesuipian," which refers to movies celebrating the New Year, often premiere between Christmas and Spring Festival. Most such movies are comedies and often have an all-star cast. Chinese director Feng Xiaogang is the most famous in this genre. Total box office revenue of movies he directed has exceeded 1 billion yuan (US$146.26 million) with his latest hit "If You Are the One."

二维码 (er4 wei2 ma3)
QR Code
A QR Code is a matrix code invented by Japanese corporation Denso-Wave in 1994. The QR is derived from "Quick Response." Camera mobile phone users with code-reading software can scan the image of the QR Code and be relinked to a Website that this code represents.

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道路百慕大 (dao4 lu4 bai3 mu4 da4)
Terrestrial Bermuda Triangle
Some local media use the phrase to refer to several street crossings in downtown Shanghai that often make drivers confused about which lane to take, like the one at Wujiaochang shopping area.

爆场 (bao4 chang3)
Raise the roof
More often than not, promotions that offer deep discounts for well-established brands will attract a huge crowd that raises the roof.

拗断 (ao2 duan4)
Separate/break away
It can refer to either the breakdown of good relations between a couple, or good friends, or the breakup of a showbiz artist from his or her broker.

撩菜 (liao2 cai4)
Entice a woman
It is slang used these days at nightclubs and cafes to refer to a man trying to engage the attention of a woman and make advances to her.

撩汤 (liao2 tang1)
Entice a man
The female version of seducing the opposite sex at an entertainment venue.

撩火腿 (liao2 huo3 tui3)
Go gigolo-ing
It refers to a man who is looking to link up with a rich woman for both a romantic relationship and to entice continuing financial support from her.

外挂 (wai4 gua4)
Stranger to a party
It refers to a person who is brought to a party by a friend, though he or she isn't acquainted with the other partygoers apart from the friend. The person in question also goes Dutch on costs associated with the party.

副卡 (fu4 ka3)
Party partner
He or she accompanies the opposite sex to a party as a lover, sometimes in the sense of an extramarital one which is clear to the other partygoers, though the relationship is not public or acknowledged.

自助自行车 (zi4 zhu4 zi4 xing2 che1)
self-service bicycle rental
The self-service bicycle rental facility has been introduced into a few cities around the country to ease traffic pressure and reduce noxious emissions.

口红效应 (kou3 hong4 xiao1 ying1 )
Lipstick effects
The term describes the tendency for consumers to purchase small, comforting items such as lipstick rather than large luxury items amid economic downturns. For example, Shanghai United Cinema Lines, the city's leading cinema chain, benefited from lipstick effect by taking more than 495 million yuan (US$72.4 million) in box office receipts last year, a 29-percent increase from 2007. The nation's movie theaters also took in 4.2 billion yuan in 2008, an increase of 888 million yuan from 2007.

不折腾 (bu4 zhe1 ten2)
don’t stir up turmoil
The term is colloquial and widely used to discourage someone from getting restless due to illness, worry or from just messing around. But when it was quoted by Chinese President Hu Jintao in his recent report, it referred to acts that would disturb society’s normal life. So, “don’t stir up (political or social) turmoil” reflects people’s desire for peace and harmony.

返聘 (fan3 pin4)
returnment
The term means inviting retired employees to return to the workforce, a phenomenon of an ageing society where fewer people are contributing to an occupational pension.

二手短信 (er4 shou3 duan3 xin4)
second-hand SMS
It refers to mobile phone messages received from, and sent to, others. There are many such messages of greeting in circulation during holiday seasons. Using them displays a lack of originality, and even sincerity, as they are never your own.

贱男 (jian4 nan2)
a loose man
It refers to promiscuous men, especially those in the entertainment industry, who hop from bed to bed or who never treat love or marriage seriously.

茭白 (jiao1 bai2)
worried white-collar
The Chinese term, originally the name of the wild rice shoot (a vegetable), is now used to describe a worried white-collar worker plagued by the fear of being laid off amid the global economic recession. The first character of this Chinese term sounds like the word “worried” and the second here stands for “white collar.”

影子艺人 (ying3 zi yi4 ren2)
showbiz doppelganger
This refers to an ordinary person whose facial features resemble a famous artist, allowing him to earn an income from masquerading as the star at low-end parties and gatherings to entertain the audience or guests.

读奏会 (du2 zou4 hui4)
reading-musical concert
The term refers to a concert that consists of episodes of both reading and musical performances. The term’s pronunciation in Chinese is the same as “solo concert” but with the word “solo” replaced by “reading.”

睡眠机器 (shui4 mian2 ji1 qi4)
sleep machine
The high-tech machine is designed to treat insomnia by physically stimulating some part of insomniacs’ brains to help them quickly enter a state of deep sleep.

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嘻哈包袱铺 (xī hā bāo fù pù)
hip hop crosstalk society
This refers to a group of mostly amateurish crosstalk performers who have won acclaim among young audiences in Beijing recently. Almost all the performers are in their 20s and they lard their comedy talk with hot buzzwords and pungent online terms.

谷歌依赖症 (gǔ gē yī lài zhèng)
discomgooglation
This term refers to the feeling of distress or anxiety at being unable to gain immediate access to information. It’s a portmanteau of discombobulate, meaning to confuse or frustrate, and Google. According to a survey, about 44 percent of Internet users in the UK said they were frustrated at being unable to go online and 27 percent said they experienced increased stress levels.

阴阳公告 (yīn yáng gōng gào)
yin-yang bulletins
In Chinese, yin and yang are used to describe the negative and positive energy in nature. The term may also mean opposing qualities of a phenomenon. So, yin-yang bulletins refer to contradictory statements made by persons or organizations.

婚奴 (hun1 nu2)
wedding slave
In some Chinese cities, especially large ones like Shanghai, quite a few young couples run into deep debt after throwing a luxurious wedding well beyond their means. So, after the marriage, the newly-weds have to slave away to pay off all the bills.

亚熟男 (ya4 shu2 nan2)
semi-mature man
Men who look mature but are actually a few steps away from being psychologically grown-up.

话题广告 (hua4 ti2 guang3 gao4)
paid blog comment
It is a way of advertising a product among the bloggers. Paid bloggers will post comments on certain products produced by the hiring company.

兰花指 (lan2 hua1 zhi3)
orchid fingers
This refers to a finger sign arranged by touching the tips of one's thumb and middle finger and aiming the pointing finger, ring finger and pinkie of the same hand into the air. The resulting "orchid fingers" are frequently used by actresses in Chinese operas, such as Peking Opera. A man will be considered sissy if he does "orchid fingers."

领便当 (ling3 bian4 dang1)
die, game over
During the shooting of a movie, a helper can get a meal box after he finishes his job. So, fetching a meal box, as this term means literally in Chinese, indicates that the play is over for the helper and he is no longer needed. It may also mean the death of somebody or the end of something.

坐家 (zuo4 jia1)
sedentary worker
This Chinese term, implying a “chair-bound professional,”refers to sedentary workers, such as typists, computer operators and paper pushers.