July 26 - 婚活族 marriage hunter/live-to-marry clan
Date:2009-07-25
婚活族 (hun1 huo2 zu2)
marriage hunter/live-to-marry clan
Some people live to marry: they will put themselves out to find a soul partner, including joining in all social activities within reach to mix with the opposite sex.
电脑狂暴症 (dian4 nao3 kuang2 bao4 zheng4)
computer rage
An abnormal bout of frustration and anger exhibited by a computer user following a computer glitch, like vandalizing the computer or its accessories such as the mouse, or venting to colleagues or anybody present.
失语 (shi1 yu3)
loss of say
The expression originally means partial or total loss of the ability to speak or comprehend spoken or written language. These days it refers to the loss of ability or opportunity to argue or voice one’s opinion.
大股饭 (da4 gu3 fan4)
safe-share scheme
Some state-owned companies undergoing restructure pay lip service instead of doing a serious job of reforming. Everyone becomes a shareholder, and the size of portfolios varies according to people’s rank in the company. The expression is coined from the Chinese catch phrase for 大锅饭, an egalitarian practice of "eating from the same big wok,"which means getting equal share regardless of work done, before China adopted the opening and reform policies.
挨踢人士 (ai1 ti1 ren2 shi4)
IT workers
The expression is a transliteration of IT, the shortened form for information technology.
压力差 (ya1 li4 cha1)
pressure difference
The architectural term refers to the difference in air pressure between indoors and outdoors. When the outer pressure is greater, the pressure difference has a positive value. Experts explained in a press conference that pressure difference was among the main causes of the June 27 accident in which a 13-story building in Shanghai's Minhang District toppled in one piece. Experts said when workers piled earth on one side while they dug a garage on the other side, they created a "pressure difference" on the building's foundations.
捏捏族 (nie3 nie3 zu2)
package crumbling clan
This new group, mainly made up of young people, vents their rage by crunching food packages such as those of instant noodles in supermarkets. Such harmful behavior is widely condemned on the Internet. Experts suggest proper communication and physical exercise are a better way to beat the pressure.
社交商（she4 jiao1 shang1）
SQ, social quotient
The term, first put forward by US scholar Daniel Goleman, refers to the ability to deal with social relations and follows in the style of the IQ (intelligence quotient) and EQ (emotion quotient) concepts. Goleman believes that interpersonal interaction exerts its great influence on our intelligence and other aspects of our lives.
July 19 - 汉堡人才 hamburger talent
Date:2009-07-18
hamburger talent
It refers to white-collar workers who suffer repeated setbacks in job hunting though they have a decent education and enough work experience. Their plight is like a hamburger that looks enticing but is low in nutrition.
凹地效应 (ao1 di4 xiao4 ying4)
land depression effect
When a person has an open mind, listening ears rather than a talking mouth, and tolerance, he or she tends to attract a good number of followers or friends. This is similar to a land depression that gathers water.
赳客 (jiu1 ke4)
joke-video clan
The neological Chinese expression refers to people who shoot joke video clips which usually run for a few minutes and post them online for others to share. The Chinese expression is a transliteration of the English word for joke.
家期（jia1 qi1）
staycation
The English buzzword has been coined because of the global economic slowdown which has forced people to stay at home or take day trips to nearby sightseeing spots to keep a tight hold on their wallet. The Chinese expression is pronounced the same as the Chinese word for vacation.
桑拿天 (sang1 na2 tian1)
sauna weather
During summer peaks, many Chinese cities suffer sultry weather that makes people sweat as if taking a sauna.
景观立法（jing3 guan1 li4 fa3）
useless law
It refers to any law which has never been put into practice. These laws do not seem to have a real purpose to serve the public and are compared to decorative installations.
挂马（gua4 ma3）
Trojan horse
The Chinese word means “to place a horse” and the “horse” stands for Trojan horse programs. A hacker distributes a Trojan horse through the Internet. Anyone who enters the affected Website will automatically download Trojan horses, causing their computers to crash.
裸体香烟（luo3 ti3 xiang1 yan1）
naked cigarette
Unlike cigarettes packaged with a brand label, the so-called naked cigarettes have no brand at all and are served on a plate or in a container to help some senior officials avoid being criticized for smoking luxury cigarettes at the public expense.
碳关税 (tan4 guan1 shui4)
carbon tariff
Some developed countries are seeking to impose a carbon tax on Chinese imports, claiming that the “carbon tariff” reflects the emissions associated with those goods and will be able to force real cuts in global greenhouse gases.
July 12 - 蜗蜗族 snail clan
Date:2009-07-11
蜗蜗族 (wo1 wo1 zu2)
snail clan
It refers to young office workers who brave heavy work pressure at breakneck speed and let out their pent-up emotions in a timely manner with vigorous outdoor sport. They devote themselves to both work and fun, so as a snail is known for being physically resilient, hence the Chinese expression.
倦鸟族 (juan4 niao3 zu2)
sloth clan, bored-bird clan
An expression used to refer to office workers who, more often than not, feel or look lethargic about their job, offering nothing but inefficient and poor performance and showing a readiness to job-hunt.
养狼计划 (yang3 lang2 ji4 hua4)
rival-fostering project
A project, literally meaning “wolf raising,” proposed by China’s table tennis authorities was meant to cultivate more competitive players in foreign countries to challenge China’s long-held monopoly over the sport. The project includes policies to encourage more talented Chinese to play on behalf of foreign countries while inviting more overseas players to train in China. It got the name because in Chinese language competitors are often referred to as wolves.
众包 (zhong4 bao1)
crowd-source
It refers to the practice of outsourcing a task usually done by an employee or contractor to a large group of people or community in the form of an open appeal.
过度引用 (guo4 du4 yin3 yong4)
overquote
It has become a euphemism for authorities in a Chinese college to report, in concluding their probe into a plagiarism claim, that a professor in the school had “overquoted” from research papers.
置顶 (zhi4 ding3)
sticky status
When a posting or an article is put at the very top of a web page to highlight its popularity, it is known to have a sticky status.
红颜知己 (hong2 yan2 zhi1 ji3)
confidante
When a man meets a woman who is willing to share her secrets or emotional privacies with him and vice versa, the woman is considered as a 红颜知己 in Chinese. In Chinese, 红颜, which is translated literally as red face, traditionally means a beauty.
蓝颜知己 (lan2 yan2 zhi1 ji3)
confidant
As 红颜 usually refers to a woman, 蓝颜, which literally means blue face, refers to males.
July 5 - A咖 lead cast
Date:2009-07-04
A咖 (A ka1)
lead cast
It means a leading actor in a movie or drama and “咖” is the transliteration of the English word "cast." It also refers to frontline showbiz pop stars.
师奶杀手(shi1 nai3 sha1 shou3)
middle-aged women killer
It refers to a man, especially a showbiz star, who is sexually appealing to middle-aged women instead of younger women. Transliterated from Cantonese, “师奶” refers to those older or middle-aged women.
红毯杀手 (hong2 tan3 sha1 shou3)
red carpet spoiler
It means an actor or actress who is dressed in a distasteful or inappropriate way when walking the red carpet at an event.
控油瓶 (kong4 you2 ping2)
oil control bottles
Shanghai government last month began distributing 250-gram oil measuring bottles with a dispensing spout to help residents control their daily cooking oil usage. Surveys have found an average Shanghai resident consumes about 49 grams of oil each day, 96 percent above the WHO recommended amount of 25 grams.
暑运 (shu3 yun4)
summer rush
College students usually return en masse to their hometowns during summer holidays, contributing to the seasonal traffic rush. The Chinese term is derived from "chun yun," a nationwide transport usage peak around Spring Festival or Chinese Lunar New Year.
米农 (mi3 nong2)
domain traders
People tend to use "corn" to mean "domain" on the Internet since the Chinese term "yuming" (domain) is pronounced similar to "yumi" (corn). Those registrants who hold popular domain names until their values increase are compared to corn farmers taking good care of their crops.
野鸡大学 (ye3 ji1 da4 xue2)
diploma mill
Diploma mill, or bogus university, refers to colleges which issue diplomas to every student regardless of their study track record or exam scores. Their diplomas are not recognized by some employers or formal universities.
火车座 (huo3 che1 zuo4)
restaurant train seat
A kind of soft seat with a high back at a cafe that is long enough to accommodate two persons. The expression comes from the resemblance to the seats on a train.
June 28 - 海派清口 Shanghai-style stand-up
Date:2009-06-28
海派清口 (hai3 pai4 qing1 kou3)
Shanghai-style stand-up
Shanghai-born stand-up comedian Zhou Libo made his unique one-man performance a huge success. Armed with wit, humor and knowledge, Zhou comments on many aspects of the city life, past and present, in a farcical manner. The show is performed mostly in Shanghai dialect.
放心债 (fang4 xin1 zhai4)
safe bonds
It refers to US treasury bonds which China holds. Some US officials have been trying to convince the Chinese government that these bonds will not depreciate despite the current economic downturn and a decline in dollar value.
逆商 (ni4 shang1)
adversity quotient
It is the capability of a person to stand firm against setbacks and pull through hard times. A person with a high AQ is able to survive a career crisis.
窜货 (cuan4 huo4)
goods trafficking
It refers to the illegal practice of a retailer buying commodities from an agent elsewhere at a price lower than the local level, then undersell his or her competitors to force them out of the local market.
萌文化 (meng2 wen2 hua4)
manga-girl culture
Japanese manga is never short of cute young girls who can never fail to woo their fans. As a result, products like clothing and accessories that feature girlish designs have become popular with such fans. Teenagers will dress the way toddlers do, while 30-or 40-somethings will dress the way teenagers do, and so on.
残的 (can2 di1)
wheelchair taxi
In Shanghai, a small number of disabled people use battery-powered tricycles as a taxi to earn extra income. But the practice is deemed illegal by traffic police.
克莱登大学 (ke4 lai2 deng1 da4 xue2)
diploma mill
Chinese writer Qian Zhongshu creates a "Carleton University" in his novel "Fortress Besieged," from which the novel's heroine bought a fake PhD paper. The word is now coined by Chinese these days to mean an illegitimate academic institution.
大头症 (da4 tou2 zheng4)
swelling ego
The word, which literally means "big head disease," is applied to those rapidly rising showbiz stars and officials who then turn snobbish and look down on others.
June 21 - 绿坝 Green Dam Youth Escort
Date:2009-06-20
绿坝 (lv4 ba4)
Green Dam Youth Escort
This anti-porn software is mandatory to be either pre-installed or provided on a compact disc for all personal computers sold on China’s mainland, including those imported from abroad, under a directive from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, taking effect on July 1, 2009.
双失青年 (shuang1 shi1 qing1 nian2)
double-loss youth
It refers to youth who lose both their job and lover almost at the same time. Under the current global financial crisis, many young people get dumped by lovers after losing their job because they refuse to maintain an unemployed boyfriend or girlfriend.
晒黑族 (shai4 hei1 zu2）
dark-side exposers
This term refers to a group of people who expose the dark side of society by warning the public and calling for social justice over infringement of consumer rights.
硬盘人 (ying4 pan2 ren2)
out-of-towner
The Chinese expression used in online chat rooms refers to those who come from outside a certain city. It literally means a "hard disc person," as the initials for the pinyin of 外地, meaning out-of-town in English, is WD, the same as the initials for Western Digital, a brand of hard disc.
拼亲 (pin1 qin1)
blind-date pooling
In recent years, it has become a popular practice for young singles in large Chinese cities like Shanghai to take part in a variety of social activities designed for blind dating.
豆芽型 (dou4 ya2 xing2)
frail build
It refers to those youngsters, especially male, who are unduly thin and weak. The Chinese expression is coined for their resemblance to bean sprouts that are typically thin and fragile.
高考房 (gao1 kao3 fang2)
exam-break room
Many parents in large Chinese cities are tending to book a room as a place for a noon break for their child during the three-day national college entrance exams. This allows them to avoid traveling between their home and the examination venue.
黑救护车 (hei1 jiu4 hu4 che1)
illegal ambulance
It refers to mini-buses which pretend to be regular ambulances. They park outside the big hospitals and offer cheap prices to relatives of patients who plan to transfer the patients to other venues. There are no first-aid facilities aboard these buses.
June 14 - 扫盲帖 layman post
Date:2009-06-13
扫盲帖 (sao3 mang2 tie1)
layman post
It refers to online chat room or forum articles that cater to the laymen by using rudimentary words and expressions so they can understand without difficulty.
御姐(yu4 jie3)
mature and domineering woman
It refers to women 22 to 35 years old who look mature and act domineering. The expression is believed to have been coined from the Japanese game Chanbara Beauty.
老顽童(lao3 wan2 tong2)
old baby
The expression is used in an appreciative way to refer to seniors who are young at heart and often act in a childish way either because they want to amuse others or because they take it as natural.
食游(shí yóu)
food-and-fun tour
While traveling in one's own car is now affordable for more and more Chinese, especially the young, such tours are usually not complete without trying out local delicacies.
学区房(xue2 qu1 fang2)
elite school property
As education authorities require all public schools to enrol only from neighboring communities, many parents will pay a higher price for an apartment in the vicinity of an elite school to ensure their child receives a better education. Such neighborhoods are called 学区(xue2 qu1).
欺实马(qi1 shi2 ma3)
A far-fetched excuse
The term literally means a "dishonest horse" and is pronounced like the English phrase for 70 kilometers per hour. A young man who drove above the speed limit killed a pedestrian in Hangzhou in May, but police initially insisted the car was only going 70 kilometers per hour. However, video camera footage showed the driver was traveling faster.
僵尸电脑(jiang1 shi1 dian4 nao3)
zombie computer
The term refers to computers linked to the Internet and controlled by a hacker, computer virus, or trojan horse. Such computers will be used to conduct a distributed denial-of-service attack or send junk e-mails under the order of hackers. As the computers are acting without their user's knowledge, they are referred to as zombies.
祈福笔(qi3 fu2 bi3)
lucky pen
It refers to pens that are claimed to be blessed by Confucius. Business crooks hawk these pens to high school students taking the national college entrance examinations by saying such pens bring good luck.
June 7 - 邻家女孩/男孩 the girl or boy next door
Date:2009-06-06
邻家女孩/男孩 (lin2 jia1 nv3 hai2/nan2 hai2)
the girl or boy next door
It is often used these days to refer to celebrities or public figures who look or act so common when out of the limelight.
人肉布景板 (ren2 rou4 bu4 jing3 ban3)
human photo scene
Film stars and other showbiz icons attract considerable attention from fans, who often ask them to pose for a photo so that they can later show it to others. The celebrities have become a prop in the photo for such fans.
篱笆女 (li2 ba1 nv3)
starry-eyed woman
At a popular Website called liba, which means fence in English, some women post messages setting outrageously high standards for a future husband. The expression is used in a derogatory manner because these women don't meet their own criteria they demand in a husband.
时装偶像 (shi2 zhuang1 ou3 xiang3)
fashion icon
It refers to a well-known person who unknowingly promotes a fashion brand after he or she wears the clothing in public. The United States First Lady Michelle Obama is an excellent example.
软裁 (ruan3 cai2)
soft layoff/insidious layout
Some layoffs are done in a subtle manner. Some companies move an employee to a less important or lower pay position or send him or her on frequent business trips without covering the trip's expenses.
洗虾粉 (xi3 xia1 fen3)
crayfish wash powder
It is a washing powder, with citric acid and bleach as the main ingredients, widely used by restaurants in Shanghai to clean crayfish. The powder was banned by local authorities as it violates the country's food safety rules.
地铁剧 (di4 tie3 ju4)
Metro drama
Commuters on the city's subway system often witness mini dramas on Metro platforms and cars. The dramas are without dialogue ?just subtitles and background music.
夯 (hang1)
hot
The Chinese word means "ram”-the action of hardening earth with a heavy object. The word sounds close to the English word "hot.? media first used it when describing a popular thing or person.
