August 17
Date:2008-08-17
奥运婚（ao4yun4hun1）
Olympic marriage
The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games are not just a party for sports fans but also for many brides and grooms. The number of wedding registrations in Shanghai hit a record on August 8, the opening day of the Games, as many young couples wanted the memorable day as their wedding anniversary.
懒婚族(lan3hun1zu2)
single-life clan
It refers to those who have a decent and well-paying job and live a comfortable life but are reluctant to get married.
味道美女(wei4dao4mei3nu3)
belle waitress
The Chinese term literally means "delectable beauty." And many gourmets believe that beautiful waitresses are the sine qua non of a fine feast.
绿游(lu4you2)
green tour
A term used these days to classify those people who prefer a tour operator and a hotel that provide environment protection information, refuse to eat or buy anything made of protected species and refrain from littering and using detergents.
代排族(dai4pai2zu2)
hired queuer
People, usually migrants from rural areas and jobless citizens, are hired to queue up for train tickets and hospital appointment tickets in large cities in return for a pittance.
男人妆(nan2ren2zhuang1)
unisex makeup
Some women make themselves up in a way that is unisex instead of purely feminine.
拍砖(pai1zhua1)
knock, pick apart
The term, which literally means "smacking with a brick" in Chinese, is now widely used among Chinese Internet users when they strongly criticize someone's idea or act.
控盐勺(kong4yan2shao2)
salt-control spoon
Shanghai government has decided to give out 6 million salt-control spoons free to local families in order to help control local residents' daily salt intake. Scientists have found that locals are putting too much salt into their food. Surveys found an average resident in Shanghai takes in about 9.90 grams of salt every day, far above the recommended amount of 6 grams.
福利腐败(fu2li4fu3bai4)
welfare corruption
It refers to special welfare enjoyed by those work in a certain sector (usually a public sector) but denied to others. For example, employees of an electrical power company can enjoy free electricity, while those of a bus company are entitled to take free bus rides.
August 2
Date:2008-08-02
驴子(lu1zi1)
heavy-pack traveler
This Chinese phrase means literally donkey, a working animal. It is used here to describe those travel buffs who are equipped with professional backpack gear, such as a sleeping bag, tent and water cask. The name implies that they travel with heavy packs, just like a donkey carrying a large piece of cargo.
鸭子(ya1zi1)
light traveler
The word “duck” is used here for those tourists who travel light and tend to join a tour group organized by travel agencies. They are like ducks herded around by the guide.
旅游购物狂(lu3you2gou4wu4kuang2)
transumer
Chinese tourists are now well-known for their shopping sprees overseas at souvenir stores, shopping malls and brand name boutiques. Transumer, a newly-coined English word that blends "transient"with "consumer,"is the best name for those Chinese tourists.
3F危机 (san1Fwei1ji1)
3F crisis
This new term refers to the financial crisis, fuel crisis and food crisis now plaguing many parts of the world.
断供(duan4gong4)
mortgage default
The word emerged as housing prices in several Chinese cities started to fall. Many house-owners have refused to continue to pay their mortgages as the value of their property is shrinking.
放卫星(fang4wei4xing1)
stand up, no-show
This Chinese term, which literally means “launching a satellite,” evolved from the phrase “flying a pigeon.” It used to describe making big news during the “cultural revolution” (1966-1976). But now it is used to describe the behavior of standing somebody up, not showing up or offering an empty promise.
试客(shi4ke4)
free product testers
Many Websites now start to offer free products, such as shampoo and make-up, as test samples to anyone who registers. However, testers have to write feed-back reports about the quality of the product or their ideas about it. This information, in turn, will be sold to producers.
留爪(liu2zhua3)
leave a mark
The term literally means “leaving a claw mark” in Chinese. Now the phrase is becoming popular among online users when referring to making an online posting in BBS communities.
July 27
Date:2008-07-28
麻袋帮(ma2dai4bang1)
big-bag shopper
The term refers to people who usually appear at big discount sales of brand name consumer products, such as clothes, shoes and cosmetics. They buy rapaciously and carry away their purchase in big bags they have brought with them. But just hours later, these goods will appear in online shops with their prices redoubled.
NONO族(NoNo zu2)
NONO clan
The word came from best-seller Naomi Klein’s book “No Logo” in 2002. It refers to young people who pursue a pure and environmentalfriendly life that refuses any luxurious products. Though well-off, they despise all the famous brands but prefer goods with strong individual styles.
穴居动物(xue4ju1dong4wu4)
cyberspace troglodyte
The term, which means cave animals in Chinese, is a new phrase evolved from the development of the Internet and online communication. Many young people are inclined to stay at home all the time. They talk to others, order food or do everything they want through the Internet.
娃娃音(wa1wa1yin1)
doll voice
This term refers to a special sweet, cute and doll-like singing style. A typical example is
俯卧撑(fu3wo1cheng1)
unfeeling apathy, flimsy excuse
The term literally means “push-up,” a form of physical exercise. Now it is used to describe an apathetic attitude or a fl imsy excuse. The phrase derives from a news story about a boy who was at the spot of a girl’s death. The boy told police when the girl jumped into the river from a bridge, he was doing push-ups a dozen or so meters away, so he saw nothing.
硬柿子(ying4shi4zi)
tough guy
Most people like to eat “soft persimmons” and few fancy “hard persimmons,” as this Chinese phrase means literally. But according to a recent popular drama called “I Want to Become a Hard Persimmon,” the soft persimmon is the name of any pushover and the hard persimmon refers to a tough guy.
压洲(ya1zhou1)
pressure continent
This phrase’s pronunciation is similar to “
素历(su4li4)
personal quality resume
Instead of a sum-up of one’s education, this term means a summary of a person’s quality training, particularly in term of organizational and leadership capability, positive work attitude, communication skills, stable mental health and willingness to learn and progress.
July 19
Date:2008-07-19
隐婚族 (yin3hun1zu2)
fake singles
Under the pressure of work, some people, especially women between 25 and 35, choose to hide from fellow workers or deny the fact that they are already married as they fear that their married status may bring inconvenience at work and hamper their promotion.
养牛族 (yang3niu2zu2)
jeans lover
In Chinese, jeans can be translated literally as 揷attle boy抯 pants.?So, jeans collectors are now called yangniuzu or 揷attle breeders.?To get a unique color and style, they seldom wash their jeans and try to wear their pants as long as possible. In their words, they use their body to 搑aise?a special pair of jeans.
白色污染 (bai2se4wu1ran3)
white pollution
This term refers to pollution caused by litter of used plastic bags, polystyrene cups, food containers and paper.
超级飚涨 (chao1ji2biao1zhang4)
super spike
It means the unprecedented and extremely rapid rise in the price of a commodity, such as the skyrocketing price increase in oil in the past few months.
高楼掷物、致命垃圾 (gao1lou2zhi4wu4, zhi4ming4la1ji1)
killer litter
The term refers to garbage dropped from high buildings. In a mega-city like Shanghai, which is crowded with highrises, killer litter remains a protracted headache.
孤老 (gu1lao3)
elder orphan
This Chinese term means literately the “lone elder.” It refers to an elderly person who has no family or can’t obtain any support from his/her family. In China, it also indicates that the elderly person has no pension and is incapable of making a living. This is not a new phenomenon, but the number of them has been increasing quickly as our society ages.
树洞贴 (shu4dong4tie1)
tree hole post
It is said that in the past, people tended to dig a small hole in a tree, hide their secret in it and then seal it with mud so no one else would know it. Today, in the virtual world of cyberspace, many love to post their secrets on the Internet anonymously. It makes them feel just like hiding their secrets in tree holes. Some may also find it stimulating to see others’ response to their secrets.
散养 (san4yang3)
course-free vacation, relaxing vacation
This Chinese phrase originally means “free range” or raising animals in a free roaming manner. Now the term is used to describe a vacation for a child who is not forced to take any extracurricular courses or art lessons either by their teachers or parents.
July 13
Date:2008-07-12
贴身媒体 (tie1shen1mei2ti3)
personal media
It refers to mobile phones that carry news in the form of broadcasting short messages (SMS) or multimedia messaging service (MMS).
便利贴女孩 (bian4li4tie1 nu3hai2)
post-it girl
It refers to those kind-hearted, usually plain-looking young women at a workplace who are always ready to help others and then almost immediately forgotten after the help. They are like the post-it notes people use and then throw away.
空头捐赠 (kong1tou2 juan1zeng4)
fictitious donation
Many companies and individuals have made generous donations to the victims of the magnitude 8 earthquake that hit China’s Sichuan Province on May 12. But some firms have failed to make good on their donation pledges.
裸捐 (luo3juan1)
all-out donation
The word, which literally means “naked donation,” appeared in the online world after the founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, said he will donate all his property — worth a total of US$58 billion — to charity work after his retirement. So, if someone donates all of his or her assets to a cause, he/she is making a “naked donation.”
撞色 (zhuang4se4)
color clash
Some fashion fans are promoting the intentional match of clothing and accessories in colors that are normally considered to be a poor match because of too-drastic differences or too-similar bright or dark tones.
黄昏恋 (huang2hun1lian4)
sunset love, December heartbeat
While Chinese youths are traditionally compared to the rising sun, the elderly are associated with the setting sun. Hence, a romance involving two seniors is often called “huanghunlian,” which literally means “love at dusk.”
野鹅族 (ye3’e2zu2)
wild goose clan
To ensure their children learn “real” English, many parents in South Korea bring their children to English-speaking countries to study. Usually, the mother lives with and takes care of the child during the overseas study trip, the father stays behind earning money to support the family. They get together only during vacations.
以房养房 (yi3fang2 yang3fang2)
rent-for-mortgage scheme
Some people lease out their spare apartment and use the revenue to defray their monthly mortgage for another property.
July 6
Date:2008-07-05
Run Run Fan
Chinese online users have nicknamed teacher Fan Meizhong as Run Run Fan after he fled his classroom, leaving behind all his students, when an 8.0-magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan Province on May 12. He has been widely criticized as being selfish and unethical. In comparison, some other teachers sacrificed their own lives in protecting and saving their students during the devastating earthquake.
护犊族 (hu4du2zu2)
pampering parents
While people tend to criticize young people living off their parents and becoming NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training), they have also begun to blame the phenomenon on those parents (and sometimes grandparents as well) who mollycoddle their grown-up children.
通心粉 (tong1xin1fen3)
macaroni people
The name of pasta in any of various hollow shapes is now used to describe people who are impressive in appearance but disappointing in substance. It’s similar to the English saying “Many a fine dish has nothing on it” or the Chinese idiom “embroidered pillow,” which boasts a beautiful cover, but with only worthless dried straw stuffed inside.
M一代 (M yi1dai4)
multitasking generation
This is a term created by the US-based Time magazine. It refers to the young people who indulge themselves in Internet games, iTunes, MySpace, MSN and other online activities, sometimes simultaneously.
谷歌文 (gu3ge1wen2)
Googlese text
Scholar Xu Lai coined this term. He uses it to describe written works created by Internet writers who base their text on materials obtained by Googling. Such writers can hardly guarantee the accuracy of their data and frequently risk stepping into plagiarism disputes.
Bo播报 (Bo bo1bao4)
multimedia newspaper
The term refers to a new form of electronic “newspaper,” which combines text, photos, graphics, audio and video. One can also search background data and cross reference with this news platform.
白客 (bai2ke4)
online security guard
The phrase, which literally means “white clan” in Chinese, is the opposite of “black clan” or hacker. It refers to professionals who fight hackers in order to protect people’s information security in the online world. It’s not unusual that some of the online security guards are former hackers.
June 23
Date:2008-06-23
Chimerica
According to chaos theory, a single butterfly flapping its wings in the Amazonian jungle may cause a hurricane in Manhattan. In the global economy, this symptom is called "Chimerica," a new portmanteau word that combines "China" and "America," indicating that the two countries share a dependence on one economy, with each side interactive and complementary.
情绪食品 (qing2xu4shi2pin3)
mood food
This is a new trend in the functional food sector. The theory is that diet can affect people's happiness and general wellbeing, affected by the chemical stimulation of neurotransmitters within the brain, resulting in a good mood. Products in this category include "mood-modulating chocolate" produced in the United Kingdom and "pressure-relieving milk" in Japan.
减压经济 (jian3ya1jing1ji4)
pressure-alleviation economy
This term is used to denote an economic sector that involves services that ease the pressure of everyday life, such as karaoke bars, sewing clubs, mood food, spas and weekend farmers.
洋漂族 (yang2piao1zu2)
foreign drifter
As China keeps opening its doors wider to the outside world, more foreigners come to invest, work, study or travel in China. But some wander from one city to another for different jobs and to experience different cultures, and they are called "foreign drifters."
吐槽 (tu4cao2)
debunk, gibe
The expression means to debunk or show up the false nature or ridiculousness of someone's remarks, especially in front of others. The phrase is believed to originate from the Japanese term "tsukkom."
残念 (can2nian4)
letdown, too bad
Young people these days often use this term to express disappointment when they fail to obtain something they desire. It is derived from the Japanese phrase "zan nen."
搭车涨价 (da1che1zhang2jia4)
hitchhike price rise, piggyback price hike
Chinese officials say they will try to prevent some businesses from willfully raising prices of their products that are tangential or totally unrelated to the recent fuel price rise approved by the central government.
裸投(luo3tou2)
unbagged trash
Some residents have begun to dump their trash "naked," as this Chinese term translates literally, after the government banned free plastic bags offered by shops or supermarkets earlier this year. Formerly, many people used old plastic bags as garbage bags.
June 16
Date:2008-06-16
quake lake
A lake formed when a river is blocked by rocks from landslides following an earthquake.
次生灾害 (ci4sheng1zai1hai4)
secondary disaster
Disasters or problems that follow or are generated by another disaster, such as a landslide, flash flood or epidemic in the wake of an earthquake.
平安信 (ping2an1xin4)
all-is-well note
Some earthquake survivors tried to send out paper slips from cut-off areas to tell relatives they were still alive and safe.
搜救犬 (sou1jiu4quan3)
rescue dog
Rescue dogs are reportedly more reliable and stable than a life detector for their sharp olfactory sense in finding disaster survivors.
豆腐渣 (dou4fu3zha1)
jerry-built project
In Chinese, the term literally means made of residue left by processing soybean curd. It is an equivalent to °∞jerry-built°± in English. Such projects in China often involve corrupt business people or officials.
道德督察 (dao4de2du1cha2)
moral police
Describes public opinion attacks on real estate tycoons who refused to donate much to the quake zone in Sichuan.
YAWN族 (yawn zu2)
YAWN clan
The initials stand for young and wealthy but normal, a label given to sensible young people who refrain from overspending or driving a car for environmental reasons.
灰水 (hui1shui3)
gray water
Waste water discharged from the washing machine, kitchen and other sources. It can be re-used as it is not so heavily polluted.
藏漂族 (zang4piao1zu2)
Tibet drifter
Unlike Beijing drifters and Shanghai drifters who start careers in the two cities, Tibet drifters tour the autonomous region, then find they can't tear themselves away.
酱油男 (jiang4you2nan2)
soybean sauce man
Taken up by Internet users after a man responded during an interview that he was just out to buy soybean sauce and didn°?t care about the question. °∞I°?m just out for soybean sauce°± has become a euphemism for "it's none of my business."
微博客 (wei1bo2ke4)
A service to communicate through the exchange of quick, frequent answers. Users send short messages to mobile phones and groups of Websites instead of one individual.
