时尚词汇
水货grey import
It is also know as a parallel import, which is made available in the local “grey market” by retailers who order the trademark goods directly from overseas wholesales at a lower price and without going through official import channels. Most such imports are shipped to the local market by water, hence the Chinese term, shuihuo(water goods).
枪手
ghost test-taker, ghost writer
Gunman is the direct translation for this Chinese term, but it is now used metonymically to describe anyone who sits in examinations for others for a fee. The government has been trying very hard to stamp out ghost test-taking, which has become widespread around the country.
色友
shutterbug
Enthusiastic amateur photographers in China call themselves seyou or “colorful friends”. They claim they are a bunch of people who love anything that’s colorful. Don’t try to translate this Chinese term without a real understanding of it, because the first character in the term can also mean “lascivious” .
纸黄金 (zhi 3huang2jin1)
paper gold
A general term to describe gold contrasts, which do not necessarily involve the delivery of physical gold. The International Monetary Fund invented “paper gold” in 1971. The Bank of China Shanghai branch now sells paper gold 24 hours a day.
包机
charter flight
The flights are specially arranged for travelers. Both sides across the Taiwan Strait have designed six carriers to make 36 roundtrip charter flights for the upcoming Spring Festival, which falls on January 29.
八卦
gossip, gossipy
Originally the name of an eight-side diagram derived from the famous Chinese classic “1 Ching”(Book of Changes), it is now often used to describe gossip or gossipy people. Some believe this term first came into use in Hong Kong where the “ying-yang” diagram was frequently used to cover the crucial points of nude models on gossip or porn magazine covers.
friendlies
Friendlies is the official English name for the five mascots picked for the 2008 Olympics Games in Beijing, though each of the doll-like mascots has its own name, such as Beibei, Jingjing and Yingying. The selection marks the first time that more than three images will share Summer Olympic mascot duty.
脐带血
umbilical cord blood
Huang xinxia, a 28-year-old woman from Anhui Province, is now waiting to see if the umbilical cord blood from her second boy, who was born in Shanghai a week ago would help save her first son, who suffers from leukemia. Doctors at Shanghai No.1 People’s Hospital collected the umbilical cord blood, and hope there will be a better chance of a match of stem cells between two brothers.
大师杯网球赛
Tennis Masters Cup
It has become a major sport event in the city. World No.1 Roger Federer said:“For me, this is like a Grand Slam. I came here not knowing if I can play, and I went through all the therapy just to really show people also how much this event really means to me.”
劈腿
two-timing
This term is frequently used by young people to describe someone who’s not faithful to his/her spouse or lover. But a more popular Chinese saying, jiaota liangtiao chuan, portrays a two-minded person as riding on two boats simultaneously with each foot on one boat. The latter is often used in a broader sense.
缉毒犬
sniffer dog, drug detector dog
Local airports have employed some sniffer dogs not only to help detect drugs, but also to uncover any products that could be related t the spreading avian flu virus. It’s reported that the canine squad has been working very effectively.
光棍儿节
Singles’ Day
Every year at 11:11pm on November 11, fun-seeking male college students will have rowdy parties by screaming out their desire to find a girlfriend and use whatever is available to make big noises. The timing, consisting of eight Arabic number of 1, is deliberately selected to personify many single people. Can you envisage a Single Women’s Day?
非法集资
ponzi scheme
Ponzi scheme, named after its early 20th century inventor Carlo Ponzi, is a form of fraudulent investment scam. In a recent case, a local woman allegedly defrauded more than 50 people, many of them friends and co-workers, out of 7.69 million yuan (US$949,400) involving the sale of pre-paid mobile cards.
短信诈骗分子
SMS scammer
The Public Security Ministry recently disclosed a few shocking cases of criminals using cell-phone short message to cheat people out of money. Officials say now you can call police for help if you receive such fraudulent messages on your cell-phone.
连体婴儿 (lian2ti3 ying1’er2)
conjoined twin babies
Conjoined twins are rare, but it is even more rare that the parents of a pair of conjoined girls can’t be found. Doctors at Fudan University’s Children’s Hospital said last week that they could not plan an operation to separate the two sisters without the authorization of their parents.
八角茴香
star anise
Star anise is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine or flavoring, which is also known as eight-cornered fennel. Recently there is a buying spree for star anise in some parts of China as media reported that it is an important ingredient of Roche’s Tamiflu, a medicine believed to be able to prevent bird flu.
素质教育
all-round education
Many Chinese educators, parents and politicians have long been calling for a fundamental reform in the country’s education system in order to eradicate its numerous flaws rooted in traditional exam-oriented schooling. They say what the country needs is an all-round education system to help bring forth millions of young people with a well-balanced moral, intellectual and physical education, not just examination machines.
新新人类
new-new generation
This is a term for a “novel generation” of youngsters who have novel ideals, are always ready to try out new fashions and new lifestyle, do whatever they see appropriate and are willing to be responsible for their unconventional action.
数独
sudoku or number place
This is probably the most popular logic puzzle around the world today. The aim of the puzzle is to fill in each empty square of a grid of 81 cells so that the figures 1 to 9 appear just once in every row, column and individual 3*3 block. Though sudoku is a Japanese name, the puzzle’s true modern origin lies with a team of puzzle constructors in 1970’s New York. Check out the sudoku column on B-15 in Shanghai Daily.
无厘头
meaningless act
The phrase derives from “moulaitou” in Cantonese, which was first used to describe a trend in Hong Kong pop culture started by actor Stephen Chow. His brand of slapstick comedy features exaggerated body language, trash talk and black humor. Now any absurd, meaningless and anomalous approach to express one’s opinions or feelings can be described as “wulitou.”
泡菜
kimchi
A possible origin of kimchi or Korean spicy traditional pickled vegetables was in ancient China. Recently, however, China’s state food authorities have banned imports of kimchi from South Korea after finding parasite eggs in the imported side dish.
保质期
shelf life or best-before date
Shanghai health authorities have employed a team of volunteer food inspectors to check whether food or medicines are sold after the expiry dates or for other quality problems as part of nationwide efforts to ensure safe food and drugs.
80后
80’s generation
The word refers to those who were born in 1980s. They are considered to be a self-centered generation who care more about themselves compared with older generations. They are also more willing to try new things, heavily influenced by the Internet and more open to foreign cultures.
个人所得税起征点
threshold of personal taxable income
China’s top legislature recently issued the new threshold for taxable income, 1,600 yuan(US$198) a month, which will be effective from next year. It doubles the previous threshold which was unchanged for more than decade.
复原乳
reconstituted milk
The state standards administrative authority has recently told all dairy producers they must tell customers clearly whether the milk they sell is “reconstituted milk” or “pure fresh milk.” Earlier, press reports disclosed that many dairy producers sold the former under the name of the latter in order to cut costs.
交通拥挤费
congestion charge
The city is planning to introduce a congestion charging scheme similar to the one imposed in central London to help cut traffic jams during rush hours. If enacted, the scheme will charge drivers when they enter a certain downtown area during a given period of time.
保鲜膜
cling film
China’s health authority recently conducted a spot check on cling film wrapping after receiving reports that a chemical linked to cancer is in the widely used product.
禽流感
avian flu or bird flu
The World Health Organization warned earlier this month that the economic impact from a flu pandemic would be enormous and urged countries to prepare for a possible outbreak like the 1918 one that killed 50 million people.
老赖
deadbeat
The city recently sent 80 diehard defaulters to jail. They were all debtors who had the money but refused to pay court-ordered debts. Laolai is a derogatory term in Chinese.
“海龟”
“sea turtle”
People have come to use this term to refer to people who have returned to work on the mainland after completing their education overseas. “Sea turtle” in Chinese is pronounced the same as the abbreviated phrase “returning from overseas.”
“海带”
“seaweed”
The word, a follow-up to “sea turtle,” is used to refer to those Chinese youths who haven’t found a job in their home country after they study overseas. The Chinese character dai in the phrase sounds the same as another Chinese word meaning “wait.” as in waiting for a job.
韩流
Hallyu or Korean fever
Hallyu is a Korean word meaning the boom in Korean pop culture among Chinese, Japanese and Southeast Asians. It also sounds the same as the Chinese term “cold snap.”
另类
offbeat
This term has become popular as people tend to use it to describe anyone or anything that ranges from avant-garde to unconventional or weird.
充电
recharge
Borrowed from the common practice of recharging batteries, this expression is now often used figuratively to mean reeducation and vocational training.
红色旅游
Red Tour
Backed by local governments, many travel agencies around the country have been organizing tours to sites related to the Chinese revolution in the last century, hence the new phrase. The venue of the first meeting of the Communist Party of China in Shanghai near Xintiandi, has become a major Red Tour attraction.
中国宇航员
taikonaut
This is a hybrid word formed from the Chinese taikong, “space,” and Greek nautes, “sailor.” It distinguishes Chinese spacemen from the astronauts of the United States, cosmonauts of Russia and spationauts from French-speaking countires.
拼车
carpool
While carpooling is encouraged in many big cities around the world to tackle rush hour traffic jams and reduce pollution, some Shanghai city government departments recently drew criticism for banning the practice because it disrupted the taxi service market.
灌水
flood-blogging
When guanshui is used in the context of Internet, it does not mean “irrigation” as in its normal use. Some Web bloggers upload tons of nonsense or neither here nor there trivial in order to earn more online credits but only to be scorned by blog viewers for wasting their time and the server space.
第一桶金
the first bucket of gold
Tons of articles have been published in the press discussing how people make their first fortune and use it to invest in their business.
人性化服务
people-oriented service
The city’s service industry has been promoting a “people first” practice in order to provide more considerate and satisfactory services to clients.
郁闷
angry and frustrated
This term is a favorite among young people these days and they frequently use it whenever they feel “pissed off.”
漂书
bookcrossing
The practice of leaving a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others, who then do likewise, has appeared in some districts in the city.
医托
hospital scalper, hospital stoolie
The city police crack down on scalpers selling registration numbers at major hospitals as well as touts who lure people from major hospitals to small, lesser-known and even unlicensed facilities.
啃老族
NEET
It stands for Not in Employment, Education or Training. It refers to some young people who do not work but live off their parents.
忽悠
sweet-talk, coax, wheedle
This term has become a fad in daily talks of a great number of people around the town.
哈日一族
Otaku
Translated from Japanese, an otaku is an overly obsessed fanboy or fangirl of Japanese animation and manga. Japanophile is a word sometimes used to describe an otaku.
秋老虎
Autumn Tiger
This is a spell of hot weather that usually appears in late summer or early autumn, when the daily high hovers around 35 degrees Celsius. It’s not quite the same as the Indian Summer in North America or the Old Wives’ Summer in central Europe.
吊带衫
halter top, spaghetti strap top
Some local men say it’s improper for women wearing halter tops or other skimpy dress to ride the crowded Metro.
海纳百川，追求卓越
keep an open mind, strive for excellence
Many have used this phrase to describe the city spirit of Shanghai. The first part, haina baichuan, literally means “the sea takes in hundreds of rivers,” which indicates the Shanghai people’s all-embracing attitude towards the outside world.
保持共产党员先进性
keep the Party in the vanguard
The Chinese Communist Party has launched an educational program to ensure its members retain good Party traditions and keep pace with the times in order to lead the nation to successfully build a well-off society.
自由行
self-guided tour
This has become an increasingly popular form of travel with urban residents in China, especially among the young people. Having hotel and transport arranged by travel agencies and the itinerary totally controlled in their own hands, the travelers can enjoy the convenience of a package tour and the freedom of backpacking travel.
跑龙套
walk-on
The term originally means a minor role in a theatrical production which usually has no speaking lines. But in daily conversations, it refers to anyone who only plays a bit role such as a utility man or a general handyman in any event, project or business.
有价无市
having a price but no sales
This Chinese term actually describes a situation where a product has a fictitious or prohibitively high price but no sales. For instance, many apartments and houses in the city’s property market today are so expensive that few could afford or intend to buy them. The term is a little bit satirical.
明日黄花
déclassé
The Chinese term literally means “tomorrow’s chrysanthemum.” It came from an ancient Chinese poem, in which the poet asked his guest to stay to appreciate the flower right then, because it would wither the next day. This term can be used to refer to people or things that have become out of fashion and of little value.
斩冲头
rip off a sucker
This is a Shanghai slang, meaning to treat someone as a pushover or foolish spender in a deal or transaction. If you were persuaded to buy something of poor quality at a high price, you would be called chongtou (sucker) by Shanghainese.
种源农业
seed variety cultivation
Plant varieties and seed cultivation are an important part of the so-called modern metropolitan agriculture that has been listed as a major goal of the city in developing its rural areas in the following five years.
本命年
year of fate
In ancient China, people believed that a person’s fate was a determined at birth, so the zodiac year of one’s birth would be one’s “year of fate.” To fend off the default “bad luck” in such a year, people tend to wear red underwear, read waistbands and red bracelets. According to the Chinese lunar calendar, this year is the “year of fate” for people who were born in the Year of the Dog.
做秀
publicity stunt
The term means some exaggerated or unusual behaviors people do to draw public attention to promote themselves, products or anything else. East China Normal University reportedly questioned a housekeeping service company’s recent attempt to hire students as temporary ayis was a publicity stunt.
不感冒
uninterested, peeved
Having no flu (bu ganmao)? That’s good. But don’t take the Chinese term verbatim. In colloquial conservations, this term means that one is uninterested in or even peeved by something others said or did. So don’t talk about Tamiflu when there’s no flu threat in sight.
城乡结合部
rural-urban fringe zone
Millions of migrants flowing into the city every year have turned the boundary zone outside the urban proper into bustling areas where the migrants can find affordable housing and relatively easy access to their work in downtown districts. Sometimes, however, the term has a pejorative intonation as it’s often deemed as a synonym of the hotbed for crimes and unlicensed shoddy products.
居家养老
home-based care for the aged
To cope with a quickly-aging society and the sharp shortage of facilities for the elderly, Shanghai has been advocating the so-called jujia yanglao, or home-based care for the aged. The city has adopted a number of measures, such as improving the community-based services and introducing schemes of providing cared and emergency aid to senior citizens who are living alone by pairing them with other families.
电子标签
RFID tags
Shanghai has planned to develop Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags during the 11th Five-Year Plan period（2006-2010）as one of its goals in boosting the fast-growing IT industry.
压岁钱
red packet, lucky money
In ancient china, people tended to put some copper coins wrapped in red paper beside the pillows of their children on the Lunar New Year’s Eve to drive away a devil called “sui.” It has evolved into today’s red packet or lucky money that parents and older relatives give to children during the Lunar New Year to wish them good luck.
搏客
podcaster
The word, a hybrid of “Ipod” and “broadcast,” refers to those who combine a group of technologies to distribute audio and video files over the Internet. Readers may receive podcasts of this buzzword column online or download them to an MP3 player from www.shanghaidaily.com.
私房菜
private home cuisine
Sifangcai or “private home cuisine” has become a fad in many large cities around the country. It’s a kind of home catering that features traditional family recipes in a setting just like home.
官府菜
official’s home cuisine
Most cooks at residences of senior officials in feudal China were able to prepare specialty dishes. The recipes passed down for generations have helped establish some restaurants offering such dishes, like Beijing-based the Tan’s restaurant.
拇指族
oyayubizoku, clan of the thumbs
The word came from Japan first. It refers to people who are skilled at using their thumbs to manipulate objects such as mobile phone keys, small joysticks, and notebook computer pointers. Now more and more Chinese young people have joined the clan of the thumbs as they use SMS as their major communication channel.
咸潮
salt tide
The tide takes place at the mouth of the Yangtze River every winter or early spring, when water flowing from the river decreases, causing chloride level to rise and even exceed the national standard. Local media reported the year’s first salt tide in the East China Sea may threaten one of Shanghai’s two sources of fresh water during the Spring Festival.
尾牙
year-end dinner party
Evolved from a tradition in southern Fujian Province for worshiping the god or a standard of colors, many employers have turned the last worship ritual in a year into a dinner party to treat their employees. It is particularly popular in Taiwan.
奇客
geek
The Chinese term, created according to the sound of the English word, literally means a “a strange guest.” One doesn’t have to be a computer expert or specialist to become a geek. If you are a computer aficionado with a free and unorthodox thinking, people call you a geek.
OBS 女人
OBS woman
Already over 30, they still keep the life style of a young girl. It doesn’t matter whether they are still single or married. They always walk down the street in girlish outfits and spend money on products originally targeting a younger generation. OBS stands for the Japanese word obasan, meaning “aunt” or “adult woman in general.”
天葬
celestial burial
Celestial burial is a funeral that has been practiced for more than 1,000 years in Tibet. Celestial practitioners feed a dead body to vultures, which they call holy eagles. The Tibetan government has recently decided to better protect the custom by banning photographing or making videos of celestial burial scenes.
网格员
grid inspector
This actually refers to city inspectors introduced in Shanghai’s Luwan District. Armed with a specially designed handy GPS mobile phone, the inspectors cover their respective designated area by walking a grid. They will report any “abnormalities,” such as traffic jams, misplaced garbage bags, a missing manhole cover and other eyesores, to the control center. The center then will decide how to deal with the reported problems.
创新型国家
innovation-oriented country
President Hu Jintao outlined China’s strategy to become an innovation-oriented country in 15 years during a science and technology conference in Beijing.
生肖票
zodiac stamp
At the beginning of each of year, the Chinese post office faithfully publishes sets of stamps to mark the zodiac animal of the new year on the Lunar Calendar. More than 100 enthusiastic philatelists lined up overnight last week at Shanghai Postal Museum to buy newly-issued stamps to commemorate the Year of the Dog.
陀飞轮手表
toubillon watch
Toubillon, invented by French watchmaker Abraham Louis Breguet in 1795, is a technology which improves a watch’s accuracy by nullifying the effect of gravity using a series of mechanisms. Shanghai Watch, a history-honored brand, recently introduced its first 50 limited edition tourbillion watches. They were purchased almost instantly.
血拼
shopping
This Chinese term literally means a “bloody fight,” but sounds similar to the English word that it stands for. In a commercial metropolis like Shanghai, shopping is a craze and can be “bloody.” Many of the city’s shopping malls, supermarkets, stored and restaurants open 24 hours a day over the New Year holiday and saw all their floors constantly packed with shoppers.
轰趴
home party
The Chinese term is a vivid translation based on the pronunciation of the English term. The Chinese term, however, has a far more i
晕
faint
Originally, the Chinese word means faint or dizzy. But now people tend to utter the word whenever they hear or see something unordinary, confusing, funny or just meaningless.
粗口
four-letter word
Dirty words used to express annoyance. Chinese film director Feng Xiaogang said some four-letter words to a female reporter during an interview last week. According to media reports, this was not the first time Feng has offered such words.
冷笑话
bad joke
Some bad jokes are very popular in many online forums these days. Many are not funny, but someone may laugh at it for no apparent reason.
主旋律
mainstream ideology or trend
The Chinese term borrows from musicology, which literally means the “key melody.” It is now often used to stand for the mainstream (or government-backed) ideology or trend.
红头文件
red-head document
This is a colloquial Chinese term for formal, official documents. They invariably bear the full name of the government or the government department that issues the document and the name is always printed in red on the top of the document’s front page.
火星贴
post from Mars
It refers to posts which are considered very old, have been published online long ago, could be seen everywhere, and are considered out of date by most viewers in a chat room.
咸猪手
salty pig feet, groper
Taiwan and Guangdong people refer to a man who tends to pay unwanted sexual attention to a fair lady as “zhuge,” which translates literally as “pig brother.” Hence, the hands (or “feet”) of the man who takes advantage of overcrowding to grope female passengers (or female colleagues in offices) are called xianzhushou.
黄段子
dirty joke, juicy episode
Chinese tend to call anything porn “yellow,” such as “yellow book,” “yellow movie” and “yellow picture.” Here, the Chinese term huangduanzi means literally “yellow episode,” which now often appears in chat rooms, cell phone short message and at dinner tables.
杀手锏
trump weapon
In ancient China, jian was not a very common weapon, but if someone could use it skillfully, it would prove to be a surprisingly decisive one. Today, the Chinese term shashoujian means a trump weapon, which is rarely used before.
淘浆糊
muddle through
This Shanghai slang dates back many decades and has an origin involving tailors and brothels. But today it is frequently used to indicate anyone who tries to muddle through an unfavorable situation by either muddling someone up or blurring the line between right and wrong. 换脸手术
face transplant
Six candidates for China’s first face transplant are waiting in a hospital in Jiangsu Province. The ideal patient will be chosen within two months and will be given surgery for free. The youngest candidate is a 6-year-old girl.
空军
no-house class, no-housers
This term is used in online chat rooms and BBS by urban residents, especially those youngsters who own no house. The Chinese term literally means air force in English.
房虫
house bug
People who buy apartments as an investment rather than accommodation are referred to as house bugs, or house investors. They are blamed on China’s mainland for helping drive up the prices of newly developed houses beyond the means of urbanites with average incomes. The central government’s policy to control the property market deals a heavy blow to the house bugs.
动漫
manga
The animated cartoons for theater, film, DVD, flash and so on have spread from Japan to the whole world.
抢沙发
sofa grabbing
Despite varying etymological accounts, it is generally agreed that the first person to post a follow-up comment or article after the thread starter assumes a sofa, implying a comfortable or important position. It is said it comes from a person who says “so fast” as a response to a responding comment immediately after the threat starter posts an article. The second follow-up comment poster will 坐板凳 (zuo4ban3deng4), or sit on a bench, implying a less comfortable or important place.
跟帖
follow-up comment
It refers to the comments or articles that are posted as a follow-up to what a thread starter did in a chat room or on BBS.
得来速
drive-thruMcDonald’s will open its first drive-thru restaurant in Shanghai this month to compete with KFC.
亚健康
semi-health
Semi-health conditions are half way between good health and ill health. Such conditions, including headache, insomnia, stiff shoulders and chronic constipation, are often diagnosed as symptoms of illness, but they are deemed by TCM doctors as warning signs of health deterioration or harbingers of ill health.
汗语 (han4yu3)
chat-room jargon
This is a team coined to refer to those buzzwords common in online chat rooms or articles but completely incomprehensible to those who read only mainstream publications. It plays on the phrase “汉语” meaning Mandarin, which is pronounced exactly the same way. “Han” in the former means sweat, reminding one of the characters sweating in an exaggeratedly profuse way when they are frightened, embarrassed, shocked or frustrated.
楼主
thread starter
The person whose article or comment on the BBS or online chat room triggered off discussions and arguments on a specific topic is often referred to as a thread starter. As his or her article or comment appears at the very top of a string of remarks, a thread starter is therefore nicknamed as louzhu (chief of the building). The following debaters are called dwellers of the second-floor, third-floor, etc, according to the appearance sequence of their comment.
天价
whopping price
The Chinese term literally means the price is as high as the sky An old man who is treated in a local hospital in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province last summer had to pay an unbelievably high price of 5.5 million yuan (US$680,000). Many expenses were later found to be fabricated by the hospital.
月光族
moonlite
This concocted Chinese term is the moniker for people who always spend all their salaries or earnings before the end of the month. The first Chinese character in the term means “month” or “moon,” and the second “leaving nothing behind” or “light.”
起蓬头
sudden pickup
THIS is a colloquial term used mainly in Shanghai area and the local dialect to describe something, such as sales or activities, beginning to pick up momentum quickly. It also implies a bit of hullabaloo.
过劳死
karoshi
THIS Chinese term is a direct translation of “death from overwork.” The term first appeared in Japan in the late 1980s to describe a new phenomenon of high-ranking business executives dying in their prime years without any previous signs of illness. Now the same thing is happening among middle-aged Chinese businessmen and professionals.
节约型社会
conservation-oriented society
DUE to urgent short supplies of energy, raw materials and other resources, the Chinese government has been urging the whole nation to go all out in building a more conservation-oriented society in order to pursue sustainable social-economic development.
飘一族
drifting generation
THOSE who give up their decent jobs to pursue their career dreams are called the drifting generation. They will move to wherever hope of dream come true is beckoning them. They live on odd jobs, mostly freelance, and live in rented houses, varying from a shabby shed way to a serviced apartment.
版主(斑竹)
BBS moderator
THIS term is frequently used among netizens. The Chinese term in the brackets is actually a rib tickler applied here mainly because it shares a similar pronunciation to the official term. Originally, it is the name of the Mottled Bamboo.
闪婚
flash marriage
In a metropolis like Shanghai, speed is everything. So, the “eight-minute speed dating” has become quite popular, particularly among young white-collar workers. Over the weekend, several hundred single men and women participated in a “flash marriage” event, hoping to find their Mr/Miss Right there and then tie the knot in a matter of days or even hours, if not minutes.
老大难
nagging problem, nuptially challenged
This is a very common Chinese term as everyone could face some “old, big problems”(if translated verbatim). However, it is also frequently used to call bachelors or spinsters who have passed the best marrying age and now find it difficult to find a desirable person to marry.
退耕还林
grain for green project
In order to restore the ecological balance in west China, the central government has initiated a program to offer grain subsidies to local farmers and encourage them to turn low-yielding farmland back to forest and pastures. The Chinese government has allocated 61.7 billion yuan (US$7.63 billion) for this project over the next five years.
现金池
cash pool
This is a sophisticated system for managing funds for corporations. It optimize the interest results of a group of businesses. China Merchants Bank in October initiated the foreign exchange cash pool, the first of its kind on the Chinese mainland.
生活家
life-ist
The pompous term is popular with those who claim to know how to make the best of their life, even on a meager income.
翘课
cutting classes
Five foreign students were expelled from the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics for not attending enough classes in the current semester.
自闭症儿童
autistic child
There are reportedly more than 10,000 children suffering from autism in Shanghai and there is no know cure. Japan recently donated US$80,000 to a Shanghai kindergarten to improve the treatment for such children.
小混混
dawdling punk
This Chinese term is derogative. It refers to teenagers or young people who do nothing but hang around.
白骨精
office elite
This is the name of a siren in the famous Chinese novel “Journey to the West.” But, today it is also used as a new title for white-collar office workers who excel in their career. Instead of the “White-Bone Demon,” the three Chinese characters in this term refers to white-collar, backbone and elite, respectively, in its new usage.
沙尘暴
sandstorm
Sandstorms that swept Beijing and other northern cities over the weekend have worsened the air quality of 50 percent of China’s already most polluted cities.
布波族/波波族
bo-bos
The word is a shorthand for Bourgeois-Bohemians, which refers to the young who have the hybrid characteristics of the 1960s hippies and 1980s yuppies. They are well-educated and barely bound by tradition, prefer fashionable clothes and modern appliances, but are always moving their home between cities and the countryside to avoid a stereotyped life.
油价联动机制
fuel-related fare adjustment
At a public hearing held last week on the effects of rising gasoline prices on the city’s taxi fleet, it became clear some adjustment was needed to take the burden off cabbies suffering from an earnings squeeze. Taxi fares may also change according to the oil prices in the market.
招牌菜
signature dishes/house special
Dianping.com, a Website recommending famous restaurants and dishes, has recently become popular. You can easily find the most famous dishes of a restaurant on that Website.
行头
gearSome children in middle schools vie with each other to wear fashionable clothing and accessories. The equipment needed for a sport or professional activity, like roller skating, mountain climbing or firefighting, is also referred to as hangtou.
败家子
black sheep
The Chinese term has a narrower meaning than the English one. The Chinese term only refers to a member of a family who is undesirable.
官瘾
lust for official power
Guan in Chinese means “officialdom.” Yin means “lust.” This Chinese term describes many people who lust official power.
消费税
excise tax
The nation hopes the excise tax it started on April 1 to levy on cars, as well as other luxury products, will control the number of sedans on the roads as part of its effort to cut energy use and rein in air pollution.
全武行
acrobatic fighting, scuffle
The term originally means the acrobatic fighting in traditional Chinese operas. These days it refers to the undue fighting or violence at a public place such as in the street or a parliament hall.
老克勒
class, cognoscente
This is a well-known Chinglish term in the Shanghai dialect, which derived from the English word “class” of “classy” in the 1930s and 1940s. The Chinese term was used to describe the “high-class” Shanghai gentlemen who lived a Western-style life in the city. Now, it also has a connotation of being around a lot and knowing all the answers.
搞定
fix something or someone
To gaoding someone has almost the same meaning as “fixing” someone. It could mean you have reached a deal with someone, or even have someone deep-sixed. To gaoding something also has similar meanings as “fixing” something.
黑广告
illegal ad poster
The city’s Huangpu District authority is planning to launch a campaign to stop illegal advertising posters in the Bund area, which are mostly phone numbers about fake medicines and other illicit businesses. Some people also call the posters “psoriasis” because of their ugly appearance.
裸聊
nude web-cam session
Police in Jiangsu Province have caught a hacker who snuck into a couple’s nude web-cam session, and took stills of the wife and e-mailed them to the couple “for fun.”
面霸
interview buster
Some young people are always on the hunt for better jobs even though they already have one or got other offers. So, they take endless interviews at different places. The Chinese term was borrowed form a well-known instant noodle brand because the two Chinese characters, “face” and “buster,” have some implication of such a phenomenon.
农家乐
farmer’s home inn
During the weeklong golden holidays, people often cannot find hotels in popular sites, so some farmers will lend their houses to tourists, which are cheaper than normal hotels. Tourists can also eat with the farmer’s family and do farmer chores for fun.
偷着胖
unnoticeably fat, a hidden fatty
Those who don’t look fat with clothes on, but are actually quite plump are called a hidden fatty in northern China. It takes great efforts to be secret about one’s subcutaneous fat these days when revealing clothing is in, especially for young women.
触电（chu4dian4）
flick appearance, thrill
The term was first used to describe a person who acts for the first time in a movie on the sideling of his or her profession. Now it applies to whoever gives it a try on TV or theatrical stages or in any business related to entertainment and high-tech outside their regular job. It also means the thrill you feel when excited or surprised.
人来疯
get hyped before crowd
Many children tend to close their usual self and turn unruly when guests drop by. It is also used to describe the rarely exhibited showy behavior of an adult at the presence of a crowd of strangers.
骨灰级
guru
Those well-acclaimed masters in a field are referred to by today’s youngsters as someone at a guhui level. However, caution is suggested when speaking in the face of such a master, if he or she is elderly, as he or she may take offense at the Chinese term, which means bone ashes.
票友
amateur-pros
In old days, traditional Chinese opera performers were placed on the lower rungs of the social ladder. Some high-class people good at the art only performed as a hobby, rather than a way of eking out a living like professional opera singers. These days, any amateur performers who can beat pros are also referred to as a piaoyou.
卡奴
card slave
Along with the popular use of credit cards in some large cities in China, some card users, especially youngsters with large shopping addictions and small salaries, gradually become credit card slaves, because they borrow form one credit card to pay off debts on another credit card. Due to their meager salaries, they always live on the edge of bankruptcy.
飙车
drag racing
Living a better life than before, some Chinese youngsters are infatuated with drag racing. Recently the Chinese media reported that some people drove their Coach Builder Cars at a dangerous speed racing around Beijing’s ring roads. The police have arrested two youngsters in their 20s this year for driving at nearly 150kilometers an hour in downtown streets.
人脉
connections
Ren literally means a human and mai, veins and arteries, which are traditionally deemed essential to good health. Some experts say friendships and other personal relations may push an entrepreneur a solid step toward success.
草根艺人
mudsill artiste
The past few years have seen quite a few self-taught artistes, particularly stand-up comedians, around the country rise to the national fame. The Chinese term translates literally “artiste from the grassroots.” Although they practice a “low” art form, they are getting high ratings and laughs.
网络电话
VoIP
VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol, is a method to turn analog audio signals into digital date that can be transmitted over the Internet. By using some of the free VoIP software, one can make Internet phone calls by bypassing the phone companies as well as their charges.
抽条
shoot up, give short weight
Based on the phenomenon of plants sprouting in spring, this term has been used to describe kids reaching puberty and beginning to shoot up. But now it is also used to mean a business fraud of giving customers short weight by randomly taking away small amount of products from large packs.
走光
wardrobe malfunction
This is a euphemism to describe an accidental exposure of some intimate parts of human body. For instance, Janet Jackson blamed her scandalous breakaway dress in her Super Bowl performance in 2004 on a “wardrobe malfunction.”
外挂
cheating program
Cheating programs are designed to help players skip some tough or tedious steps in an online game to accumulate more experience points. Such programs make the games easier to play, but they may deprive players of the excitement in online games.
马甲 (ma3jia2)
online alias
The Chinese term literally means waistcoat. Now, it’s also used to describe fake names a Net surfer uses for chat-room discussions or as a camouflage to support himself or herself by posting articles under fake names.
发烧友
aficionado, buff
The Chinese term translates literally a “feverish friend.” Next weekend the city will make another spectacular pirouette on the international stage as the world’s greatest rock band, the Rolling Stones, plays their first Chinese mainland concert here. Naturally, the event is expected to attract hundreds of “feverish” rock fans.
井喷 (jing3pen1)
blowout, cough up
A gas blowout happened in southwestern China’s Chongqing last weekend and forced more than 14,000 people to evacuate from their homes while firemen and specialists tried several times to cap the leaking gas well. The term can also be used to describe someone coughing up information.
踏青
spring outing
The Chinese term vividly depicts one who merrily goes on a trip in spring. Ta means “step on” or “walk by,” while “qing” means the greenness of grass. For hundreds of years, taqing has been associated with the tomb sweeping activities around the Qingming (Clear and Bright) Festival, which falls on April 5.
乐活族
LOHAS
It is the acronym of “life style of health and sustainability,” referring to a group of people who are optimistic, understanding, caring about environment and health, and doing good and as well as feeling good. This concept originated in Britain in the middle of last century.
摩客
mook
It is a combination of magazine and book, which is regularly published and can be subscribed to. This form of publication, which first appeared in Japan, has become quite popular among young people.
海豚音
dolphin-vocal-sounding
Zhang Liangying, one of the three winners in last year’s Super Girl contest, is known for her dolphin-vocal-sounding, a special singing technique. Mariah Carey is said to be the one who can use the technique best.
飞行特技
aerobatics
Russian air forces recently staged an airplane acrobatics show in the zhangjiajie tourist area in central China’s Hunan Province. Daredevil though they may be, the air acrobatic team dropped a plan to fly through a hole on the peak of a local mountain because of the dangers and ensuing environment damage.
乌鸦嘴
jinxing mouth
Chinese believe the crow cawing could bring an unlucky spell on people. So, anyone who has a jinxing mouth is said to have a wuyazui or “crow’s mouth,” a persona non grata in any conservation or discussion.
软肋
soft spot, Achilles’ heel
The word literally translates as a soft rib, but Chinese people use it to represent the most vulnerable spot of a person, a program or system.
绿领
green-collar
A green-collar has the stamina of a blue-collar, education of a white-collar and wealth of a gold-collar. They pursue a healthy and environment-friendly lifestyle, like shutting cell phones after work to ensure enough free time, never eating without heeding nutrition, spending weekends traveling out-of-town whenever they can, and the signature one - always taking a trash bag to clean up pet’s waste.
八荣八耻
Eight Do’s and Don’t’s
Chinese President Hu Jintao recently called on the whole nation and particularly young people to adopt the “socialist concept of honor and disgrace,” also known as “Eight Do’s and Don’t’s.” The list reads: “Love, do not harm the motherland; Serve, don’t disserve the people; Uphold science; don’t be ignorant and unenlightened; Work hard; don’t be lazy and hate work; Be united and help each other; don’t gain benefits at the expense of others; Be honest and trustworthy, not profit-mongering at the expense of your values; Be disciplined and law-abiding instead of unruly and lawless; Respect plain living and hard struggle, do not wallow in luxuries and pleasures.”
蕾丝边
lesbian
The Chinese term is basically a transliteration of the English word “lesbian,” but with a much more vivid image as it literally means the fancy laces of women’s stockings, petticoats, pajamas and bras.
倒按揭
reverse mortgage
The city has been considering the introduction of a reverse mortgage program to help cope with the growing problem of an aging society. The program, also referred to as a home equity conversion loan, first appeared in New Jersey of the United States more than 20 years ago. It was designed to allow seniors to access the equity in their homes.
驴友
tour pals
The literal translation, “donkey pal,” sounds the same as the Chinese word for travel. It refers to the increasing number of backpackers who team up for budget tours after making the arrangements over the Internet rather than through a travel agency.
口水歌
resung song
Some mediocre singers have to sing the hit songs of pop stars or well-known folk songs to attract an audience and build their way to stardom. Such resung songs are also popular with karaoke goers as they are usually within ordinary people’s singing capability.
瘦身
slimming, streamlining
The term of getting slimmer has been generalized to mean reducing the size of almost anything. It could be streamlining government departments, shrinking investment plans or even reducing the weight of school kids’ satchels.
扫街
street sweeping
Street sweeping does not just mean to clean the street any more. Now it can be used to describe activities involving a complete scrutiny of shops or people in a street. Tourists could sweep a street by visiting every food stall or bar there and paparazzi could sweep a street by closely watching everything moving there to wait for an exclusive shot.
物权法
property rights law
The draft for the country’s first such law has been discussed during the past days at the nation’s legislature. The law covers movable and immovable properties, ranging from ownership of a house to ownership of a company.
屏蔽门
metro barrier door
The city plans to install the barrier doors at 12major stations along the Metro Line 1 by the end of this year to save energy and protect the safety of passengers, particularly during the rush hours.
下三赖
riffraff, low-class
Many Chinese students tend to use the literal English translation of this term, “down three bad.” As a translation, it’s not bad, since it conveys almost the right sense. In daily conversation, however, the term is widely used to express scorn.
紧急避孕药 )
morning-after pill
It’s as medical method to help prevent unwanted pregnancies following unprotected sex or failed contraception. The Shanghai Family Planning Instruction Institute will cooperate with the Shanghai Pharmaceutical Association to train pharmacists and clerks at 1,000 drugstores on the proper use of the morning-after pill.
大跌眼镜
glasses dropper
This Chinese term vividly describes a situation where you’re so stunned by something that the glasses fall from the bridge of your nose. Of course, your glasses-dropping could also be caused by the fact that your idea or prediction about something is proved to be wrong as wrong could ever be.
放鸽子
stand up, no-show
This Chinese term, flying a pigeon, derives from an old lottery scheme in Shanghai and the fact that the owner who sets free a trained homing pigeon would lose nothing since the bird always knows the way back home. Now, it is frequently used to describe the behavior of standing somebody up, playing no-show or offering empty promises.
倒春寒
cold snap in spring
Spring has come, but from time to time people still may experience cold snaps. It’s a common weather phenomenon in the city. People now, however, tend to use this term to depict unexpected setbacks in a booming business.
红眼航班
red-eye flight
China’s aviation regulator has lifted the ban on red-eye flights, which refers to flights departing from 12:00am to 6:00am, as passengers deplaning from such flights tend to have blood-shot and bleary eyes because of sleep deprivation.
饮水机
water dispenser
Local authorities are conducting inspections of water dispensers used in offices and other public places in response to media reports that many such machines have serious quality problems that could create health risks.
装修房
finished apartment
The city plans to promote marketing of more finished apartments, complete with flooring, bathroom and kitchen units and painted walls and windows, in an attempt to cut down noise pollution and prevent destruction of residential buildings resulting from individuals’ random plans of installing equipment in and decorating their new homes.
夫妻相
husband-wife looks
In the west, people say if a couple live together long enough, the husband and wife tend to resemble each other and even become look-alike. In China, many believe that the marriage will last longer between a man and a woman who share some matching or similar facial features. So, the husband-wife looks are deemed as one of the criteria for looking for one’s other half.
达人
pro, doyen
This term refers to someone who is a pro, doyen or even an established authority in a specific field of knowledge. Young people tend to use this term more frequently and particularly in their online communication.
伏都娃娃
voodoo doll
Voodoo dolls have hit the market in Shanghai as boys and girls buy them in the belief that the dolls can bring good luck to them and bad luck to their enemies. But don’t bet all your luck on a small needle that pierces a voodoo doll. Better treat such a doll as fun, not your savior.
馒头门
Bungate
He Ge, a Chinese young man made an Internet parody, entitled “The killing over a bun” to satirized “The promise,” one of the most expensive films ever made in China by Chen Kaige, a famous Chinese film director. Chen threatened to sue Hu over copyright violation. Now, Bungate has become a hotly-debated controversy in China.
爆料
tip off, blow the whistle
Many news media nowadays rely heavily on tip-offs from their stringers or street tipsters to scoop some exclusive news. They usually offer the tipsters a handsome reward in cash. Seeing this trend, some laid-off workers and migrants have turned tipping into a business to eke out a living.
撞衫
clothing clashing
This Chinese term means two or more people appear in a gathering or a public place accidentally wearing identical clothing. So, all fashion-minded ladies would try their very best to avoid zhuangshan or “clothing clashing.” For them, clothing clashing is a disaster or an embarrassment, to say the least.
反式脂肪
trans fat
Trans fat, also known as trans fatty acid, is made through the chemical process of hydrogenation of oils. It has been making headlines as consumers become aware that the artery-clogging fat is lurking in many food products, including fried fast food.
醋溜族
trendy clan
A group of metropolitan youth is happily caught in the dilemma of following trend and freeing themselves from restrictions. They like brassy appearances but hate neat dressing; like making money but love spending beyond their means; and long for romance but dread responsibilities. The phrase comes from a cartoon series by a Taiwan artist.
蹦迪
disco dancing
Dancing discos in nightclubs or bars is a popular entertainment among young people who want to get some exercise and find a way of catharsis. But many nightclubs are often involved in complaints by nearby residents for the noise created by them, such as loud music and blaring car horns.
绿标
green sticker, emission decal
The city government has recently issued a green sticker to every car that meets the emission standards and banned the rest from using the elevated roads during the day time. The new rule, however, has unintentionally helped spawn a fly-by-night business of selling fakes to those whose vehicle has slim chance of passing an emission test.
吃豆腐
take advantage of, come on to
Eating tofu, as this Chinese phrase literally means, is not just common at dinner tables, but also very popular in daily conversations among locals. But in conservations, this phrase usually means a man takes advantage of or comes on to a woman. It may also be used among people of the same sex, when one bullies another verbally or even physically.
循环课本
used textbook
The Chinese term, “recycled textbook,” actually means used books as you see in many US colleges. Some Shanghai schools have begun to promote used books to save resources.
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