Anyone who has lived and traveled in China for any length of time will tell you that Chinese people are pretty reserved – praise them and you will often receive a vehement shaking of the head and perhaps even a laugh alongside the exclamation "哪儿里？哪儿里？" (Where? Where?). This also means that foreigners are not privy to fully understanding the origins of certain slang terms, especially when they present Chinese culture in a negative light, making them even more difficult than usual to master. For that reason, we've decided to collect several phrases that give a glimpse into the hidden psyche of Chinese people.
1. 薅羊毛 hāo yángmáo - Pluck sheep's wool
As they say, fashion is like the tide: trends come and go, and something that was once banished into the real of terminally uncool may just as soon return to clog up our social media feed #buckethats #momjeans #chokers. The same thing applies to language as clothes, as demonstrated in this phrase.
during a comedic skit by duo Zhao Benshan and Song Dandan during the 1999 Spring Festival Gala, Song says that she was condemned for "薅社会主义羊毛 hāo shèhuì zhǔyì yángmáo" or "plucking the socialist wool," after being caught collecting loose strands of wool during her shift as a shepherd so as to make a sweater for her lover. From these lines, the famous term 薅羊毛 hāo yángmáo was born.
These days, 薅羊毛 – to bargain – is a hobby, a mindset, or even a religion among some, who go about their days buying things as long just so long as they can boast about a saving (think "deduct RMB 10 for every RMB 400 spent" during Single's Day). The term can also be used in self-mockery to describe the guilty pleasure derived from getting a good deal.
Despite being rather dated, 薅羊毛 has once again returned to the mainstream, perhaps because it harks back to a fond childhood memory among many Chinese millennials, or because they are in fact genuine fans of scoring a deal. Some things never go out of fashion.
Example
薅羊毛一时爽，一直薅一直爽。hāo yángmáo yīshí shuǎng, yīzhí hāo yīzhí shuǎng. Bargaining will only bring you a moment's joy, so if you keep doing it you will be a happy man forever.
2. 996 jiǔjiǔliù - 996
Using numbers in slang is not exclusive to Chinese, but there are few languages that use them so creatively to convey meaning. One such example is 996, which in just three digits was able to embody the tired and depressing reality of many a Chinese worker. A schedule commonly found in many Chinese companies, especially in the tech industry, the nines here refer to 9am and 9pm, while the six indicates six days per week. Total that up and you're busting your balls 72 hours a week.
58.com, one of the largest listings websites in China, is commonly believed to be the first company to have adopted this work schedule and even though it was widely criticized by the public, many other companies continue to follow this trend. Mr. Michael Jackson wannabe Jack Ma (pictured above), the founder of Alibaba Group, claimed that people who work 996 will receive good karma, while Richard Liu, founder of JD, said that people who complained about their work schedule are "slackers." Try to remember that next time you're lining his pockets, trying to get a deal on JD.
Example
毕业985，工作996。bìyè jiǔbāwǔ, gōngzuò jiǔjiǔliù. I graduated from 985 (only provided by the highest-accredited universities in China), now work 996.
3. 我可以 wǒ kěyǐ - I can
Although attitudes towards sex have changed considerably in recent years, there's some evidence that China's youth are actually becoming more cautious when it comes to having intimate and physical relationships. While not necessarily a bad thing, many young people admit that part of this mindset comes from the fact that they lack options.
As with most places in the world, this combination of dissatisfaction and lust is often vented online with people commenting "我可以" under all kinds of social media posts, from thirst traps to interviews with actors, anime characters to the plot in a fictional story. "我可以" can capture everything from a person's most romantic feelings (the “I do” in the wedding ceremony) to their wildest fantasies (“I want your babies").
Example
A: Taylor Swift 我不可以，Charlie Puth 我不可以，Kanye West 我也不可以。Taylor Swift wǒ bù kěyǐ, Charlie Puth wǒ bù kěyǐ, Kanye West wǒ yě bù kěyǐ. Taylor Swift? I can’t. Charlie Puth? I can’t. Kanye West? I can’t.
B: 你有谁可以么？nǐ yǒu shéi kěyǐ me? Is there anyone you can?
A:你，我可以。 nǐ, wǒ kěyǐ. You, I can.
4. 柠檬精 níngméng jīng - Lemon spirit
Chinese people have long related the flavors salty, sour, and bitter, with feelings of envy and jealousy. Like in English, a common expression among older generations is "You're so bitter!" (你说话好酸啊 nǐ shuōhuà hǎo suān a) to point out that someone who is being envious.
It's only natural to feel jealous occasionally, but some people take it so far that if you banned them from being 'sour,' 'salty,' or 'bitter,' they wouldn't be able to communicate with another human being at all. To describe such charming people, clever netizens invented the phrase, “柠檬精” (níngméng jīng) which literally means the lemon spirit.
Example
同事升职了，我好酸啊；小美留学了，我好酸啊；小王恋爱了，我好酸啊，小孙抽卡都是SSR，我好酸啊；我真是柠檬精本精
。tóngshì shēng zhíle, wǒ hǎo suān a; xiǎo měi liúxuéle, wǒ hǎo suān a; xiǎo wáng liàn'àile, wǒ hǎo suān a, xiǎo sūn chōu kǎ dōu shì SSR, wǒ hǎo suān a; wǒ zhēnshi níngméng jīng běn jīng. My colleague got promoted, I am so jealous; Xiaomei got a chance to study abroad, I am so salty; Xiaowang fell in love with someone, I am so bitter; Xiaosun always wins the best prizes. I'm so bitter; I am such a lemon spirit.
5. 雨女无瓜 yǔ nǚ wú guā - That's none of your business
"Rain girl doesn’t have a melon." Gibberish, or a genius excerpt from a modernist poem? Neither, in fact – it's how you might say, “That’s none of your business” 与你无关 (yǔ nǐ wúguān) with a dialect twist, making it 雨女无瓜 yǔ nǚ wúguā. The funny-speaking individual in question was a character in an old TV show for kids, whose clips soon went viral. It helped that the character was dressed as a prince, and so the contradiction between his fancy garb and imperfect Mandarin quickly sent the interwebs into a collective tizzy.
Example
亲戚：你都28了，怎没还没找男朋友啊。qīnqī: nǐ dōu 28 le, zěn méi hái méi zhǎo nán péngyǒu a. Relative: How can you still not have a boyfriend? You are already 28!
你：雨女无瓜。nǐ: yǔ nǚ wú guā. You: That’s none of your business!
6. 复读机 fùdú jī - Dictaphone
The need for quick and easy communication gave rise to the social media apps that we use today, and conversely, they also beginning to shape the way we talk to each other. QQ, which remains one of the most popular social media platforms after all these years, recently added a function that allowed users to repeat what the last person said simply clicking a “+1” button. Since then, people began abusing the function en masse and before long, the trend spread to other platforms, earning repeat offenders the nickname "dictaphone."
A: 人类的本质是真香、咕咕咕、柠檬精和复读机。
B: 人类的本质是真香、咕咕咕、柠檬精和复读机。
C: 人类的本质是真香、咕咕咕、柠檬精和复读机。
D: 人类的本质是真香、咕咕咕、柠檬精和复读机。
A: rénlèi de běnzhí shì zhēnxiāng, gū gū gū, níngméng jīng hé fùdú jī.
B: rénlèi de běnzhí shì zhēnxiāng, gū gū gū, níngméng jīng hé fùdú jī.
C: rénlèi de běnzhí shì zhēnxiāng, gū gū gū, níngméng jīng hé fùdú jī.
D: rénlèi de běnzhí shì zhēnxiāng, gū gū gū, níngméng jīng hé fùdú jī.
A: The core principles of humanity are: to be fickle, flaky, jealous, and to repeat everything.
B: The core principles of humanity are: to be fickle, flaky, jealous, and to repeat everything.
C: The core principles of humanity are: to be fickle, flaky, jealous, and to repeat everything.
D: The core principles of humanity are: to be fickle, flaky, jealous, and to repeat everything.
