# Chinese (Mandarin)/Slang

Mandarin, like any language, has its own slang words and informal
meanings for some common words. For example, 同志 (*tóngzhì* - comrade,
a commonly used under Communism) now has a second meaning of \"gay
person\" (because it literally means \"same aspirations\"---in this case
sexual proclivities rather than political interests), and the female
equivalent 小姐 (*xiǎojiě*, often used with service personnel such as
waitresses) can also refer to a prostitute. Below is a partial list of
common slang terms. The letters \"xx\" stand for someone or something,
lit. gives a literal translation, and equiv. refers to an equivalent
English expression.

## Slang List

  简体              繁體              Pinyin               Meaning(s), Literal and Figurative
  ----------------- ----------------- -------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  酷                酷                kù                   cool (好酷喔 hǎo kù ō; that\'s cool!); lit., equiv. cool
  帅                帥                shuài                good looking, handsome (of a guy)
  帅呆（了）        帥呆(了)          shuàidāi(le)         very good looking, a hunk (of a guy); very good, awesome (of a situation)
  爽                爽                shuǎng               satisfying, enjoyable, (as in 我昨天去按摩超爽(的)。 \"The massage yesterday was very satisfying.\"
  过瘾              過癮              guòyǐn               entertaining; very pleasing; addictive
  不行了            不行了            bùxíngle             dying, at the point of death; lit. not OK anymore
  超                超                chāo                 very, extremely, super, ultra- (as in 超冷 \"very cold\", 超酷 \"very cool\")
  惹                惹                rě                   to annoy, provoke, offend, or get on someone\'s nerves(as in 你幹嘛老是惹我？ \"Why do you always get on my nerves?\")
  碍眼              礙眼              àiyǎn                annoying, get-in-the-way (as in 你在這裡很礙眼, 趕快去做一些有用的事情吧! \"You are being a nuisance, go see whether you can make yourself useful somewhere else!); lit. \'hinder the eye\'
  胡闹              胡鬧              húnào                make trouble, be a nuisance (as in 你現在馬上給我安靜睡覺,不要再胡鬧! \"you are going to sleep right now, no more nonsense!\"); lit 'nonsense quarrel'
  感冒              感冒              gǎnmào               (catch) a cold; to develop an aversion against someone (as in 我說了那句話之後,她就對我感冒了 \"after I said that she got upset with me\")
  机车              機車              jīchē                (noun) motorcycle; adj: used to describe someone displaying annoying behavior (as in 她很機車 \"she\'s annoying\")
  离谱              離譜              lípǔ                 preposterous, outrageous; lit. leaving the manual or musical score (as in 你這樣作實在是太離譜。 \"You are really out of line doing things like that.\")
  扯                扯                chě                  farfetched, unimaginable, defying all logic (as in 很扯! \"Unbelievable!\", 太扯了吧! \"That is ridiculous!\", 你扯到哪裡去? \"What are you talking about?\"); lit. drag, pull; chat
  扯xx（的）后腿    扯xx（的）後腿    chě xx (de) hòutuǐ   to be a drag on xx, be a hindrance; lit. to pull xx\'s hind legs
  正                正                zhèng                classy, good quality, high class (as in 正妹 \"a classy chick\", 他的女朋友很正。 \"He has a knock out girlfriend.\")
  耍                耍                shuǎ                 cheat, deceive (as in 你想耍我嗎? \"You must be kidding.\")
  耍嘴皮            耍嘴皮            shuǎzuǐpí            to talk slickly, to pay lip service
  耍赖              耍賴              shuǎlài              to act shamelessly; to act indifferent
  赖皮              賴皮              làipí                to act shameless, brazen, like a rascal; rascal, villain
  混                混                hùn                  to muddle along, to partake in a given activity in a lazy and unserious manner(as in 我這裡已經快混不下去了。 \"I\'m about to get kicked out of here.\" (school or company etc), 你還想混多久? \"How much longer are you planning to go on like this?\")
  摸鱼              摸魚              móyú                 to be lazy on the job; lit. to rub fish
  鱿鱼              魷魚              yóuyú                marching orders; lit. squid
  炒鱿鱼            炒魷魚            chǎoyóuyú            to be fired, sacked; lit. to fry squid, equiv. \"getting a pink slip\"
  烂                爛                làn                  rotten, crappy
  烂掉              爛掉              làndiào              to rot, to go bad
  烂摊子            爛攤子            làntānzi             bad situation, mess (as in 我可以收他的爛攤子。 \"I can take care of the mess he created.\")
  烂醉              爛醉              lànzuì               piss drunk, blind drunk, dead drunk
  烂好人            爛好人            lànhǎorén            spineless, weak person; lit. rotten good person
  透                透                tòu                  extremely, completely, used as a suffix (as in 爛透了 \'extremely crappy\'); lit. through
  吓死              嚇死              xiàsǐ                terrified; lit., equiv. scared to death
  难搞              難搞              nángǎo               hard to deal with, downright
  休想              休想              xiūxiǎng             never (interjection), lit., equiv. in your dreams
  吹牛              吹牛              chuīniú              to brag, boast
  吹                吹                chuī                 to brag, boast
  自大              自大              zìdà                 arrogant, overbearing
  臭屁              臭屁              chòupì               arrogant, overbearing; equiv. cocky, lit. stinking fart
  摆架子            擺架子            bǎijiàzi             to put on an airs, to act like the master of, to be arrogant; lit. to swing a rack, shelf
  假君子            假君子            jiǎjūnzǐ             equiv. a wolf in sheep\'s clothes, lit. a fake gentleman
  上流社会          上流社會          shàngliú shèhuì      lit. high society, the rich and famous; equiv. upper crust
  黑社会            黑社會            hēishèhuì            triad, triad society; lit. the underworld, equiv. gangland
  流氓              流氓              liúmáng              rogue, gangster, hoodlum; lit. flowing vagrant
  老大              老大              lǎodà                the big boss, older, elder
  小弟              小弟              xiǎodì               younger members of a gang; lit. little brother
  吵架              吵架              chǎojià              to quarrel, to argue
  斗嘴              鬥嘴              dòuzuǐ               bicker, squabble (lit. to fight with the mouth)
  打架              打架              dǎjià                to fight, scuffle (physically)
  把风              把風              bǎfēng               to keep watch, be on the look out (esp. during a heist)
  坏胚子            壞胚子            huài pēizi           a bad personal characteristic
  好兄弟            好兄弟            hǎo xiōngdì          a ghost; a good friend; lit. good brother
  不干净            不乾淨            bù gānjìng           not clean; haunted (by ghosts)
  夜总会            夜總會            yèzǒnghuì            nightclub; graveyard
  菜鸟              菜鳥              càiniǎo              rookie, beginner, novice, inexperienced person; lit. \'vegetable bird\'
  天真              天真              tiānzhēn             naive (said mostly of young girls); lit \'heaven real\'
  猪头              豬頭              zhūtóu               idiot; lit. pig\'s head
  笨蛋              笨蛋              bèndàn               idiot; lit. stupid egg
  坏蛋              壞蛋              huàidàn              crook, scoundrel; lit. rotten egg
  王八蛋            王八蛋            wángbādàn            son of a bitch; lit. turtle egg
  货                货                huò                  goods, merchandise, stuff; drugs
  白痴              白痴              báichī               idiot; stupidity; lit. white fool
  蠢货              蠢貨              chǔnhuò              idiot, blockhead, dunce, moron (used infrequently)
  傻瓜              傻瓜              shǎguā               fool, simpleton (sometimes used lovingly); lit. stupid melon
  小子              小子              xiǎozi               guy, kid; prick, brat
  疯子              瘋子              fēngzi               madman, lunatic
  发疯              發瘋              fāfēng               to become insane, to go mad
  娘娘腔            娘娘腔            niángniangqiāng      sissy, girly, effeminate (esp. of a male)
  傢伙              傢伙              jiāhuo               guy, chap (negative); weapon, gun
  毒蟲              毒蟲              dúchóng              junky, someone on drugs; lit. poisonous insect
  吸毒              吸毒              xīdú                 to drug, to take drugs (esp. narcotics); lit. to absorb poison
  上瘾              上癮              shàngyǐn             to become addicted; addictive; Used colloquially: \'get hooked to something\' (as in 這種啤酒太好喝了,我快要上癮了 \"This kind of beer is too tasty, I\'m about to get hooked\"
  崩溃              崩潰              bēngkuì              debacle; to fall apart, to collapse, esp. mental collapse
  欠xx              欠xx              qiàn-xx              to owe xx (as in, 欠錢 \"owe money\", 欠情 \"owe a favor\"); to ask/beg for xx (as in, 欠念 \"asking for a verbal dress down\", 欠揍 \"asking for a beating\")
  放xx(的)鸽子      放xx(的)鴿子      fàng xx gēzi         to (intentionally) not not come for xx; to miss xx\'s appointment, equiv. to stand xx up, to be a no-show (as in, 不要放我鴿子喔！ \"Don\'t stand me up!\"); lit. release xx pigeons
  吃xx(的)豆腐      吃xx(的)豆腐      chī xx (de) dòufu    to commit borderline sexual harassment with a woman (as in, 不要吃我的豆腐。 \"Don\'t touch me.\", 你想吃我的豆腐嗎? \"Would you like to touch me?\"); lit. to eat xx\'s tofu
  没水准            沒水準            méi shuǐzhǔn         equiv. to have no class; lit. to have no standards
  没家教            沒家教            méi jiājiào          unmannered, not well behaved, impolite; lit. without home teaching, without a good upbringing
  下流              下流              xiàliú               nasty; obscene; indecent; a low life; lit. downstream
  土                土                tǔ                   with no class, like a buffoon (as in, 你的衣服好土喔! \'your clothes are so low class!\'); lit. earth, soil
  飙车              飆車              biāochē              drag racing; motorcycle racing; to drive in speedily, a crazed fashion; lit. whirlwind car
  xx族              xx族              xx-zú                people that do xx (as in, 上班族 \"people that work\", 飆車族 \"people that drive too fast\"); lit. xx tribe/clan/family
  种草莓            種草莓            zhǒngcǎoméi          to kiss someone passionately, leaving a reddish mark (equiv. to give someone a hickey); lit. to plant strawberries
  丢脸              丟臉              diūliǎn              to embarrass, to disgrace, to humiliate (as in 你在朋友的面前這樣說我真丟臉。 \"The way you spoke about me in front of our friends really made me lose face.\"); equiv., lit. to lose face
  没面子            沒面子            méi miànzi           to lose face (as in 你害我沒面子。 \"You made me lose face.\")
  厚脸皮            厚臉皮            hòu liǎnpí           cheeky, brazen; thick skinned; willing to make daring demands (negative)
  嚣张              囂張              xiāozhāng            brazen, shameless, arrogant
  酒吧              酒吧              jiǔbā                a bar
  酒店              酒店              jiǔdiàn              a hotel; restaurant; hostess bar (Taiwan only); wine shop
  夜店              夜店              yèdiàn               a nightclub
  夜猫子            夜貓子            yèmāozi              someone who sleeps late (equiv. a night owl); someone with a rich nightlife
  黄包车            黃包車            huángbāochē          rickshaw / denigrating slang: a Chinese woman abroad (being promiscuous as opposed to conservative at home)
  恐龙妹            恐龍妹            kǒnglóngmèi          ugly girl (lit. \'dinosaur girl\')
  辣妹              辣妹              làmèi                a hot girl (lit. \'spicy girl\'); the Spice Girls
  正妹              正妹              zhèngmēi             a beautiful girl, pretty girl
  帅哥              帥哥              shuàigē              good looking dude, a hunk
  放电              放電              fàngdiàn             to create an atmosphere of feminine attraction (of a woman); lit. \'to discharge electricity\'
  欲火焚身          慾火焚身          yùhuǒfénshēn         to be very horny; lit. \'lust fire incinerate body\'
  泡妞              泡妞              pàoniū               (try to) hook up with girls, on the prowl for women; lit 'steep/soak girls'
  把妹              把妹              bǎmèi                to hunt for girls
  把马子            把馬子            bǎmǎzi               to hunt for girls
  把凯子            把凱子            bǎkǎizi              to hunt for rich hunks (of a woman)
  搭讪              搭訕              dāshan               (trying to hook up by) starting a conversation (with a stranger)
  乱讲              亂講              luànjiǎng            to speak nonsense
  胡烂              胡爛              húlàn                give someone a load of nonsense; (as in 男生最利害的就是胡爛 \"(said by a woman) Selling crap is what men do best\"); lit 'nonsense crap'
  放屁              放屁              fàngpì               to speak nonsense; lit. \'to fart\'
  废话              廢話              fèihuà               to speak nonsense, to trashtalk; lit. \'to waste words\'
  啰嗦              囉嗦              luōsuo               to talk too much (as in 你很囉嗦。 \"You talk too much.\", 不要囉嗦了！ \"Stop rambling!\")
  哈啦              哈啦              hāla                 to argue, to incessantly try to convince someone (as in 你不用哈啦這麼多, 就直接認錯吧! \"Stop arguing and just admit you\'re wrong!\", 哇,你很會哈啦喔! \"Wow, you really know how to argue!\")
  闭嘴              閉嘴              bìzuǐ                shut up (interjection, often said by parents)
  插嘴              插嘴              chāzuǐ               to interrupt someone talking (as in 你不要老是插嘴。 \"Stop interrupting me.\"); lit. to insert a mouth
  顶嘴              頂嘴              dǐngzuǐ              to talk back, to be a wiseguy; to answer defiantly (as in 如果你再頂嘴我就修理你! \"I am going to take care of you if you talk back to me again.\")
  xx个屁 / xx个头   xx個屁 / xx個頭   xx-gèpì / xx-gètóu   xx my ass (interjection, as in A: 這電影好浪漫喔。 B: 浪漫個屁阿! A: This movie is so romantic. B: Romantic my ass!)
  小弟弟            小弟弟            xiǎodìdì             penis; lit. little brother
  （小）鸡鸡        （小）雞雞        (xiǎo)jījī           penis; lit. chicken
  小鸟              小鳥              xiǎoniǎo             penis; lit. small bird
  那话儿            那話兒            nàhuàr               penis; lit. \"that talk\"
  蛋                蛋                dàn                  testicles, equiv. balls (as in 打架的時候要好好保護你的蛋(蛋)。 \"When fighting you have protect your balls.\"); lit. egg
  奶子              奶子              nǎizi                breast(s)
  巨乳              巨乳              jùrǔ                 huge breast(s)
  波霸              波霸              bōbà                 (woman with) huge breast(s)
  高潮              高潮              gāocháo              orgasm; lit. high tide, climax
  做爱              做愛              zuò\'ài              to have sex; lit., equiv. to make love
  炒饭              炒飯              chǎofàn              to make love; lit. to fry rice
  上床              上床              shàngchuáng          to go to bed; to make love
  色狼              色狼              sèláng               a man with strong sexual desires, a satyr, a sex addict; lit. appearance wolf
  变态              變態              biàntài              a sexual pervert; lit. metamorphosis, abnormal
  （有）外遇        （有）外遇        (yǒu) wàiyù          to have an affair
  劈腿              劈腿              pītuǐ                to have an affair, to cheat on someone; lit. to split the legs
  一夜情            一夜情            yīyèqíng             a one-night stand; lit. love for one night
  分手              分手              fēnshǒu              to break up in a relationship; to bid farewell; lit. divide hands
  兵变              兵變              bīngbiàn             a mutiny; a relationship that breaks up during military service; lit. military change
  追                追                zhuī                 to try to get a relationship with someone (as in 他還在追那個美妹嗎? \"Is he still after that pretty girl?\"); to pursue
  狐狸精            狐狸精            húlíjīng             a woman that steals another woman\'s man; lit. a fox spirit
  母老虎            母老虎            mǔlǎohǔ              a dominant wife; lit. mother tiger
  哇靠              哇靠              wākào                exclamation: WOW! (also the title of a song by 周杰倫 Jay Zhou, a famous Taiwanese singer)
  干                幹                gàn                  to make love \[vulgar\]; used as a vulgar exclamation, equiv. \"F\*\*k!\"; to do something, as in 幹活 \"work\"
  干掉              幹掉              gàndiào              to get rid of; to kill someone; lit. to do away
  干你娘            幹你娘            gàn nǐ niáng         to have sex with your mother, *very* vulgar (*never* used in public unless speaker wants to appear boorish)
  干嘛              幹嘛              gànmá                exclamation, \"What is it now?\" or \"What do you want now?\", indicating irritation; why (impolite) (as in \'你幹嘛花這麼多錢買這麼爛的東西? \"Why would you spend so much money buying something as crappy as that?\")
  （他）妈的        （他）媽的        (tā)made             exclamation, \"Fuck!\", \"Shit!\", \"To hell with it!\", \"Damn it!\"; used to increase vulgarity (as in 你也他媽的夠了吧! \"You are really out of line!\"); lit. his mom\'s
  操                操                cào                  to fuck \[vulgar\] (from 肏 which has the same pronunciation); to exercise, drill (when pronounced cāo)
  操你妈的屄        操你媽的屄        cāo nǐ mā de bī      to fuck your mother\'s cunt \[very vulgar\] (never use in public, or for that matter, at home)
  屌                屌                diǎo                 male reproductive organ; expression (mostly among guys) showing admiration or approval (as in 你很屌! \"you\'re awesome!\" or 超屌的! \"far out!\")
  老外              老外              lǎowài               foreigner (neutral connotation)
  洋妞              洋妞              yángniū              foreign babe, foreign chick
  阿都仔            阿都仔            ādōuzǐ               foreigner (Taiwan only)
  同志              同志              tóngzhì              gay or lesbian (normally \"comrade\" in a Communist context)
  小姐              小姐              xiǎojiě              girl working in a hostess bar; exclamation, used alone, \"Waitress!\"; prostitute; young woman
  槟榔西施          檳榔西施          bīnláng Xīshī        a young, attractive girl, usually scantily clad, hired to sell betelnuts in street stalls (西施 is a classic beauty from Chinese history/myth); lit. betelnut beauty
  杀价              殺價              shājià               to haggle, to bargain (foreigners will always be forced to pay more, though)
  动手              動手              dòngshǒu             to begin doing something (e.g. 他开始动手了吗？); to touch, to handle; to hit someone with hands
  动手脚            動手腳            dòngshǒujiǎo         to sabotage something; to cheat by modifying something; to tinker with; lit. to move hands and feet
  灌醉              灌醉              guànzuì              to fuddle, to confuse with alcohol; to get someone drunk
  海量              海量              hǎiliàng             to be capable of holding liquor (a highly valued asset in competitive drinking, a Chinese sport)
  灌水              灌水              guànshuǐ             to sell inferior goods that have been tampered with (business), for example, adding water to milk; to lose a game on purpose (sports)
  黑货              黑貨              hēihuò               goods that have been tampered with, potentially hazardous to health; smuggled goods; lit. black stuff, majorly used in China but Taiwan
  拍马屁            拍馬屁            páimǎpì              to flatter; lit. to align horse farts
  拍拍屁股走        拍拍屁股走        pāipāi pìgu zǒu      to run away, to take off without caring for the consequences (while engaged in a relationship or project); lit. to line up the ass and go
  条子              條子              tiáozi               a police officer; a strip (esp. of paper), a note
  内鬼              內鬼              nèiguǐ               to steal; lit. within ghosts
  饭桶              飯桶              fàntǒng              a scallywag, a do-nothing; a guy who lives off his girlfriend; lit. a rice container
  吃软饭            吃軟飯            chīruǎnfàn           to live off one\'s girlfriend; lit. to eat soft rice
  毛毛的            毛毛的            máomáode             creepy, suspicious, causing goosebumps (as in 他那樣瞪我, 我都覺得毛毛的。 \"The way he stared at me made me feel spooked.\")
  人情味            人情味            rénqíngwèi           affection, humane, used to describe a friendly, caring atmosphere (as in 中國很有人情味。); lit. the smell of human feelings
  累死了            累死了            lèisǐle              exhausted, worn out; lit. tired to the death
  （老）油条        （老）油條        (lǎo)yóutiáo         a deceitful, \"slick\" person (油條, fried wheat cruller, is a long stick of deep fried batter, a staple in China)
  狗仔（队）        狗仔（隊）        gǒuzǎi(duì)          paparazzi; lit. dog puppy team
  小强              小強              xiǎoqiáng            cockroach; lit. little strong one
  过头              過頭              guòtóu               in excess (as in 睡过头, to oversleep)
  赖床              賴床              làichuáng            to stay in bed (esp. too long), to not get up
  昏昏欲睡          昏昏欲睡          hūnhūnyùshuì         drowsy, sleepy
  拖拖拉拉          拖拖拉拉          tuōtuōlālā           to be slow (esp. from reluctance); to procrastinate
  湿达达（的）      溼答答（的）      shīdádá(de)          soaking wet
  A                 A                 A                    to steal (as in A錢, to steal money)
  K書               K書               K-shū                study (as in pounding something into one\'s head)
  SPP               SPP               SPP                  having no class (Taiwan only, based on Hoklo dialect)
  A片               A片               A-piàn               a porn movie
  咱们              咱們              zánmen               we, us (sometimes just 咱).

## External links

-   Chinese Chat
    Codes - This
    page contains numeric codes used in chatting or pager messages
    similar to English acronyms like LOL
    (_L_aughing _O_ut
    _L_oud) or BRB (_B_e
    _R_ight _B_ack).
-   Chinese Slang
    Dictionary -
    A dictionary of Chinese slang, colloquialisms, curses, vulgarities,
    dialects, and street talk that Chinese characters, pinyin
    romanization, and an English version.

