Mandarin slang
Encyclopedia
Mandarin Chinese
Standard Mandarin
Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....
profanity
Profanity
Profanity is a show of disrespect, or a desecration or debasement of someone or something. Profanity can take the form of words, expressions, gestures, or other social behaviors that are socially constructed or interpreted as insulting, rude, vulgar, obscene, desecrating, or other forms.The...
consists of many slang words and insults involving sex.
While many offensive words and expletives involve insulting someone's mother, it is also common to show contempt by scorning another person's ancestors. Other Mandarin insults accuse people of not being human. Unlike English, Mandarin words for excrement or feces are less commonly used in slang and insults. Also, there are few parallels to English's blasphemous phrases, such as "God damn it".
In this article, unless otherwise noted, the traditional variant will follow the simplified variant if it is different.
Penis
As in English, many Mandarin Chinese slang terms involve the genitalia or other sexual terms. Slang words for the penis refer to it literally, and are not necessarily negative words:- jībā ' onMouseout='HidePop("45454")' href="/topics/Instant_messaging">IMInstant messagingInstant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
abbreviation: J8/G8) = cock (used as early as the Yuan DynastyYuan DynastyThe Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
) - jījī ' onMouseout='HidePop("94825")' href="/topics/SMS_language">IMSMS languageSMS language or textese is a term for the abbreviations and slang most commonly used due to the necessary brevity of mobile phone text messaging, in particular the widespread SMS SMS language or textese (also known as txt-speak, txtese, chatspeak, txt, txtspk, txtk, txto, texting language, txt...
: JJ/GG) = roughly equivalent of "thingy" as it is the childish version of the above. - jūju (具具), baby talk, "tool".
- xiǎo dìdì = roughly equivalent of "wee-wee" (lit. "little younger brother") IMSMS languageSMS language or textese is a term for the abbreviations and slang most commonly used due to the necessary brevity of mobile phone text messaging, in particular the widespread SMS SMS language or textese (also known as txt-speak, txtese, chatspeak, txt, txtspk, txtk, txto, texting language, txt...
: DD - kuàxià wù = roughly equivalent of "the package" (lit. "thing under crotch")
- yīnjīng = penis (scientific)
- diǎo ( or substituted by ) = dick (the same character also means to have sexual intercourse in Cantonese)
- luǎnLuanLuan may refer to:*Luan County, in Hebei, China*Luan River, in Hebei, China*Lu'an, city in Anhui, China*Lauan, also spelled as Luan, a medium-grade mahogany veneer plywood*Luan...
( same as "屌", used in some southern areas. - lǎo èr (老二) = penis (lit. "second in the family", "little brother")
- nà huà er = penis, usually seen in novels/fictions. (lit. "That thing", "that matter")
- xiǎo niǎo (小鳥) = used by children in Taiwan to mean penis (lit. "little bird")
- guītóu = turtle's head (glans/penis)
Note: One should note that in Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese , also called Ancient Chinese by the linguist Bernhard Karlgren, refers to the Chinese language spoken during Southern and Northern Dynasties and the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties...
the words for "dick" (屌 diǎo) and "bird" (鳥 niǎo) were homophones if not the same word and both began with a voiceless unaspirated alveolar stop (d in pinyin). Based on regular sound change rules, we would expect the word for bird in Mandarin to be pronounced diǎo, but Mandarin dialects' pronunciation of the word for bird evolved to an alveolar nasal initial, likely as a means of taboo avoidance, giving contemporary niǎo while most dialects in the south retain the Middle Chinese alveolar stop initial and the homophony or near homophony of these words.
Vagina
There appears to be more words for vagina, which are more commonly used as insults, than the ones for penis. These words are also more aggressive, and have negative connotations:- bī ' onMouseout='HidePop("13856")' href="/topics/SMS_language">IMSMS languageSMS language or textese is a term for the abbreviations and slang most commonly used due to the necessary brevity of mobile phone text messaging, in particular the widespread SMS SMS language or textese (also known as txt-speak, txtese, chatspeak, txt, txtspk, txtk, txto, texting language, txt...
: B) = cunt - jībái = pussy (lit. "pure chicken"; not generally used as an insult)
- èrbī ' onMouseout='HidePop("88542")' href="/topics/SMS_language">IMSMS languageSMS language or textese is a term for the abbreviations and slang most commonly used due to the necessary brevity of mobile phone text messaging, in particular the widespread SMS SMS language or textese (also known as txt-speak, txtese, chatspeak, txt, txtspk, txtk, txto, texting language, txt...
: 2B) = fucking idiot (lit. "double vagina"; general insult) - shǎbī = stupid person (lit. "stupid cunt") IMSMS languageSMS language or textese is a term for the abbreviations and slang most commonly used due to the necessary brevity of mobile phone text messaging, in particular the widespread SMS SMS language or textese (also known as txt-speak, txtese, chatspeak, txt, txtspk, txtk, txto, texting language, txt...
: SB - sāobī = bitch (lit. "lewd cunt")
- chòubī = stinking cunt
- lànbī = rotten cunt
- yīndào = vagina (scientific)
- yīnhù = vulva (scientific)
- táohuāyuán = vagina (lit. "garden of peach blossoms")
- zhuāngbī = poser (lit. "pretending to be the cunt")
- dà yí mā (大姨妈) = Literally "The Eldest Aunt", a popular mainland contemporary term which refers to menstruationMenstruationMenstruation is the shedding of the uterine lining . It occurs on a regular basis in sexually reproductive-age females of certain mammal species. This article focuses on human menstruation.-Overview:...
. Comparable to 'A visit from Aunt Flo'
Brothel frequenter
- yín chóng literally, lewd worms. Men who frequently enjoy having sex with women.
- lǎo píao literally, old frequenter of prostitutes. There is actually a verb for frequenting prostitutes in Chinese.
Prostitution
In addition to the above expressions used as insults directed against women, other insults involve insinuating that they are prostitutes:- jì nǚ = (female) prostitute
- chòu biǎozi = stinking whore
- mài dòufu is a euphemism for prostitution.
- xiǎojiě = means "Miss" in most contexts but, now in Northern China, also connotes "prostitute" to many young women, as it suggests expressions like zuò xiǎojiě or sānpéi xiǎojiě , which refers to bargirlBargirlA bargirl is a woman who works as a hostess or dancer in bars to provide company or sexual services to patrons; the exact nature of services and varieties of bar varying by country/region. In most cases, these cater mostly to male clients, although in some cases women are also clients...
s who may also be prostitutesProstitution in the People's Republic of ChinaShortly after taking power in 1949, the Communist Party of China embarked upon a series of campaigns that purportedly eradicated prostitution from mainland China by the early 1960s. Since the loosening of government controls over society in the early 1980s, prostitution in mainland China not only...
. This connotation does not apply outside of the People's Republic of China.
Mistress
- xiǎo lǎopó = mistress (lit. "little wife" or "little old women"). Note: when combined with other words, the character 老 (lǎo, literally "old") does not always refer to age; for example, it is used in the terms 老公 (husband), 老婆 (wife), 老鼠 (mouse); or other, more rare cases such as 老虎 (tiger), 老鹰 (eagle), 老外 (foreigner); or important persons such as 老板 (boss) or 老师 (master or teacher).
- xiǎo tàitai (小太太), lit., "little wife" (but definitely not to be mistaken for "the little woman", which can be a way of referring to a wife in English).
- èr nǎi (二奶), lit., "the second mistress" (means a concubine, a kept woman).
Breasts
- mīmī is a euphemism for breast.
- da doufu slang for large breasts, more prevalent in Guangdong
- mántóu also refers to a woman's breasts; as mantouMantouMantou, often referred to as Chinese steamed bun/bread, is a kind of steamed bun originating in China. They are typically eaten as a staple in northern parts of China where wheat, rather than rice, is grown. They are made with milled wheat flour, water and leavening agents...
is typical of northern Chinese cuisine this term is used primarily in northern China. - bō = boobs. The typical instance is bōbà , which refers to a woman with very large breasts.
- fúshòu (福寿; literally "happy long life")
- nǎinǎi (奶奶) = boobies
- zār(咋) (Beijing slang)
- gege (Tianjin slang)
- bàorǔ = big tits, likely reborrowingReborrowingReborrowing is the process where a word travels from one language to another and then back to the originating language in a different form or with a different meaning.This is indicated by A→B→A, where A is the originating language....
from Japanese. - fēijīchǎng = flat breasts
- háng kōng mǔ jiàn - literally "aircraft carrierAircraft carrierAn aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
", referring to a flat chest. Compare with 战舰 (zhàn jiàn), meaning battleship, which refers to larger-sized "chimneys" of the chest.
Anus
- júhuā (菊花; literally "chrysanthemumChrysanthemumChrysanthemums, often called mums or chrysanths, are of the genus constituting approximately 30 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Asteraceae which is native to Asia and northeastern Europe.-Etymology:...
s") - anus. This term comes from the observation that the shape of an anal opening resembles a chrysanthemum flower, where the skin folds are comparable to the flower's small, thin petals. Although nowadays usage is mostly common amongst Chinese netizens, the euphemism has existed in Chinese literature from much earlier. - pìyǎn 屁眼 - anal orifice, asshole
- gāngmén 肛门 - anus (medical term), literally "door of anus".
- hòu tíng后庭 - anus. literally, back yard.
Masturbation
Male masturbationMasturbationMasturbation refers to sexual stimulation of a person's own genitals, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods. Masturbation is a common form of autoeroticism...
, at least, has several vulgar expressions, in addition to two formal/scientific ones that refer to both male and female masturbation (shǒuyín and zìwèi ):
- dă shǒuqiāng = male masturbation (lit. "firing a handgun")
- dǎ fēijī = male masturbation (lit. "hitting an airplane"). A term which originated from the Cantonese language.
- lǚguǎn/lǚguǎnr = male masturbation (lit. "stroke the pipe")
- wán lǎo èr (玩老二) = male masturbation (lit., "play with little brother")
- wǔdǎyī = male masturbation (lit. "five beating one")
- jiàn Wǔ gūniáng = male masturbation (lit. "to see [visit] Miss Five", to see [use] five prostitutes [fingers])
Foreplay
- kǒu jiāo (口交) = oral sex, blowjob
- chuī gōng (吹功) = blowjob (lit. "blow service")
- chuī xiāo (吹箫) = blowjob (play flute)
Sexual intercourse
- cào (肏/操) = to fuck (the first shown Chinese character is made up of components meaning "to enter" and "the flesh"; the second is a homophone, with the standard meaning being "to do exercise")
- gàn (幹/干) = to do = to fuck (alternatively 搞 gǎo, to do)
- rì (入) (lit. "to enter)" = to fuck. The meaning is obvious and in normal contexts 入 is pronounced rù. But when it is used as a coarse expression, the "u" is elided. See 國語辤典, vol. 3, p. 3257. It is also commonly seen on internet websites and forums as rì 日, due to similar pronunciation and ease of input.
- chǎofàn = to have sex (lit. "stir-fry rice")
- bàojúhuā (爆菊花) = anal sex. (lit. explode the chrysanthemumChrysanthemumChrysanthemums, often called mums or chrysanths, are of the genus constituting approximately 30 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Asteraceae which is native to Asia and northeastern Europe.-Etymology:...
(anus)), i.e., insert the penis into the anus - dǎpào (打炮) = to ejaculate (lit. to let off fireworks)
- gāocháo (高潮) = Sexual orgasm (lit. high tide, also used to described a climax point in other domains)
Insults
As in English, a vulgar word for the sexual act is used in insults and expletives:
- cào = fuck (the variant character was in use as early as the Ming dynastyMing DynastyThe Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
in the novel Jin Ping MeiJin Ping MeiJin Ping Mei, or The Plum in the Golden Vase is a Chinese naturalistic novel composed in the vernacular during the late Ming Dynasty. The author was Lanling Xiaoxiao Sheng , "The Scoffing Scholar of Lanling", a clear pseudonym, and his identity is otherwise unknown...
). 操 is usually erroneously used as a substitute for 肏 in print or on the computer, because 肏 was until recently often not available for typesetting or input. - cào nǐ zǔzōng shíbā dài = fuck your ancestors to the eighteenth generation, the cào 肏(fuck) has been substituted for 抄, which meant "confiscate all the property of someone and of his entire extended family." In China, ancestor worshipAncestor Veneration in ChinaAncestral veneration in Chinese culture is the practice of living family members who try to provide a deceased family member with continuous happiness and well-being in the afterlife. It is a way of continuing to show respect towards them, and it reinforces the unity of family and lineage. Showing...
is an important aspect of society, as a result of ConfucianismConfucianismConfucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . Confucianism originated as an "ethical-sociopolitical teaching" during the Spring and Autumn Period, but later developed metaphysical and cosmological elements in the Han...
, where filial pietyFilial pietyIn Confucian ideals, filial piety is one of the virtues to be held above all else: a respect for the parents and ancestors. The Confucian classic Xiao Jing or Classic of Xiào, thought to be written around 470 BCE, has historically been the authoritative source on the Confucian tenet of xiào /...
and respect for one's ancestors is considered crucial; insulting one's ancestors is a sensitive issue and is generally confronting.
Mother
Insulting someone's mother is also common:- tā māde ' onMouseout='HidePop("21576")' href="/topics/SMS_language">IMSMS languageSMS language or textese is a term for the abbreviations and slang most commonly used due to the necessary brevity of mobile phone text messaging, in particular the widespread SMS SMS language or textese (also known as txt-speak, txtese, chatspeak, txt, txtspk, txtk, txto, texting language, txt...
: TMD) = [fuck] his mother's, or frequently used as "Shit!" (lit. "his mother's"; in the 1920s the famous writer Lu XunLu XunLu Xun or Lu Hsün , was the pen name of Zhou Shuren , one of the major Chinese writers of the 20th century. Considered by many to be the leading figure of modern Chinese literature, he wrote in baihua as well as classical Chinese...
joked that this should be China's national curse word) - tā mā bāzi ( his mother's clitoris. Lu Xun differentiates this expression from the previous one. This one can be said in admiration, whereas "tā māde" is just abusive. See his essay, "On 'His mother's'" (論他媽的).
- tā māde niǎo = goddamn it (lit. "his mother's dick"; literally is "bird", but used here as a euphemism for diǎo; ; "penis")
- qù nǐ nǎinaide = your mom (lit. "go to your grandma")
- qù nǐ māde = your mom (lit. "go to your mom")
- qù nǐde = fuck off/shut the fuck up (milder)
- nǐ māde bī = your mother's cunt
- cào nǐ mā / cào nǐ niáng = fuck your mom
- cào nǐ māde bī = fuck your mother's cunt
- gàn nǐ mā / gàn nǐ lǎo mǔ = fuck your mom (gàn is similar to the English euphemism do)
- gàn nǐ niáng = fuck your mother (Taiwanese Mandarin influenced by the regional vernacular Taiwanese Minnan 姦汝娘 (kàn-lín-niâ); also "幹您娘")
Other relatives
- ni erdaye de = damn on your second uncle. This is a part of local Beijing slang.
- laolao = grandmother-from-mother-side. In Beijing dialect, this word is used for "Never!".
Turtles and eggs
The 中文大辭典 Zhōng wén dà cí diǎn (Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Chinese Language)) (something a little like the OED), discusses 王八 (wáng bā) in vol. 6 p. 281. "Wáng bā" is the term that is usually written casually for the slur that means something like "son of a bitch."
A "wángbādàn 忘/王八蛋" is the offspring of a woman lacking virtue. Another meaning of 王八 is 鼈 biē, fresh-water turtle. Turtle heads reemerging from hiding in the turtle's shell look like the glansGlansThe glans is a vascular structure located at the tip of the penis in men or a homologous genital structure of the clitoris in women.-Structure:...
emerging from the foreskinForeskinIn male human anatomy, the foreskin is a generally retractable double-layered fold of skin and mucous membrane that covers the glans penis and protects the urinary meatus when the penis is not erect...
, and turtles lay eggs. So a "wang ba" is a woman who has lost her virtue, and a "wang ba dan" is the progeny of such a woman, a turtle product, but, figuratively, also a penis product.
"Wáng bā 王八" originally got switched over from another "忘八 wàng bā" (one that referred to any very unvirtuous individual) because of a nasty piece of work with the family name Wáng 王 who picked up the nickname 賊王八 zéi Wáng bā ("the thieving Wang Eight") but for being a dastard, not for being a bastard. The dictionary doesn't say, but he may have been the eighth Wang among his siblings. Anyway, he became "crook Wang eight" and the term stuck and spread just as "MaverickSamuel MaverickSamuel Augustus Maverick was a Texas lawyer, politician, land baron and signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence...
" did in English. There is a pun here because of the earlier expression 忘八 wáng bā used to describe (1) any person who forgets/disregards the eight virtues, (2) an un-virtuous woman, i.e., one who sleeps around. The first meaning applied to the dastardly Wang, but the family name got "stuck" to the second, sexual, term.
Illegitimacy
Many insults imply that the interlocutor's mother or even grandmother was promiscuous. The turtle is emblematic of the penis and also of promiscuous intercourse. Eggs are the progeny of turtles and other lower animals, so the word dàn (蛋) is a metonym for offspring.
- wángbā / wàngbā = cuckold; this was an insult as early as the Song dynastySong DynastyThe Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
.
- wángbādàn ' onMouseout='HidePop("15292")' href="/topics/Second-round_simplified_Chinese_character">informal simplifiedSecond-round simplified Chinese characterThe second round of Chinese character simplification, made by official document Second Chinese Character Simplification Scheme to introduce second round of simplified Chinese characters, was an aborted orthography reform promulgated on 20 December 1977 by the People's Republic of China...
: ) / wàngbāgāozi = bastard (lit. "turtle egg" and "turtle kid.")
- guī sūnzi / guī érzi = bastard (lit. "turtle grandson" and "turtle son")
- dài lǜmàozi = to be a cuckold (lit. "wear a green hat," supposedly because male brothelBrothelBrothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
workers in the Tang DynastyTang DynastyThe Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
had to wear green hats)
- zázhǒng = mixed seed, half-caste, half breed, hybrid, illegitimate child. There are proper terms for children of mixed ethnicity, but this is not one of them.
- hún dàn = individual who has at least two biological fathers and one biological mother, the idea being that the mother mated with two or more males in quick succession and a mosaic embryo was formed from two or more fertilized ova. This general condition is actually studied in modern geneticsChimera (genetics)A chimera or chimaera is a single organism that is composed of two or more different populations of genetically distinct cells that originated from different zygotes involved in sexual reproduction. If the different cells have emerged from the same zygote, the organism is called a mosaic...
.
- hún zhang wángbā dàn = similar to turtle egg, see above.
Stupid
- bái mù stupid. Literally, white-eyed, blind. Here it means not understanding the situation and reacting in a wrong way as a result.
- bái chī idiot. Someone with mental retardation.
- nǎo cán 'Deficient Brain' - Disabled brain, brain has a problem.
Madness
- shén jīng bìng Someone who is insane. Literally "disease of the nervous system", or having problems with one's nervous system. In China, imbalance of the nervous system is commonly associated with mental illness (for instance, 神经衰弱 Shenjing shuairuo, literally "weakness of the nervous system", is a more socially accepted medical diagnosisCulture-bound syndromeIn medicine and medical anthropology, a culture-bound syndrome, culture-specific syndrome or folk illness is a combination of psychiatric and somatic symptoms that are considered to be a recognizable disease only within a specific society or culture...
for someone who, in the West, would have normally been diagnosed with schizophreniaSchizophreniaSchizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
, due to the social stigma against mental illnessMental illnessA mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...
in China). Now the word is used quite generally when insulting someone whose actions seem odd, rude, offensive, or inappropriate.
Buttocks
While there are vulgar expressions in English referring to the buttocks or rectum, there are no real equivalents in Mandarin. Pìgu yǎn or pìyǎnr (屁眼兒/屁眼儿), one expression for anus, is not vulgar, but it occurs in various curses involving an imperforate anusImperforate anusAn imperforate anus or anal atresia is a birth defect in which the rectum is malformed. Its cause is unknown.-Features:There are several forms of imperforate anus:* A low lesion, in which the colon remains close to the skin...
- sǐ pì yǎn damned asshole.
- jiào nǐ shēng háizi méi pìgu yǎn – literally, "May your child be born with an imperforate anus"; sometimes méi pìgu yǎn is used as an epithet similar to "damned"
- jiào nǐ shēng háizi zhǎng zhì chuāng (叫你生孩子长痔疮) – "May your child be born with hemorrhoids"
- wǒ kào ( or ) – "Well fuck me!", "Fuck!", "Fuckin' awesome!" or "Holy shit!" (Originally from Taiwan, this expression has spread to the mainland, where it is generally not considered to be vulgar. 尻 originally meant "butt.")
Age
- lǎo bù sǐde 老不死的—death grip on life—is used as an angry comment directed against old people who refuse to die and so clog up the ladder to promotion in some organization. The expression comes from the Analects of Confucius where the Master complains against those who engage in heterodox practices aimed at assuring them extreme longevity. In the original these individuals are described as "lǎo ér bù sǐ" (老而不死), i.e., it is said that they "are old and yet they (will not=) refuse to die."
- lǎo zéi 老賊= lǎo bù sǐde
- lǎo tóuzi affectionately.
- rǔ xiù wèi gān Literally "(the) smell (of) milk is not dry (=gone) yet ," wet behind the ears.
Promiscuity
As in the West, highly sexual women have been stigmatized. Terms for males who sleep around are rare.
- húli jīng = bitch (overly seductive woman; lit. "fox spirit")
- sānbā = airhead, braggart, slut (lit. "three eight"). Used to insult women. One derivation claims that at one point in the Qing DynastyQing DynastyThe Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
, foreigners were only permitted to circulate on the eighth, eighteenth, and twenty-eighth of each month, and the Chinese deprecated these aliens by calling them , but others claim refers to March 8: International Women's DayInternational Women's DayInternational Women's Day , originally called International Working Women’s Day, is marked on March 8 every year. In different regions the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women to a celebration for women's economic, political and...
. - gōng gòng qì chē = slut (lit. "public bus") used for a woman who sleeps around, as in "everyone has had a ride"
- biǎozi = whore, slut
- jiàn nǚ rén = bitch, cheap woman
- huā huā gōngzi = playboy, notorious cheater (lit. "Flower-Flower Prince")
Positive connotations
Occasionally, slang words with a negative connotation are turned around and used positively:
- wǒ cào = holy fuck (lit. "I fuck") Alternatively, "我靠" (wǒ kào, "I lean on". IMSMS languageSMS language or textese is a term for the abbreviations and slang most commonly used due to the necessary brevity of mobile phone text messaging, in particular the widespread SMS SMS language or textese (also known as txt-speak, txtese, chatspeak, txt, txtspk, txtk, txto, texting language, txt...
:KAO) or "哇靠" (wa kào) is used when the subject intends on being less obscene, such as when speaking in public. - niúbī (/) = fucking awesome (literally "cow cunt"; possibly influenced by the expression chuī niú pí; 牛, which means "to brag"). This phrase also has many alternative forms, including NB, 牛B, 牛比, 牛鼻 ("cow's nose"), as well as alternative pronunciations such as 牛叉/牛X niúchā. It can also just be shortened to 牛.
- diǎo / niǎo = cock; this was an insult as long ago as the Jin Dynasty. Now it sometimes also means "fucking cool" or "fucking outrageous", thanks in large part to the pop star Jay ChouJay ChouJay Chou is a Taiwanese musician, singer-songwriter, music and film producer, actor and director who has won the World Music Award four times. In 1998 he was discovered in a talent contest where he displayed his piano and song-writing skills. Over the next two years, he was hired to compose for...
. Because of the substitution of "niǎo" which means birdBirdBirds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
, sometimes English-speaking Chinese in Malaysia sometimes use "birdie" as a euphemism for "penis" for small children. "鸟人" (bird man) sometimes has a derogative meaning as a "wretch", but also often used between close friends as affectionate appellation like "fellow".
Mixed-up
Other insults include the word hùn , which means "mixed-up", or hùn , which means "muddy":
- hùnzhàng = bullshit
- hùndàn ( / ) = prick
- hūndàn = prick
- hùnqiú = prick
Eggs
Perhaps due to the influence of wángbādàn , dàn is used in a number of other insults in addition to hùndàn :
- bèndàn = dummy, fool (lit. "dumb egg")
- chǔn dàn= dummy, fool
- dǎodàn ( / ) = "to cause trouble"
- gǔndàn = get out of sight!
- huàidàn = a wicked person. Literally a bad egg.
- hútú dàn = confused/clueless person (a sucker)
- qíongguāng dàn = a poor/penniless person
Melons
The word guā is also used in insults:
- shǎguā = dummy, fool (in use as early as the Yuan DynastyYuan DynastyThe Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
) - dāiguā = dummy, fool
In addition to the senses listed above, the "melon" is a metonym for the womb, and a "broken melon" refers to a female's lost virginity.
Sticks
The noun gùn, stick/staff is often used to refer to someone who is morally corrupted.- 惡棍 / 恶棍 = bad guy, bully, villain (lit. "evil stick")
- 神棍 = fake fortune teller (lit. "god stick")
- 賭棍 / 赌棍 = rogue gambler (lit. "gamble stick")
Ghosts and spirits
The noun for "ghost" 鬼 is often used to mock someone with some bad habit. The mocking tone may not be very serious though.- 酒鬼 = drinker
- 醉鬼 = drunker
- 小气鬼 = meanie
- 胆小鬼 = coward
精 "nonhuman spirit in a human's form" is usually for insulting some cunning people.- 狐狸精 "fox spirit" = overly seductive woman
- 马屁精 "horse-fart spirit" = flatterer
Useless
- Fèi appears in a number of insults:
- wōnang fèi = loser
- fèi wù = good for nothing.
- fèirén = useless person
- fèihuà = useless words (similar to the ridicule form of "no shit")
- liúmáng = scoundrel or pervert (the word originally meant vagrantVagrancy (people)A vagrant is a person in poverty, who wanders from place to place without a home or regular employment or income.-Definition:A vagrant is "a person without a settled home or regular work who wanders from place to place and lives by begging;" vagrancy is the condition of such persons.-History:In...
); often used by women to insult men who make aggressive advances - nāozhǒng ( = coward, useless, or weak person.
- rén zhā = Scum. Someone who is useless and unwanted as garbage.
- wúyòng = literarily useless
- fàntǒng = useless person, literally "rice bucket" as in only useful for storing food.
Face
Because shame or "faceFace (sociological concept)Face, idiomatically meaning dignity/prestige, is a fundamental concept in the fields of sociology, sociolinguistics, semantics, politeness theory, psychology, political science, communication, and Face Negotiation Theory.-Definitions:...
" is important in Chinese culture, insulting someone as "shameless" is much stronger than in English:
- bú yàoliǎn = shameless, lit. "doesn't want face," i.e., "discards his face, does not seek to maintain a good status in society".
Girlish
- niángniangqiāng is a pejorative used to describe Chinese males who are extremely effeminate in their speaking style. It is related to the term sājiào , but is predominantly said of males who exhibit a rather "girlish" air of indecisiveness and immaturity. Adherents of both tend to lengthen sentence-final particles while maintaining a higher-pitched intonation all throughout. The usage of the tildeTildeThe tilde is a grapheme with several uses. The name of the character comes from Portuguese and Spanish, from the Latin titulus meaning "title" or "superscription", though the term "tilde" has evolved and now has a different meaning in linguistics....
as an Internet memeInternet memeThe term Internet meme is used to describe a concept that spreads via the Internet. The term is a reference to the concept of memes, although the latter concept refers to a much broader category of cultural information.-Description:...
reflects the popularization of this style of speaking, which is often perceived by Westerners as being cute or seductive. - niángpào = same as (above)
- tàijiàn or gōnggong - EunuchEunuchA eunuch is a person born male most commonly castrated, typically early enough in his life for this change to have major hormonal consequences...
. From the stereotypes of Imperial eunuchs seen in TV shows in China (with a high, feminine voice). Men with higher voices are called eunuchs. - nǚ qì , female lifebreath. A man having the psychological attributes of a woman is said to exhibit "nǚ qì," i.e., is said to be effeminate.
- pì jīng
Inhuman
Other insults accuse people of lacking qualities expected of a human being:
- chùsheng = animal (these characters are also used for Japanese "chikushō", which may mean "beast," but is also used as an expletive, like "damn!")
- nǐ bú shì rén = you're not human (lit.: "you are not a person")
- nǐ shì shénme dōngxi = you're less than human, literally: What kind of object are you? (compares the level of a person to that of an object)
- nǐ búshì dōngxi = you're less than human (implies less worth than an object)
- bùyàoliǎn de dōngxi = you're shameless and less than human (lit.: "you are a thing that has no shame")
- jiànhuò = lit. "cheap goods" ("[you] despicable creature!")
- sāohuò = lit. "lewd goods" ("[you] lewd creature!")
Death
Sǐ ") is used in a number of insults:
- sǐ guǐ lit., "dead imp," "dead demon,"
- sǐ sān bā / chòu sān bā , lit., stinking (derogatory term for woman) bitch
- sǐ bù yào liǎn = shameless (lit.: "[you] shameless corpse")
- qù sǐ = "Go die!" or "Go to hell!"
- sǐ yā tóu 死丫頭, lit., dead serving wench. -- This term is no longer in common use. It appears in early novels as a deprecating term for young female bondservants. The "ya" element refers to a hair style appropriate to youths of this sort.
- gāi sǐ damned, damn it! (lit. should die)
- zhǎo sǐ : literally 'looking for death'
- qù xià dì yù (去下地狱) - descend into hell
Excrement
The words "" (shǐ) (= turd, dung), "" (fèn) (= manure, excrement) and " (= stool)" (dà biàn), all meaning feces but vary from blunt four letter to family normal, can all be used in compound words and sentences in a profane manner. Originally the various Mandarin Chinese words for "excrement" were less commonly used as expletives, but that is changing. Perhaps because farting results in something that is useless even for fertilizer: "fàng pì" is an expletive in Mandarin. The word "pì" is commonly used as an expletive in Mandarin.
- qù chī dà biàn [Go] Eat shit! (By itself, is neither an expletive nor does it have the same effect as 'shit' in English.)
- chī shǐ = Eat shit!
- shǐ dàn Lit., shit egg, a turd.
- fàng pì = bullshit, nonsense, lie (literally "to fart"; used as an expletive as early as the Yuan dynastyYuan DynastyThe Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
. Taiwanese just simply say "pi" or "ge pi" when referring to "bullshit" (as in lies), as "fang pi" is taken literally "to fart".) - pìhuà = bullshit, nonsense
- nǐ zài jiǎng shén me pì huà = What shit/the fuck are you saying
- pì shì = a mere nothing; also guānwǒpìshì =I don't care a damn!
- mǐ tián gòng - A play on the writing of "" (the traditional form of "" (fen), also "kusoKusoKuso is the term used in East Asia for the internet culture that generally includes all types of camp and parody. In Japanese, means shit, and is often uttered as an interjection. It is considered milder than its English counterpart, more comparable to damn. It is also used to describe outrageous...
" in Japanese), referring to excrement. - qí yán fèn tǔ yě - an expression in Classical ChineseClassical ChineseClassical Chinese or Literary Chinese is a traditional style of written Chinese based on the grammar and vocabulary of ancient Chinese, making it different from any modern spoken form of Chinese...
that means, "His words are [nothing but] excrement." (See Giles, A Chinese-English Dictionary.) - shǐ bǎ ba ( or ) - Children's slang term for faeces, similar to English "poo" or "brownie". A variant of this term is 㞎㞎 (bǎ ba), while (biàn bian) is also used as a children's term, albeit less frequently used.
Dogs
The fact that many insults are prefaced with the Mandarin Chinese word for dog attest to the animal's low status:
- gǒuzǎizi (/) = son of dog (English equivalent: "son of a bitch")
- gǒu pì = bullshit, nonsense (lit. "dog fart"; in use as early as 1750 in the Qing Dynasty novel Ru Lin Wai Shi (The Scholars)
- nǐ ge gǒu pì = what you said is bullshit. also "nǐ ge pì"or simply "pì".
- gǒu pì bù tōng dog fart + does not (come out at the end of the tube =) communicate= incoherent, nonsensical
- gǒu niáng yǎng de = son of a bitch (lit. "raised by a dog mother")
- gǒurìde = son of a bitch (from Liu HengLiu HengLiu Heng is generally seen as a realist writer. He became a professional writer in the 1970s after having worked as a peasant farmer, a factory worker and a soldier, classes which have served as fodder for his stories and, not coincidentally, classes which Mao Zedong promoted as the audience for...
's story "Dogshit Food", lit. "dog fuck" 日 is here written for 入, which when pronounced rì means "fuck".) - gǒushǐ duī = a person who behaves badly (lit. "a pile of dog shit"); gǒushǐ , or "dog shit," was used to describe people of low moral character as early as the Song dynastySong DynastyThe Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
. Due to Western influence, as well as the similar sound, this has become a synonym for bullshitBullshitBullshit is a common English expletive which may be shortened to the euphemism bull or the initialism B.S. In British English, "bollocks" is a comparable expletive, although bullshit is commonly used in British English...
in some circles. - gǒuzázhǒng = literally "mongrel dog," a variation on zázhǒng , above.
- zǒugǒu = lapdog, often translated into English as "running dogRunning dogRunning dog is a literal translation into English of the Chinese/Korean communist pejorative zǒu gǒu 走狗, meaning lackey or lapdog, an unprincipled person who helps or flatters other, more powerful and often evil people...
", it means an unprincipled person who helps or flatters other, more powerful and often evil people; in use in this sense since the Qing Dynasty. Often used in the 20th century by communists to refer to client states of the United States and other capitalist powers. - gǒutuǐzi / gǒutuǐ = variant of zǒugǒu
- gǒu zázhǒng = mongrelMongrelMongrel refers to mixed ancestry:* In botany, a mongrel may refer to the offspring of varieties of a species which was in contrast to a hybrid* Among pets, one whose parentage is of unknown or mixed breeds as opposed to purebred...
, like a mixed breed dog.
Rabbits
In at least one case, rabbit is part of an insult:- xiǎotùzǎizi = son of a rabbit (quite ironically, this insult is often used by parents to insult their children)
Horse
- mǎzi = a derogatory word for girlfriend. (Possibly influenced by U.S. slang, "filly," used for any girl.)
Bird
The Chinese word for bird "niǎo" was pronounced as "diǎo" in ancient times, which rhymes with meaning penis or sexual organ. It also sounds the same as "penis" in several Chinese dialects. Thus, bird is often associated with 'fuck', 'penis' or 'nonsense'：- wǒniǎonǐ = I fuck you (Beijing dialect)
- wǒniǎotāde = damn fuck; fuck him
- niǎohuà = bullshit, fucking words ; nǐzàijiǎngshénmeniǎohuà (） = What fucking words are you talking about?
- niǎorén = bastard, asshole. This word commonly appears in Water MarginWater MarginWater Margin , also known as Outlaws of the Marsh, All Men Are Brothers, Men of the Marshes, or The Marshes of Mount Liang, is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature.Attributed to Shi Nai'an and written in vernacular Chinese, the story, set in the Song Dynasty,...
, a Ming dynasty Classical Chinese Novel. - niǎoshì = mere nothing; also guānwǒniǎoshì = I don't care a damn
Contempt
Certain words are used for expressing contempt or strong disapproval:- wǒpēi = I boo in disapproval. Pēi 呸 is a spoken onomatopoeiaChinese exclamative particlesThe Chinese language involves a number of spoken exclamative words and written onomatopoeia which are used in everyday speech and informal writing. Such "exclamations" have their own Chinese character, but are rarely used in formal written documents...
that represents the action of spitting.
Divinity
One of the few insults connected to the supernatural is not used to damn but to compare the insulted person to a disliked god:
- wēnshén = troublemaker (literally "plague god")
Miscellaneous
Some expressions are harder to explain:
- èrbǎiwǔ = stupid person/idiot (see 250250 (number)250 is the natural number following 249 and preceding 251.As a Mandarin slang term, 250 is an insult meaning "stupid person" or "simpleton". The expression is based on bàndiàozi...
) - shūdāizi, roughly equivalent to "bookwormBookwormBookworm may refer to:* Bibliophile or bookworm, an avid reader and lover of books* Bookworm , a popular generalization for any insect which supposedly bores through books...
" or, possibly, "nerdNerdNerd is a derogatory slang term for an intelligent but socially awkward and obsessive person who spends time on unpopular or obscure pursuits, to the exclusion of more mainstream activities. Nerds are considered to be awkward, shy, and unattractive...
". It is used to portray a studious person as lacking hands-on experience or social skills. Unlike "nerd", shūdāizi is rarely used in the context of hobbies.- bì zuǐ, = Shut up!
Action Specific
Some expressions represent offensive insults involving some kind of actions:
- gǔnkāi = go to hell! (lit. roll or roll over)
- nǐgěiwǒgǔn = get out of my sight!
- gǔndàn = scram, get out!
Region specific
Many locations within China have their own local slang, which is scarcely used elsewhere.- gàn nǐ xiǎo BK de (干你小BK的) - Local slang from TianjinTianjin' is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government...
, meaning "go fuck your 'thing'", where "BK" refers to male genitalia. However, when insulting females, "马B" is used instead. - xiǎo yàng le ba (小样了吧) - Originating from Southern China. Said upon someone's misfortunes, similar to "haha" or "suck that".
- shén me niǎo - From the northeastern HeilongjiangHeilongjiangFor the river known in Mandarin as Heilong Jiang, see Amur River' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. "Heilongjiang" literally means Black Dragon River, which is the Chinese name for the Amur. The one-character abbreviation is 黑...
, although also used in the South. Used similar to "what the fuck?"- fage (发格) - Used in Shanghai, direct transliteration from English "fuckFuck"Fuck" is an English word that is generally considered obscene which, in its most literal meaning, refers to the act of sexual intercourse. By extension it may be used to negatively characterize anything that can be dismissed, disdained, defiled, or destroyed."Fuck" can be used as a verb, adverb,...
". - èrbǎdāo (二把刀) - Beijing slang for a good-for-nothing; klutz. Literally "double-ended sword", considered a concept which is useless.
- xiǎomì (小蜜) - Beijing slang for a special female friend, often used with negative connotations.
- cènà (册那) - Shanghainese for "fuck", similar in usage to 肏 cào albeit less strong.
Racism
Chinese has specific terms and racial slurs for different ethnicities, governments and backgrounds.
Against westerners
- yáng guǐzi "Foreign devil", a slur for White peopleWhite peopleWhite people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
- guǐlǎo Borrowed from Cantonese "GweiloGweiloGweilo or Gwailo is a common Cantonese slang term for foreigners, and has a long history of racially deprecatory use. If there is some racially deprecatory meaning or it is expressive of hate, it is shown by the addition of the adjective, sei or as a prefix: seigwailo...
", "ghost" or "ghost guy", a slur for white people - hóng máo guǐzi "Red fur devil", rude slang term for Caucasians, especially Anglos
- máo zi Ethnic slur against RussiansRussiansThe Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
. (Literally "fur".) Alternatively 红毛子 (hóng máo zi, red (communist) fur), 俄毛子 (é máo zi, Rus fur). Similar concept to "hóng máo guǐzi" above. - lǎo wài "foreigner", literally "old outsider", slang term for Caucasians in Mainland China, especially Anglos. Since this term is quite often used colloquially without malicious intent (even directly to foreigners proficient in Mandarin), its meaning is highly context specific. As a rough guide, however, it's best to avoid using the term outside China.
- mán zi means foreign barbarians
- lǎo mò - "Old Mexican", an ethnic slur used on Mexicans. 墨 should not be confused with "ink", which bears the same character and pronunciation from "墨" in 墨西哥 (Mexico).
Against Japanese
- xiǎo Rìběn (小日本)="Japs" — Literally "little Japan"(ese). This term is so common that it has very little impact left (Google Search returns 16 100 000 results as of April 2010 ). The term can be used to refer to either Japan or individual Japanese. "小", or the word "little", is usually construed as "puny", "lowly" or "small country", but not "spunky".
- 日本鬼子 (Rìběn guǐzi) — Literally "Japanese devils". This is used mostly in the context of the Second Sino-Japanese WarSecond Sino-Japanese WarThe Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
, when Japan invaded and occupied large areas of China. This is the title of a Japanese documentary on Japanese war crimes during WWIIJapanese DevilsJapanese Devils is a Japanese documentary about the war crimes committed by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II...
. - 倭 (Wō) — This was an ancient ChineseChinese languageThe Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
name for Japan, but was also adopted by the Japanese. Today, its usage in Chinese is usually intended to give a negative connotation (see Wōkòu below). The character is said to also mean "dwarf", although that meaning was not apparent when the name was first used. See Wa (Japan)Wa (Japan)Japanese is the oldest recorded name of Japan. Chinese, Korean, and Japanese scribes regularly wrote Wa or Yamato "Japan" with the Chinese character 倭 until the 8th century, when the Japanese found fault with it, replacing it with 和 "harmony, peace, balance".- Historical references :The earliest...
. - 倭寇 (Wōkòu) — Originally referred to Japanese pirates and armed sea merchants who raided the Chinese coastline during the Ming DynastyMing DynastyThe Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
(see WokouWokouWokou , which literally translates as "Japanese pirates" in English, were pirates of varying origins who raided the coastlines of China and Korea from the 13th century onwards...
). The term was adopted during the Second Sino-Japanese WarSecond Sino-Japanese WarThe Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
to refer to invading Japanese forces, (similarly to GermansNazi GermanyNazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
being called Huns). The word is today sometimes used to refer to all Japanese people in extremely negative contexts. - 日本狗 (Rìběn gǒu, Cantonese: Yat Boon Gau) — Literally "Japanese dogs". The word is used to refer to all Japanese people in extremely negative contexts.
- 大腳盆族 (dà jiǎo pén zú) - Ethnic slur towards Japanese used predominantly by Northern Chinese, mainly those from the city of TianjinTianjin' is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government...
. Literally "Big Feet Bowl Race". (huáng jūn) - a pun on the homophone "皇军/皇軍" (huáng jūn, literally "Imperial Army"Imperial Japanese Army-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
), the definition of 黃 (huáng) used is "yellow". This phrase was used during World War II to represent Japanese soldiers due to the colour of the uniform. Today, it is used negatively against all Japanese. Since the stereotype of Japanese soldiers are commonly portrayed in war-related TV series in China as short men, with a toothbrush moustache (and sometimes round glasses, in the case of higher ranks), 黃軍 is also often used to pull jokes on Chinese people with these characteristics, and thus "appear like" Japanese soldiers. (zì wèi duì) - A pun on the homophone "自卫队" (zì wèi duì, literally "Self-Defence Forces"Japan Self-Defense ForcesThe , or JSDF, occasionally referred to as JSF or SDF, are the unified military forces of Japan that were established after the end of the post–World War II Allied occupation of Japan. For most of the post-war period the JSDF was confined to the islands of Japan and not permitted to be deployed...
), the definition of 慰 (wèi) used is "to comfort". This phrase is used to refer to Japanese (whose military force is known as "自卫队") being stereotypically hypersexual, as "自慰队" means "Self-comforting Forces", referring to masturbationMasturbationMasturbation refers to sexual stimulation of a person's own genitals, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods. Masturbation is a common form of autoeroticism...
. The word 慰 (wèi) also carries highly negative connotations of "慰安妇/慰安婦" (wèi ān fù, "Comfort womenComfort womenThe term "comfort women" was a euphemism used to describe women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II.Estimates vary as to how many women were involved, with numbers ranging from as low as 20,000 from some Japanese scholars to as high as 410,000 from some Chinese...
"), referring to the use of sex slaves by the Japanese military during World War II.
Against Koreans
- 高丽棒子 (Gāolì bàng zǐ) - Derogatory term used against all ethnic Koreans. 高丽 (TraditionalTraditional Chinese characterTraditional Chinese characters refers to Chinese characters in any character set which does not contain newly created characters or character substitutions performed after 1946. It most commonly refers to characters in the standardized character sets of Taiwan, of Hong Kong, or in the Kangxi...
: 高麗) refers to Ancient Korea (KoryoKoryoKoryo may refer to:*The Goryeo Dynasty of Korea. It is spelt Koryŏ in McCune-Reischauer Romanization.*Koryo, a pumsae in Taekwondo.*Kōryō, Nara, a town in Japan.*Air Koryo, a North Korean airline company....
), while 棒子 means "club" or "corncob", referring to how Koreans would fit into trousers of the Ancient Koryo design. Sometimes 韓棒子 (hán bàng zǐ, "韓" referring to South KoreaSouth KoreaThe Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
) is also used. - 死棒子 (sǐ bàng zǐ) - Literally "dead club" or "dead corncob"; refer to 高丽棒子 above.
- 二鬼子 (èr guǐ zǐ) - (See 日本鬼子) During World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, 二鬼子 referred to hanjianHanjianIn Chinese culture, a Hanjian is a derogatory and pejorative term for a race traitor to the Han Chinese nation or state, and to a lesser extent, Han ethnicity. The word Hanjian is distinct from the general word for traitor, which could be used for any race or country...
and KoreansChosen Army of JapanThe was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army, forming a garrison force in Korea under Japanese rule.-History:Japanese forces occupied large portions of the Empire of Korea during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, and a substantial was established in Seoul to protect the Japanese embassy and...
in the Imperial Japanese ArmyImperial Japanese Army-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
, as the Japanese were known as "鬼子" (devils). 二鬼子 literally means "second devils". Today, 二鬼子 is used against all ethnic Koreans. This is also due to Koreans being similar in appearance to Japanese, and many Chinese believing that Koreans are copying Japanese culture.
Against communists
- 共匪 (gòngfei) - Literally "Communist Bandits" referring to communists, or to a larger extend, all Mainlanders. The term has been in use since the Chinese Civil WarChinese Civil WarThe Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
by the KuomintangKuomintangThe Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
against the Chinese Communist Party, however today reflects the rifts in cross-strait relations. - 阿共仔 (ā gòng zǐ) - Literally "Commie guy", a derogatory slang term used by Taiwanese against mainland ChineseMainland ChinaMainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
, which refers to communismCommunismCommunism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
as an ad hominemAd hominemAn ad hominem , short for argumentum ad hominem, is an attempt to negate the truth of a claim by pointing out a negative characteristic or belief of the person supporting it...
. - 共產黨 (gongchandang) - Official, academic and commonly-used Chinese translation for communist parties. In Taiwan it is considered a shame to be a communist. A Taiwanese legislator was charged with public defamation for calling a protester "gongchandang".
Other
- 印度阿三 (Yìndù ā sān) - Ethnic slur against IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
ns. "A" is a vocative, and "san" is three, so "a san" means the third son or third child in a family. So Indians are assigned third-class status by this location. - 阿差 (ā chā) - Similar to the above, this ethnic slur is common among the Cantonese speaking crowd especially those from Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. The term alludes to the frequent uttering of ācchā 'good, fine' by (Northern) Indians (cf. Hindi अच्छा) Originally referring to the Punjabi "singhs" security force who used to work for the British government during colonial era. Nowadays all Indians are indiscriminately called "ā chā".
- 台巴子 (tái bāzi) - Slur originating from the city of ShanghaiShanghaiShanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, 台巴子 refers to Taiwanese, especially advocates of Taiwan independenceTaiwan independenceTaiwan independence is a political movement whose goals are primarily to formally establish the Republic of Taiwan by renaming or replacing the Republic of China , form a Taiwanese national identity, reject unification and One country, two systems with the People's Republic of China and a Chinese...
. "Bazi" can mean a clitoris or (in baby-talk) a "wee-wee" (the penis of a little boy). - 老黑 (lǎo hēi) - Literally "Old Black", Anti-African racial slur.
- 黑鬼子 (hēi guǐzi) - Literally "Black devil", Anti-African/black people slur similar to niggerNiggerNigger is a noun in the English language, most notable for its usage in a pejorative context to refer to black people , and also as an informal slang term, among other contexts. It is a common ethnic slur...
. - 黑鬼 (hēi guǐ) - Same as 黑鬼子.
- 印泥巴 or 印尼巴 (both yìn ní ba) - a play on "印尼" (Indonesia) and "泥巴" (mud), where 尼/泥 are homophones, thus paralleling Indonesians with dirtiness.
- 香蕉人 (xiāngjiāo rén) - 'Banana People' - Ethnic Chinese living overseas who have lost any true Chinese trait. They are like bananas: Yellow (Chinese) on the outside while white (western) on the inside.
Homosexuality
There are various circumlocutions in Mandarin Chinese for homosexualHomosexuality in ChinaHomosexuality in China refers to homosexuality in Chinese culture; which, as a term, is relatively ambiguous in the contemporary context, although many instances have been recorded in the dynastic histories.-Terminology in China:...
, and the formal terms are recent additions just as is the direct translation of "masturbation" (hand soiling).
DuànxiùDong XianDong Xian was a Han Dynasty politician who quickly rose from obscurity as a minor official to being the most powerful official in the imperial administration of Emperor Ai within a span of a few years....
-- cut off sleeve, from the story of a ruler whose male favorite fell asleep on the sleeve of his jacket, so when the ruler had to get up to conduct some needed business he cut his sleeve off rather than awaken his lover. (See Bret Hinsch, Passions of the Cut Sleeve, p. 53.)
Yútáo -- remains of a peach, from the story of a favorite who rather too familiarly offered his sovereign a peach of which he had already eaten half. (From Han Fei Zi, chapter 12)
Bōlí -- lit., "glass" person. It comes from a passage in the Dream of the Red Chamber in which Phoenix is described as having a "crystal heart in a glass body," meaning that she was glistening, pure, clear, fastidious, etc. It stands as high praise for a lady, but sounds too feminine for a (stereotypical) male. The English translation of Bai Xian-yong's novel about male homosexuals in Taiwan includes the term "crystal boys," derived from the same passage in the earlier novel, and also a rather gruff reference to the old photographer who befriends some of the boys as "you old glass," which, delivered by a female friend of his, comes out sounding about on the level of "you old fart," i.e., not really so very offensive, but indicating a passing mood of aggravation on the speaker's part. Nevertheless, the general meaning is probably closer to "old queer."
Nán fēng ' onMouseout='HidePop("32167")' href="/topics/Tongzhi">TóngzhìTongzhiTongzhi is a term which literally means "same will" or "same purpose" in Chinese. Idiomatically, it means "comrade". It has taken on various meanings in various contexts since the 20th century, and now its use among the younger generation is slang for members of the LGBT community. The term was...
(lit. "comradeComradeComrade means "friend", "colleague", or "ally". The word comes from French camarade. The term is frequently used by left-wing organizations around the globe. "Comrade" has often become a stock phrase and form of address. This word has its regional equivalents available in many...
") was recently adopted in Hong Kong and Taiwan to mean homosexual, and is frequently used on the mainland. Literally the term means "one having same aspirations," and was transferred from the arena of political allegiances to the realm of sexual alliances.
Tùzi 兔子 lit., "bunny," but used to refer to catamiteCatamiteA catamite was a handsome youth kept as a sexual companion in ancient Rome, usually in a pederastic relationship. The word derives from the proper noun Catamitus, the Latinized form of Ganymede, the beautiful Trojan youth abducted by Zeus to be his companion and cupbearer...
s. (See Herbert A. Giles, A Chinese-English Dictionary, entry 12,122) See also Tu Er ShenTu Er ShenTu Er Shen is a Chinese deity who manages the love and sex between homosexual men. His name literally means "rabbit deity".According to Zi Bu Yu , a book written by Yuan Mei , Tu Er Shen was a man called Hu Tianbao . Hu Tianbao was originally a man who fell in love with a very handsome imperial...
.
Since the success of Ang LeeAng LeeAng Lee is a Taiwanese film director. Lee has directed a diverse set of films such as Eat Drink Man Woman , Sense and Sensibility , Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , Hulk , and Brokeback Mountain , for which he won an Academy...
's Brokeback MountainBrokeback MountainBrokeback Mountain is a 2005 romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee. It is a film adaptation of the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx with the screenplay written by Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry...
, duànbèi has also become popular.
See also
- Baidu 10 Mythical Creatures
- Cantonese profanityCantonese profanityThe five most common vulgar words in Cantonese profanity are diu , gau , lan , tsat and hai , where the first literally means fuck, while the rest are sexual organs of either gender. They are sometimes collectively known as the "outstanding five in Cantonese" . These five words are generally...
- Diu (Cantonese)Diu (Cantonese)Diu is a common profanity in Cantonese. It can be regarded as the Cantonese equivalent of the English fuck. In Mandarin, it is equivalent to the English "dick"...
- Grass Mud HorseGrass Mud HorseThe Grass Mud Horse or Cao Ní Ma is a Chinese Internet meme widely used as a form of symbolic defiance of the widespread Internet censorship in China. It is a play on the Mandarin language words "fuck your mother", and one of the so-called 10 mythical creatures created in a hoax article on Baidu...
Sources
- Oedipus Lex: Some Thoughts on Swear Words and the Incest Taboo in China and the West
- Cool Jay
- Chinese sex words, obscene language, curses and slang
- Tianmi.info
- máo zi Ethnic slur against Russians
- fage (发格) - Used in Shanghai, direct transliteration from English "fuck
- nǐgěiwǒgǔn = get out of my sight!
- júhuā (菊花; literally "chrysanthemum
- xiǎojiě = means "Miss" in most contexts but, now in Northern China, also connotes "prostitute" to many young women, as it suggests expressions like zuò xiǎojiě or sānpéi xiǎojiě , which refers to bargirl