Category: Chinese Words&Phrases

公铁行(gōng tiě xíng)
BMW The Chinese is a back translation from the English BMW, which stands for bus, metro and walk. BMW has become a major commuting mode for more people in large Chinese cities such as Shanghai. It was coined by Chinese netizens inspired by the namesake luxury car brand partly as a way to promote an environmental-friendly lifestyle.

庞氏骗局(páng shì piàn jú)
Ponzi scheme A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to separate investors, not from any actual profit earned by the organization, but from their own money or money paid by subsequent investors.

  吝享族(lìn xiǎng zú)
Stingy super-spender
These are Chinese young people in urban areas who go to great lengths to make the most of their meager income and live a life they consider comfortable enough.

巨型光棍节(jù xíng guāng gùn jié)
Super Singles Day
November 11 has been designated as Singles Day by Chinese youths in the past few years as 11-11 looks like singles standing alone. This year's Singles Day seems to carry more weight than usual as the date is 11-11-11.

潘币(pān bì)
Panbi
Panbi refers to a virtual form of currency named after Chinese real estate tycoon Pan Shiyi, chairman of SOHO China. One Panbi equals 1,000 yuan (US$157.4) per square meter. The term was invented after a Chinese microblogger joked that SOHO China should sell properties at 1,000 yuan per square meter when Pan dies. By doing this, more than a billion Chinese people would remember Pan. The comments were made after Pan said Apple should slash its prices as a tribute to Steve Jobs.

微求职(wēi qiú zhí)
microblog job seeking
It refers to a new form of job searching. Netizens post their resume on a microblog site and tweet the posts to their desired employers. It's fast, easy and doesn't cost anything, but it also has a very slim chance of success.

自出版(zì chū bǎn)
self-publishing
Without the involvement of a publisher, authors now can use digital tools and online platforms to publish their works. After finishing a manuscript, writers also need to create a professional book description and cover. Then they upload the book online, convert it to the proper format and it will be available in online book stores. By doing this, authors can earn more royalties.

限娱令(xiàn4 yú lìng)
vulgur-fare curbs
China's broadcast watchdog has issued a directive to limit the number of "vulgar" or "overly entertaining" programs in its latest move to boost good morals. The programs singled out for the ax include those dealing with marital troubles and matchmaking, talent shows, game shows, variety shows, talk shows and reality programming.

走绳(zǒu shéng)
Slacklining
Slacklining involves balancing and walking on a piece of bouncy nylon rope which is suspended above the ground, trees or other upright structures.

不眠精英 （bù mián jīng yīng）
sleepless elite
This refers to a small number of people who can function well on little sleep. Universtiy of California researchers recently found that around 1 percent of the population are naturally “short sleepers” who can happily and healthily get by on four or five hours of a shut-eye a night, without needing naps or caffeine.

玻璃雨(bō li yǚ)
shards of falling glass
The term literally means rainfall of glass sheets. Several accidents in which glass sheets fell from buildings whose exterior walls consisted of glass blocks have occurred recently in Shanghai and Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province. A woman's lower leg was cut off last month by a shard of glass falling from a building in Hangzhou.

H2O族(H2O zú)
home to office clan
Instead of juggling between work and family, this group of people, usually aged 25-35, enjoy a slow-paced and low-carbon lifestyle. They remain calm and composed even when stressed at work or in daily life.

高铁体(gāo tiě tǐ)
gaotie style
Gaotie means high-speed bullet train. The phrase refers to an online frenzy to use the words of the spokesperson of the Railway Ministry to mock his arrogance and improper response at a press conference following last month’s train crash in Wenzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province. After the deadly collision on July 23, Wang Yongping said regarding the explanation that the carriage of the bullet train was buried to carry out a swift rescue, “I don’t care if you believe it or not. I just do!” This sentence quickly became a catchphrase and Internet meme.

勾兑食品(gōu duì shí pǐn)
blended food
In a series of recent food scandals, eateries admitted some dishes or beverages were not freshly made in the kitchen. Instead, they were either blended from concentrated liquids or made from powders. KFC acknowledged its soybean milk was made from powders after a picture of boxes of powders piled in front of a KFC restaurant in south China’s Guangzhou was posted online.

睡美人条款(shuì měi rén tiáo kuǎn)
sleeping legal terms
It refers to those legal terms which have never been implemented in real life. They are just like the fictional character Sleeping Beauty who has not been awakened.

铯牛(sè niú)
beef tainted with radioactive caesium
The phrase refers to tainted beef in which unsafe levels of radioactive caesium has been detected after a devastating earthquake struck northeast Japan and damaged its nuclear plants causing radiation leaks in March.

女巫情结(nǚ wū qíng jié)
fortune-telling complex
This term refers to the popularity of fortune-telling among white-collar workers, especially women. People use fortune-telling as well as divination to predict their possibilities in work, life and love. It has become a fashionable way to seek suggestions, spiritual or practical guidance or affirmation, and a way to ease the pressure of a fast-paced life.

拜登吃面(bài dēng chī miàn)
Biden eats noodles
The new phrase was coined and spread quickly online. Online bloggers said it means purchasing goods that greatly overvalue their actual price. They composed a sentence to explain how to use the phrase: “Don’t think about marrying me without owning a house. That’s just a Biden eats noodles dream.” The 79-yuan (US$9.4) lunch US Vice President Joe Biden had with his team at a Beijing restaurant during his visit to China last week raised suspicion that it was a publicity stunt by the US to convey the information that China should appreciate its currency.