Catch Phrase | 漫撕男(mànsīnán)

Writer: Debra Li  |  Editor: Stephanie Yang  |  From: Shenzhen Daily  |  Updated: 2020-10-15

Meaning:

“漫” is short for “漫画” (mànhuà), which refers to “comic,” “撕” means “to tear apart,” and “男” refers to “men.” Coined by South Korean media, which recently voted for the best-looking pop idols and described them by this term, it means “so good-looking as if they had torn apart comic books and walked out of that fantasy world.” The idea is based on a Korean web drama titled “Pop Out Boy!” adapted from a popular webtoon of the same name. In that show, the male protagonist of a long-running Korean comic steps into the real world and crosses paths with a high school student who happens to share the same face and name as the female protagonist of that comic.

Example:

A: 你妹妹找男朋友了没?

Nǐ mèimei zhǎo nánpéngyou le méi?

Is your younger sister seeing anyone?

B: 还没有。她看多了韩剧,一定要找个漫撕男。

Hái méiyǒu。Tā kàn duō le hánjù,yīdìng yào zhǎo ge mànsīnán。

Not really. She’s big fan of Korean shows, and insists on finding someone extremely good-looking.