EYESHENZHEN  /   Chinese language

Catch Phrase | 社会性死亡（shèhuìxìng sǐwáng）

Literally translated as “societal death,” this term was coined by Chinese netizens to refer to the scenario where someone is so humiliated in front of the public that he or she just wants to flee to a place where nobody could see them.

2020-12-14

Catch Phrase | 直呼内行（zhíhū nèiháng）

“直” here means “continuously,” “呼” means “to call,” and “内行” refers to “an expert.”

2020-12-10

Catch Phrase | 有内味了（Yǒunèiwèi le）

In the northern Chinese dialect, the character“那” (nà, that) is often pronounced as “内” (nèi, inside). “有” means “to have,” “味” means “flavor,” and “了” is a marker for perfect tense.

2020-12-10

Catch Phrase | 土豪金（tǔháojīn）

“土豪,” which used to mean “rural landlords” in recent history, now refers to the wealthy but tasteless new rich who live extravagant lifestyles and flash their money, and “金” simply means “the golden color.”

2020-12-10

Catch Phrase | 幸存者偏差（ xìngcúnzhě piānchā）

“幸存者” means “survivor,” and “偏差” means “bias.” Translated from the English term “survivorship bias,” it refers to a type of selection bias where the results, or survivors, of a particular outcome are disproportionately evaluated.

2020-12-10

Catch Phrase | 最靓的仔（zuìliàng de zǎi）

“最” means “most,” “靓,” a word from Cantonese dialect, means “pretty,” “的” is a marker for an attributive (in this case “最靓”) and “仔” is the Cantonese for “boy.”

2020-12-01

Catch Phrase | 行走的荷尔蒙（xíngzǒu de héěrméng）

“行走的” means “walking,” and “荷尔蒙” means “hormone.”

2020-12-01

Catch Phrase | 逃废债（táofèizhài）

“逃” means “to escape,” “废” means “waste,” and “债” means “debts.”

2020-11-26

Catch Phrase | 吃土（chītǔ）

Literally translated as “eating dirt,” this term originated from “Touhou Project” comics, in which a female character, without a dime and not being able to buy food, digs dirt in front of the shrine of her home to fill her stomach.

2020-11-26

Catch Phrase | 战斗民族（zhàndòu mínzú）

“战斗” means “fighting,” and “民族” means “nation” or “race.”

2020-11-26

Catch Phrase | 充话费送的（chōnghuàfèi sòngde）

“充话费” means “to prepay mobile service fees,” and “送的” refers to “a free gift.”

2020-11-19

Catch Phrase | 扫地僧（sǎodìsēng）

“扫地” means “to sweep the floor,” and “僧” means “monk.” The sweeping monk who provided the origin for this term is a character from Jin Yong’s martial arts novel “天龙八部” (tiānlóng bābù, “Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils”).

2020-11-17

Catch Phrase | 伴手礼（bànshǒulǐ）

“伴” means “to accompany,” “手” means “hand,” and “礼” means “gift.”

2020-11-17

Catch Phrase | 打工人（dǎgōngrén）

“打” means “to hit,” “工” is short for “工作,” which means “a job,” and “人” means “a person.”

2020-11-13

Catch Phrase | 朋克养生（péngkè yǎngshēng）

“朋克” is a transliteration from the English word “punk,” which refers to a style of rock music, a rock musician or someone who dresses and acts like one. “养生” means to “drink tonics and practice a healthy lifestyle in order to live long and stay healthy.”

2020-11-13

Catch Phrase | 白菜价（báicàijià）

Literally translated as “at cabbage price,” this term means “at a very competitive price.” The cabbage, a commonplace vegetable consumed in North China, is planted each year after corn has been harvested in early fall and is ready for the market in early winter.

2020-11-09

Catch Phrase | 弄弄子（nòngnòngzi）

“弄” is short for “糊弄 (húnòng),” which means “to fool” or “to give someone the runaround,” and “子” is a suffix meaning “a person” (for example: 胖子, pàngzi, fatty).

2020-11-05

Catch Phrase | 平平无奇（píngpíng wúqí）

“平平” means “average, common,” and “无奇” means “not special.” The literal meaning of this term is “average, ordinary.”

2020-11-03

Catch Phrase | 尾款人（wěikuǎnrén）

“尾款” means “follow-up payment,” and “人” means “people.” Coined by Chinese netizens, this term refers to those who have paid deposits for a merchandise at online shops and have to follow up with their payments afterwards.

2020-11-02

Catch Phrase | 工具人（gōngjùrén）

“工具” means “tools,” and “人” means “a person.” Coined by Chinese netizens, this term, literally meaning “a person used as a tool,” can be used differently depending on the context.

2020-11-02