Glossary
Compiling terms encountered in Chinese Novels, I'll list them up here as I go.
Character Personalities
Black Belly/ied (腹黑/Fu Hei)¹ : It's a Chinese phrase used in many novels as a term to describe a person who seems extremely kind and honest, who is a very hardworking, gentle person on the outside. But they turn out to be dark/soulless/evil/sly/manipulative on the inside.
The Tea Bitches²: derogatory category that is being used mostly in Chinese net, stereotyping young Chinese women.
high-end office ladies who constantly mix English with Chinese, dress according to the latest fashion craze and love to take pictures of themselves in fancy restaurants or on sunny beaches.
Black Tea Bitch (红茶婊/Hóng Chá Biǎo): is a promiscuous girl who smokes, drinks, and likes eyeliner and low-cut clothes that show her cleavage.
Milk Tea Bitch (奶茶婊/Nǎi Chá Biǎo) is the kind of woman who talks in a girlish voice and has extremely sweet looks. She is always kind to everyone around her, but only to attract men who will give her presents that she will kindly accept.
Green Tea Bitch (绿茶婊/Lǜ Chá Biǎo) used to describe ambitious women who “pretend to be very innocent”. (Not sure about the others but Green tea has been extended to refer to males with this type.)
White Moonlight (白月光/Bai Yue Guang): Unforgettable first love³/ depending on the context, it can also mean, ideal man/woman, a perfect character admired by many/An unrequited love/Someone unattainable you hold dear in your heart.
Cinnabar Mole (朱砂痣/Zhūshā zhì)⁵:
Similar to White Moonlight and often considered the same, with a slight difference, an unforgettable love but not necessarily a first love and with this one it isn't one-sided but it got away, the one that got away. Cinnabar is an ore of mercury sulfide, red in color. Prolonged contact leaves a stain thus meant 'unforgettable' in the metaphor.
White Lotus (白莲花/Bái Lián Huā):
Depending on the context, it may mean:
1) Pure, innocent, and virtuous woman.
2. This later became a satirize label to refer to females with such innocent persona but in fact completely contradictory on the inside, similar to a green tea bitch
Black Lotus is its counterpart.
Soft Persimmon: someone who is easily bullied.
妖精 (yāojing) - supernatural beings that can be translated as fairy, elf, or goblin, in Chinese folklore they're linked with mischief, coquettishness or lewdness.
Honorifics/Nicknames
-posting later-
Terms/Euphemisms
Black Fan: a hater on the net.
Pink/Red Fan: Celebrity avid fan
Black Material: A celebrity scandal.
粉 (fen) word for fans since it's a homophone, but it also means powder (can either be starch to make noodles, cosmetic powder or heroin)
Jida (姬达) - gaydar/lesbian radar, Ji Da or Jidar 姬 - lesbian 达- da in radar,
Navy/Water Army: paid people who create ‘heat’ in social media for or against a specific celebrity and control the direction of the conversation.
Super Topic/Super Talk/Chaohua: a feature in Weibo, similar to Twitter Community, where you can follow certain topics/celebs/hashtags of your interest.
CP: romantic couple pairing/couple ship used between celebrities or idol groups or fictional characters, where fans romanticize any interaction between the two.
18th Tier/18th line: Someone who is unpopular
Little Transparency: someone who is insignificant/unpopular
Nu Wa: The Mother Goddess of Chinese Mythology that created humanity and repaired the Pillars of Heaven
Trumpet: a small or alternate of SNS or gaming account
Tuba: main SNS or gaming account
Nurturing Relationship: sponsorship/sugar dating
Gold Master: benefactor/sugar mommy or daddy in a sugar dating relationship.
Canary: pet/sugar baby.
Melon: gossip
Three Points: the censored body parts of a human female. Boobies and janey.
Papapa: sex (because of the sound it makes)
Tree Hole: someone or something you use to rant on/vent your frustrations/share your secrets. Like a confidante, a diary or a scream pillow etc.
Face Dog: someone who is easily attracted to good looking people ignoring their other weak traits.
Coffee: Popularity, when used in the entertainment industry, comparing different popular coffee brands to celebrities.
Traffic: followers/popularity
PUA: pick up artist method/ gaslighting/manipulation.
Idioms/Phrases
A Good Meal Is Not Afraid Of Being Late (好饭不怕晚/Hǎo fàn bùpà wǎn): Good things in life are worth the wait.
Applause/Clap for love: have sex (because of the clapping sound)
Breaking The Already Broken Jar/Pot (破罐子破摔 /Pò guànzi pò shuāi): after a series of mistakes or setbacks just go on along with it without trying to fix the situation. Since the jar/pot is already broken, just smash it into pieces.
Chicken Talking To A Duck (鸡同鸭讲 /jī tóng yā jiǎng) - people with no common language/ can't comprehend each other
Cover own's ears and steal the bell (掩耳盗铃/yǎn ěr dào líng): used to describe someone who, out of foolishness, tells an obvious lie and end up being the only one who believes it.
Drink Vinegar/Eat Lemon: be jealous
1. Have ulterior motives
2. Be distracted
Eat Melon/Melon Seeds: to follow gossip
Eat/Feed/Spray Dog Food: to eat dog food is to reluctantly witness PDA/to feed dog food is to have someone witness your PDA with your SO.
Hate Iron For Not Becoming Steel (恨铁不成钢/Hèn tiě bùchéng gāng): be exasperated at sb.'s failure to make good; regret that one's offspring does not live up to one's expectations
Huai Jin Wo Yu/Huai Jin Holds Yu: huai: cherish, jin: brilliance wo: hold yu: jade, meaning to uphold the brilliance of a jade. Metaphor describing someone who is pure and of noble moral character.
Kneel on Keyboard/Or Anything Rough: (usually figurative) means to be punished (if being forced to do) or to apologize (if done at one's accord)
Pluck The Beard From A Tiger's Mouth: do something reckless and risky.
Put Your Heart Back In Your Stomach (把你的心放回肚子里/bǎ nǐ de xīn fàng huí dùzi lǐ): Be at ease/ do not worry
Loving The House And The Crow (爱屋及乌 /ài wū jí wū): loving someone along with whoever or whatever comes along with them, flaws and awe.
Slapping the horse on its leg (馬屁拍在馬腿上/ mǎpì pāi zài mǎtuǐ shàng) - (when it's supposed to be on their butt) to suck up in the wrong way; to flatter someone in a way that offends that person and embarrasses oneself.
There Are No 300 Taels of Silver Here (此地無銀三百兩/Cǐdì wú yín sānbǎi liǎng)⁴ an idiom that means a clumsy or obvious lie.
The first half of a longer sentence: 此地無銀三百兩，隔壁王二不曾偷, literally “There are no 300 taels of silver (buried) here. The next-door Wang Er did not steal (the silver).”
It is said to come from a story about a man named Zhang San (張三). According to the story, he buried 300 taels of silver in the ground with the banner “There are no 300 taels of silver (buried) here” so that no one would steal them. But his neighbor Wang Er (王二) saw through the lie and dug up the money, leaving the banner “The next-door Wang Er did not steal (the silver)”.
Heart Is Galloping Over Ten Thousand Grass Mud Horses/Alpacas (接奔腾过去一万匹草泥马/Jiē bēnténg guòqù yī wàn pǐ cǎonímǎ): Churning with anger. Cursing a whole lot inside. Alpaca or grass mud horse (草泥马/Cǎonímǎ) is a play on words on the curse, fuck your mother (操你妈/Cāo nǐ mā), though there is a slight difference in tone, they sound the same specially for untrained ears like ours.
Eyes On The Nose, Nose On The Heart (眼观鼻鼻观心/yǎn guān bí bí guān xīn):
1. The appearance of bowing one's head due to shyness, shame, etc.
2. It means to concentrate, not to be distracted. It implies the practice of maintaining composure, self-control, and inner awareness.
Glorify oneself, think highly of yourself
taking an inaccurate news/rumor as the truth even if you only heard half of it.
These are two slang terms which can be used separately:
1. Moon Landing - tying up with someone with a big status gap
2. Touching/Bumping Porcelain - Scam/ Scamming MO, Fake accidents to claim compensation, charging someone for breaking an already broken vase.
3. refering to the conspiracy theory that NASA faked the moon landing; meaning the issue was faked or staged and just a forced marketing strategy.
Pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger (bàn zhū chī lǎo hǔ) - It means to hide one's true strength or intentions in order to deceive others, often by appearing weak or harmless while secretly planning to take advantage of or exploit a stronger opponent.
Chat Abbreviations
KSWL (磕死我了/kē sǐ wǒle) -
lit. knocked me to death. Too sweet/cute to death. Used to refer to things/moments/people you find sweet or adorable that it could kill you.
YYDS (永远的神/yǒngyuǎn de shén) - eternal god; the G.O.A.T, the best of all time
SRDS (虽然但是/suīrán dànshì), which translates to "although, but" or "though. 'You're right/You have a point....but...'
COS - cosplay
XP (性癖/Xingpi) - fetish
Numeronyms
233: lol
666: nice or smooth, a praise usually in gaming when someone showed an impressive skill.
520: I love you
521: I am willing/I accept, that's why May 20 and 21 are another couples' days along with Valentine's
Social Networking
Baidu: similar to google/wikipedia
Bilibili/B Site/B Station: video sharing site similar to YouTube.
Tieba: an online forum hosted by Baidu similar to reddit.
Tianya: another forum site similar to reddit.
WeChat: top messaging app in China
QQ or Penguin: its logo is a penguin hence the other term for QQ is penguin, it is the flagship messaging app by Tencent (WeChat is also owned by Tencent)
Moments/Circle of Friends: a feature in WeChat (similar to My Day or IG stories) like an SNS within a messaging app and only your approved friends can see your posts.This is like how Facebook is tied up to Messenger. The difference is that Moments is accessible within the WeChat app. And WeChat's main feature is 'messaging' and the SNS is a side feature.
Chinese Holidays/Special Occasions
Qing Ming Festival (清明节/Qīngmíng jié) or Tomb-Sweeping Day: is a traditional Chinese festival that usually falls on April 4th or 5th of each year. It is a time when people pay respects to their ancestors by visiting their graves, cleaning the tombstones, and making offerings of food, flowers, and incense. It is considered a time for honoring and remembering the deceased, as well as for enjoying outdoor activities and appreciating the arrival of spring.
Qingxi Festival/Double 7 - Chinese Valentine's Day celebrated on the 7th day of the 7th Lunar month (around August in Gregorian)
Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋節/中秋节/Zhōngqiū jié ), also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, is a traditional festival celebrated in Chinese culture. Held in the 15th day of the Lunar Calendar (around September) Similar holidays are celebrated in Japan (Tsukimi), Korea (Chuseok), Vietnam (Tết Trung Thu), and other countries in East and Southeast Asia.
National Day Golden Week
week-long celebration of the founding anniversary of People's Republic Of China starting Oct. 1
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