MB

MBs (plural)
mb (alternative adverb interjection)


friction

en-noun

friction (usually uncountable, plural frictions)

From Middle French friction and directly from Latin frictionem, nom. frictio (“a rubbing, rubbing down”).

(China, historical) (Second Sino-Japanese War) Conflict, as between the Communists and non-Hanjian Kuomintang forces.


PLC

PLC (countable and uncountable, plural PLCs)

prefecture-level city
prefecture-level city#English

(countable, China) Initialism of prefecture-level city.


chit

From chitty, from Hindi चिट्ठी (ciṭṭhī, “letter, note, written message”). Doublet of cure.

bor

1901, Falk, by Joseph Conrad
He just longed to get away from here and try his luck somewhere else, but for the sake of his sister he hung on and on till he ran himself into debt over his ears—I can tell you. I, myself, could show a handful of his chits for meals and drinks in my drawer.

You might come in out of contempt for history—then you'd fall in love with the idea that you could make it, because history had assumed a debt that had never been paid—because, save in apparent trivial, vanishing moments, the debt had been forgotten, and even the chits had been lost.

1989, Greil Marcus, “The Assault on Notre-Dame”, in Lipstick Traces, Faber & Faber, published 2009:

There's been a series of recurring Mass rapid transit (MRT) train breakdowns in Singapore that led to delays for commuters. A travel chit system was implemented where commuters could collect these hardcopy paper chits from the affected stations as documented evidence to be shown to their employers or educational institutions that they were involved in these delays, resulting in the commuters late for work/school.

2017 August 18, Dennis Heng, “Improvement of MRT train travel chit expediting processes”, in LinkedIn, retrieved 2025-04-05:

(India, China) A signed voucher or memorandum of a small debt, as for food and drinks at a club.


aiya

ai yah (alternative)
aiyah (alternative)
aiyoh (alternative)

“I don’t need to hear any idle gossip.”
“Aiyah, it’s not idle gossip! These are important details I’ve learned just from being around them, and from what Mr. Wong found out—”

2015, Kevin Kwan, chapter 3, in China Rich Girlfriend, Doubleday, →ISBN:

Aiyah, dun ask me why their name all so funny, can or not? You ask me, I ask who?

2023 September 8, Devyani Sharma, From Deficit to Dialect: The Evolution of English in India and Singapore, Oxford University Press, →ISBN:

(China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Chinese Filipino, Chinese Australian, informal) ah; oh; exclamation of surprise, blame, dismay, shock, or fear.


TVE

Township and Village Enterprises
w:Township and Village Enterprises

鄉鎮企業 鄉鎮企業#Chinese

乡镇企业 乡镇企业#Chinese

(China, business) Initialism of Township and Village Enterprises (鄉鎮企業 /乡镇企业).


CNC

(China, historical) Initialism of Chinese National Currency.


SAR

en-noun

SAR (countable and uncountable, plural SARs)

special administrative region
special administrative region#English

(politics, China, North Korea) Acronym of special administrative region.


Northeast

the Northeast (canonical)
North East (alternative)

(China) The northeastern provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning in China.


App

(nonstandard, common in China) Alternative form of app.


CCTV

China Central Television
w:China Central Television

(broadcasting, China) Initialism of China Central Television.

中国中央電視台

ちゅうごくちゅうおうでんしだい

中国中央テレビジョン

ちゅうごくちゅうおうテレビジョン


how old are you

Word by word translation of Chinese 怎麼老是你？/怎么老是你？ (Zěnme lǎoshì nǐ?, “Why is it always you?”)

zh-m

怎麼老是你？/怎么老是你？

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-how old are you.wav

(China, humorous) Why is it always you? You again?


KTV

en-noun

KTV (countable and uncountable, plural KTVs)

From Chinese KTV. Late 1980s Taiwanese Pseudo-English initialism from Japanese カラオケ (karaoke) + English TV. Modelled after the earlier MTV "movie TV", which in turn repurposed the initialism from the earlier meaning "music TV", copied from the American cable TV network of that name. This term is chiefly used in mainland China, Taiwan and Cambodia and Chinese speakers globally.

Most KTV clubs in Taiwan have since followed a single architectural formula: […]

2004, Avron Boretz, "Carousing and Masculinity: The Cultural Production of Gender in Taiwan", in Catherine Farris, Anru Lee, Murray Rubinstein, Women in the New Taiwan: Gender Roles and Gender Consciousness in a Changing Society, East Gate, page 179

They are enshrined and worshiped on the table as ‘holy scripture’ for KTV devotees.

2006, Tsen Wang, "DEMO Exegesis: Virtual Songs", in Kevin K. W. Wong et al., Proceedings of Third Australasian Conference of Interactice Entertainment, Murdoch University, page 34

As opposed to karaoke’s open venues, such as bars, KTV is enclosed in a private room and features microphones and a large television screen which includes the lyrics and features the music videos or, in the case of most Western songs, a low-budget video filmed especially for KTV.

2010, Marc L. Moskowitz, Cries of Joy, Songs of Sorrow: Chinese Pop Music and Its Cultural Connotations, University of Hawaiʻi Press, page 10:

(chiefly Asia, common in China, uncountable) Karaoke television, a form of interactive musical entertainment.

The longest take of the film, where the underwold and political figures decide the case of Flatty and Kao in the shadowy interstices of a KTV, […]

2009, James Udden, No Man an Island: The Cinema of Hou Hsiao-hsien, Hong Kong University Press, page 139:

“Anyway, in order to take my mind off of the problem, my wife suggested we go to a KTV,” Su said.

2012, Peter Martel, Gator Tango and the Higgs Boson, Strategic Book Publishing and Rights, page 67:

The KTV is an apt place to begin an investigation into such phenomena, […]

2014, Brian Hu, Love in the Club: Karaoke Realism in Chinese and Hong Kong Cinema, in David Laderman, Laurel Westrup, Sampling Media, Oxford University Press, page 135

(chiefly Asia, common in China, countable) Karaoke box, a karaoke entertainment establishment.


NPC

National People's Congress
w:National People's Congress

(China) Initialism of National People's Congress.


VOC

VSC

volatile sulphur compound/volatile sulfur compound

(television, China) Voice of China; international cultural television programming from China


xian

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of Mandarin 縣 /县.

Tight and dense motifs occur on bronzes excavated in 1923 from a tomb at Lijialou at Xinzheng Xian in southern Henan attributed to the small state of Zheng.

1987, Jessica Rawson, “The Eastern Zhou Period”, in Chinese Bronzes: Art and Ritual, British Museum Publications, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 47:

At the time of the elections (1980) Nanjing was subdivided into three suburban counties (xian) and nine urban districts (qu).

1990, Barrett L. McCormick, “Elections to Local People's Congresses”, in Political Reform in Post-Mao China: Democracy and Bureaucracy in a Leninist State, University of California Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 138:

The Henan Mongol autonomous county (xian) is inhabited by Tsoros Mongols, and there are Ööld Mongols in the Huzhu autonomous county.

2017, Alan J. K. Sanders, Historical Dictionary of Mongolia, 4th edition, volume I, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 700, page 274:

(China, Taiwan) An administrative subdivision of imperial, republican, and communist China roughly equivalent to counties, now distinguished from the more urban "districts" (qu). (Alternative form of hsien for Taiwan (ROC).)


Spring Festival

Spring Festival (plural Spring Festivals)

A calque of Chinese 春節 /春节 (Chūnjié), the usual modern name for the holiday.

Although the Hui in the northwest do not celebrate the Han holidays of Zhongqiu, Qingming, or even Chun Jie (Spring Festival), the Hui in most of China's cities gladly participate.

2020, Dru C. Gladney, Muslim Chinese..., page 192:

Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year#English

(chiefly China) Synonym of Chinese New Year.


kuai

Many Chinese people never cook at home because the range of options is endless, from 10-Kuai eats, to 1,000-Kuai feasts.

(China, informal) yuan (Chinese unit of currency)


qu

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin 區 /区.

[…]the Party committee of Peiyuanmen commune of Lienhu ch'u in Sian municipality has since the year before last set up outside-school cultural activity centers in the commune headquarters and in various neighborhood committees.

[1973, Survey of China Mainland Press, numbers 5308-5345, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 52:

As we have seen, the people of Guide/Shangqiu have traced the history of their city back well before the Ming and especially to the Han period. The People's Republic has recognized that heritage by naming the district subordinate to Shangqiu city the Liangyuan qu (Liang Garden District) and the district subordinate to Guide the Suiyang qu (Suiyang District) (see Map 3).

2009, Roger Des Forges, “Tales of Three City Walls in China's Central Plain”, in Chinese Walls in Time and Space: A Multidisciplinary Perspective, →ISBN, →ISSN, →LCCN, →OCLC, pages 60–61:

(China) An administrative subdivision of China roughly equivalent to districts, distinguished from the more rural "counties" (xian).


splittist

From split + -ist, as a translation of the Chinese terms 分裂 (fēnliè) and 分裂主義分子／分裂主义分子.

zh-m

分裂主義分子／分裂主义分子

The Politburo had already met on 1 April to agree that the Nanking incident had been splittist and supportive of Teng Hsiao-p'ing.

1978, John King Fairbank, The Cambridge History of China, →ISBN, page 362:

(derogatory, Marxism, China) Favoring a split or separation from the Party or the nation.


splittist

分裂主義分子／分裂主义分子

Our Party and the Government of the Republic have till now done all they can to check and frustrate the colonial enslavement policy of US imperialism towards Korea and the nation-splitting manoeuvres of the domestic and foreign splittists and achieve the independent, peaceful reunification of the country.

1974, Kim Il Sung, Answers to the Questions Raised by Secretary-general of Peru-Korea Institute of Culture and Friendship, page 7:

"Trouble. I'll tell you frankly, little Han, we have a lot of splittists here. You know what I mean by a splittist?" ¶ "Of course. People who want to split the Motherland."

2001, John Derbyshire, Fire From the Sun, →ISBN, page 21:

(China, Korea, derogatory) A separatist.


CPC

C.P.C. (alternative)
C. P. C. (alternative)

It is also evident that the struggle in the CPC and among its leaders mounted as the tasks confronting the Party and the nation grew more complex and Mao Tse-tung stepped up his efforts to impose his line and consolidate his personal power regime. The sharp aggravation of the differences in the CPC, that erupted into an open political clash, was generated by the serious and long-maturing crisis of the Maoist home and foreign policies. The "cultural revolution" was the culmination of this struggle, in which the problem of the power regime was closely coupled with ideological and political problems.

1980, Fedor Burlatsky, translated by David Skvirsky, Mao Tse-tung An Ideological and Psychological Portrait, Progress Publishers, page 182:

In planning and building the Xiong’an New Area [part of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development program], under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee we should follow the underlying principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability, and reinforcing and implementing the new development concepts.

2018, Xi Jinping, The Governance of China, volume II, Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 260:

People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China

(China, politics) Communist Party of China, the sole ruling political party in the People's Republic of China


CMA

en-noun

CMA (countable and uncountable, plural CMAs)

(China, meteorology, uncountable) Abbreviation of China Meteorological Administration.


Hong Kong foot

→ Thai: ฮ่องกงฟุต (hɔ̂ng-gong-fút)

Calque from Chinese 香港腳／香港脚 (xiānggǎngjiǎo).

(slang, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, pathology) Athlete's foot.


Qomolangma Feng

Partial calque from Mandarin 珠穆朗瑪峰／珠穆朗玛峰 (Zhūmùlǎngmǎ Fēng); created by combining Qomolangma (“Tibetan Pinyin spelling of Tibetan ཇོ་མོ་གླང་མ (jo mo glang ma)”) and Mandarin 峰 (Fēng, “mountain, summit”).

zh-l

珠穆朗瑪峰／珠穆朗玛峰 (Zhūmùlǎngmǎ Fēng)

A series of four pictures showing Chinese male and female climbers scaling the Qomolangma Feng--the highest peak in the world--is featured in the PEOPLE'S DAILY and all other Peking papers today.

Not only is Qomolangma Feng towering and grand, but very powerful.

1999, Shi Zhaochun, A Guide to Mountaineering in China, page 21:

In 2005 China carried out a new geodetic campaign for the height determination of Qomolangma Feng—Mt. Everest (QF in short).

2006, Junyong Chen, Janli Yuan, Chunxi Guo, Yanping Zhang, Peng Zhang, “Progress in technology for the 2005 height determination of Qomolangma Feng (Mt. Everest)”, in Science China Earth Sciences:

(chiefly China) Mount Qomolangma; Mount Everest


Zhongqiu

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 中秋節 /中秋节 (Zhōngqiūjié, “Mid-Autumn Festival”).

bor

Mid-Autumn Festival
Mid-Autumn Festival#English

(uncommon, chiefly China) Synonym of Mid-Autumn Festival, the Chinese harvest festival.


Gang of Four

the Gang of Four (canonical)
gang of four (alternative)

Calque from Chinese 四人幫／四人帮 (sìrénbāng).

zh-l

四人幫／四人帮 (sìrénbāng)

Once control of the media was wrested from Mao's most strident defenders, the abusive language Chiang Ch'ing had used against her enemies over the years was hurled back at her. The verbal weapons borrowed from Lu Hsun backfired. "Ruthlessly beat the dog in the water," her enemies repeated as they vowed to fight the Gang of Four to the finish. Their claims to have been the standard-bearers of the much-exploited Lu Hsun were mocked.

1977, Roxane Witke, Comrade Chiang Chʻing, Little, Brown and Company, →ISBN, page 472:

Chinese and Japanese scholars attending a symposium on the problems facing the Peiping regime Dec. 17 reached the conclusion that the trial of the "gang of four" and six other defendants in Peiping is actually a trial of Mao Tse-tung and his thought.

1980 December 21, “Along with 'gang of four' Mao's thought goes on trial in Peiping”, in Free China Weekly, volume XXI, number 50, Taipei, →ISSN, page 1:

(China, historical, politics) A radical political faction composed of four Communist Party of China officials that came to prominence during the Chinese Cultural Revolution.


Huainan

From the Mandarin 淮南 (Huáinán, “land[s] south of the Huai River”).

der

(China, historical) A principality between the Huai and Yangtze rivers during the Han Dynasty.

(China) The region of China between the Huai and Yangtze rivers generally.


BAT

en-noun

BAT (countable and uncountable, plural BATs)

(China, technology) One or more of the Chinese technology companies Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent.


Ins

Ins story


APP

World Cup to live on APP in China
China's Central Television, jointly with the digital firm of Ali Cloud, Tuesday released the unique APP product that is authorized to broadcast the World Cup live. Besides TV and web, APP on mobile devices has become the 3rd platform to watch the tournament live.

2014, “World Cup to live on APP in China”, in Xinhua, archived from the original on 2014-07-04:

The Dalai Lama launches free APP

2017, Renée Salmonsen, “The Dalai Lama launches free APP”, in Taiwan News:

China to foster 300,000 industrial Internet APPs by 2020, ministry
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has recently released a plan to foster 300,000 industrial Internet APPs for specific industries and specific scenarios by 2020, meeting key demands in the key links of the manufacturing industry, including R&D and design, manufacturing, operations, maintenance and operations management.

2018, “China to foster 300,000 industrial Internet APPs by 2020, ministry”, in Xinhua:

(nonstandard, common in China) Alternative form of app.


gelivable

en-adj

gelivable (comparative more gelivable, superlative most gelivable)

more gelivable (comparative)
most gelivable (superlative)

From Mandarin 給力 /给力 (gěilì, “to give power; to be powerful, awesome”) + -able. Perhaps a back-formation from ungelivable (“uninteresting, unexciting”), which was modelled on unbelievable.

affix

Jack's bitcoin has risen by more than 1500 % this year. Wow, this digital gold is so gelivable!

2019, Changming Yuan, “Trade Deficit: Chinese Exported into English”, in T. R. Mwanaka, editor, Nationalism: (mis)understanding Donald Trump's Capitalism, Racism, Global Politics, International Trade and Media Wars, volume 2, →ISBN:

(chiefly China, Internet slang) Awesome, incredible, amazing, extraordinary.


Qingming

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 清明 (Qīngmíng, literally “Pure & Bright”).

bor

Chingming (alternative)
Ching Ming (alternative)
Ching-ming (alternative)
Ch'ing-ming (alternative)
Ch'ing Ming (alternative)
Qing Ming (alternative)
Tsing Ming (alternative)

Although the Hui in the northwest do not celebrate the Han holidays of Zhongqiu, Qingming, or even Chun Jie (Spring Festival), the Hui in most of China's cities gladly participate.

Tomb Sweeping Day
Tomb Sweeping Day#English

(chiefly China) Synonym of Tomb Sweeping Day, a Chinese holiday observed on that day.


KMT

All of the parties could and did claim victories. The ruling KMT won the governorship and the mayorship of Kaohsiung. Naturally KMT leaders boasted of these wins. In particular, they noted that Kaohsiung had been a stronghold of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party. The DPP won the mayorship of Taipei. This was a major triumph. The NP's candidate was second in the Taipei mayoral context and the NP did well in the Taipei City Council race. Taiwan's new political party thus seemed to be off to a good start in winning support at the ballot box. Finally, the cause of democracy won.

1998, John F. Copper, Taiwan's Mid-1990s elections: Taking the Final Steps to Democracy, Praeger Publishers, →ISBN, page 3:

The Supreme Court sentenced former KMT Mayor of Jinsha Township (金沙鎮) in Kinmen County (金門縣) to 11 years in prison on bribery and abuse of public office charges.

2018 June 8, Scott Morgan, “Former Mayor in Kinmen County, Taiwan sentenced to 11 years on bribery charges”, in Taiwan News, archived from the original on 2018-06-14, Society:

In 1950, it moved to Fengshan after Chengdu fell into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government relocated to Taiwan.

2023 March 19, Nien-han Liao, “Whampoa academy arguments redundant”, in Taipei Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-03-21, Editorials, page 8:

The Kuomintang (KMT) opposition party, of which Ma remains a senior member, also rejects reunification but advocates for closer ties with China as the way to preserve peace. Ma is one of the party’s most China-friendly figures.

2024 April 10, Helen Davidson, “China and Taiwan are destined for ‘reunification’, Xi tells former president”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(politics, China, Taiwan) Abbreviation of Kuomintang.


ACG

The idea behind “bullet screens” originated in Japan, where they were first popularized by a Japanese ACG (animation, comics, games) video portal called Nicodou, which later became the inspiration for similar Chinese ACG video sites such as Bilibili.

2014 August 20, Amy Qin, “Theaters in China Screen Movies, and Viewers' Text Messages”, in New York Times Sinosphere Blog:

The four girls are dressed up as different types of manga characters and spend more time exploring the ACG world than the human world.

2019, Hui Faye Xiao, Youth Economy, Crisis, and Reinvention in Twenty-First-Century China, Routledge, →ISBN:

(Greater China) Initialism of anime, comics and games: a Chinese subculture that revolves around anime, manga, and Japanese video games.


GFW

Great Firewall of China
Great Firewall of China#English

(China) Initialism of Great Firewall of China.


hukou

zh-l

戶口／户口 (hùkǒu)

But now, a new awareness of the issue is raising questions about the status of women in China, as well as other rights issues like the hukou, or residency permit, a central tool of population control passed down from the Maoist era that restricts movement by linking people to the towns of their birth.

2008 April 6, Howard W. French, “Single Mothers in China Forge a Difficult Path”, in New York Times:

(China, Taiwan) A household registration record that identifies a person as a local resident.


fapiao

發票／发票 (fāpiào)

If I spent all my income to generate fapiao to avoid paying taxes on my income, I’d never actually save any money.

2015 September 11, George Ding, “How to Cheat on Taxes in China”, in New York Times:

(China, Taiwan) A kind of receipt that serves as a tax document and sometimes also as a lottery ticket, used in China.


gaokao

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of Mandarin 高考 (gāokǎo, literally “higher [education] [entrance] examination”).

bor

higher 􂀿education􂁀 􂀿entrance􂁀 examination

In recent years, education officials have made a number of proposals, including revising elementary and middle school textbooks to increase the proportion of guoxue, or the study of Chinese culture, and reducing the importance of English on some versions of the gaokao, or university entrance examination, in favor of a greater emphasis on the Chinese language.

2015 September 30, Amy Qin, “A Fervor to Glimpse ‘China’s Mona Lisa’”, in New York Times:

(China, education) The National Higher Education Entrance Examination held annually in China as a prerequisite for entrance into most forms of higher education.


13th month

/θɜːˌtiːnθ ˈmʌnθ/

/ˌθɝ.tɪnθ ˈmɒnθ/

A fixed 13th Month Payment is introduced, freezing all previous bonus payments and is payable on the following basis: (a) where bonus of one month’s pay or more was paid in respect of the last three annual bonus payments, the 13th Month Payment shall be equivalent to the average of bonuses paid in the last three years or the last annual bonus paid, whichever is higher, subject to a maximum of three months’ pay.

1972 April 29, The Straits Times: Two Choices for Employers, page 1:

An ANZUK spokesman last night said the decision to pay civilian employees a 13th month payment (cost: about $1 million) was approved by the Australian government early this year to be in line with the Singapore Government’s policy.

1972 December 21, The Straits Times: ANZUK’s Civilians to get 13-month pay, page 12:

According to sources, circulars have been sent to all officers informing them that their 13th month pay will include the National Wages Council recommendations for wage increase for last year and this year

1974 November 4, New Nation: An extra month…, page 3:

In this cost cutting era [...] many banks do not even give out 13th months.

2013, “Saving $100k by the time you are 30 years old”, in Investment Moats, retrieved 2015-11-03:

The Annual Wage Supplement is also known as the 13th month bonus which you will receive in addition of your December’s salary.

2014 December 31, Goodbye 2014, Hello 13th Month Bonus?:

(Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Nepal, China, Taiwan, South Africa, Nigeria, Mexico, Israel, some other countries, generally attributive) a one-month (or more) bonus paid to employees at the end of the financial year.

some other countries; generally attributive; some other countries; generally attributive


add oil

en-verb

add oil (third-person singular simple present adds oil, present participle adding oil, simple past and past participle added oil)

adds oil (present singular third-person)
adding oil (participle present)
added oil (participle past)
added oil (past)

Calque of Chinese 加油 (jiāyóu), particularly in Hong Kong contexts via its Cantonese pronunciation gaa1 jau4-2, sometimes credited to shouts of support during the Macau Grand Prix. Cf. cooking with gas, gas up, fuel up, etc.

(idiomatic, chiefly Hong Kong, China) Synonym of let's go: a cheer of encouragement, support, etc.


mass line

A calque of Chinese 群眾路線／群众路线 (qúnzhòng lùxiàn).

zh-l

群眾路線／群众路线 (qúnzhòng lùxiàn)

(China, politics) The policy of consulting the masses, interpreting their suggestions within the framework of Marxism-Leninism, and then enforcing the resulting policies, as introduced by the Chinese Communist Party.


yuanyang

en-noun

yuanyang (countable and uncountable, plural yuanyangs)

Borrowed from Mandarin 鴛鴦 /鸳鸯 (yuānyāng, literally “male (鴛) and female (鴦) mandarin duck”).

bor

The yuanyang are the male and female respectively of Anas galericulata, commonly called by Europeans "Mandarin duck." These beautiful water-fowl manifest when mated a singular degree of attachment for each other, and they have hence been elevated into the emblems of connubial affection and fidelity.

1889, Congressional Serial Set, page 460:

Yuanyang, the Mandarin duck, mates for life, and is hence a symbol of conjugal felicity.

2006, Pi-Ching Hsu, Beyond Eroticism: A Historian's Reading of Humor in Feng Menglong's Child's Folly:

May the pair of yuanyang 鸳鸯 augur well for our proposed union with Dominant Duck," said Susie gaily.

2016, Matt Huang, Grace Hsu, Young China Hand, →ISBN:

(China) A pair of mandarin ducks, one male and one female, as a symbol of faithful union.


new energy vehicle

en-noun

new energy vehicle (plural new energy vehicles)

battery electric vehicle
battery electric vehicle

(China, automotive) A plug-in electric vehicle, either a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle or an all-electric plug-in battery electric vehicle


shengnan

The marriage candidates on offer in the parks, she discovered, were often a mismatch of shengnu ("leftover women") and shengnan ("leftover men"), two groups from opposite ends of the social scale.

2013 March 9, Brook Larmer, “The Price of Marriage in China”, in New York Times:

These men have their own unflattering nickname — shengnan, or "leftover men."

2015 September 2, Venus Wong, “Inside China's Open-Air Marriage Market For "Leftover Women"”, in Refinery29, retrieved 2019-10-29:

(China) A man who has for an extended amount of time been unable to find a romantic, interpersonal or physically intimate relationship.


lodge solemn representation

en-verb

lodge solemn representation (third-person singular simple present lodges solemn representation, present participle lodging solemn representation, simple past and past participle lodged solemn representation)

lodges solemn representation (present singular third-person)
lodging solemn representation (participle present)
lodged solemn representation (participle past)
lodged solemn representation (past)

Calque from Chinese 提出嚴正交涉／提出严正交涉 (tíchū yánzhèng jiāoshè).

zh-l

提出嚴正交涉／提出严正交涉 (tíchū yánzhèng jiāoshè)

(China, officialese) A phrase for expressing diplomatic discontent.


proprietarian

/pɹəˌpɹaɪ.əˈtɛəɹi.ən/

/pɹəˌpɹaɪ.əˈtɛɹi.ən/

The poor have been classified as the proletarians and the rich as the proprietarians on the Chinese mainland. In the Communist view all proletarians are good men and all proprietarians are bad men.

This is because in the capitalist nations, most people are wealthy and are proprietarians; therefore, their social culture and social logic are established on the basis of the wealthy.

2017, Xu Xue Chun, Century Sentence: A Diary Written to God Accusing Against All of the World, →ISBN:

(China) A person who owns property (a proprietor) or believes in proprietarianism, that is, that property is an absolute right.


CCAV

Blend of CCTV (“China Central Television”) + AV (“adult video”).

blend

(China, neologism, slang, derogatory or humorous) China Central Television (CCTV).


PTE

(China) Initialism of partnership enterprise.


UGG

(nonstandard, common in China) Alternative form of ugg (“boot”).


loong

loong (plural)
loongs (plural)
lóng (alternative)

Borrowed from Mandarin 龍 /龙 (lóng). This spelling is used to differentiate the word from long.

Rivers and lakes are where fish and loong (dragons) live.

2023, Weiqing Zhang, Tao Guan, Ou Tang, Yuanqing Ma, “国 Country—the Roots of Families”, in Understanding Chinese Wisdom through Characters, Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, →ISBN, section 2 (Characters on Human Beings), page 168:

(uncommon, chiefly China) A Chinese dragon.


dysarteriotony

Occurring always together in apparently similar manner, the symptom triad of dyshydrocephalotony, dysarteriotony, and toxemia constitutes a physical syndrome connected with constitutional psychopathic personality.

1919 August 14, Claës Julius Enebuske, “A Neurological Syndrome”, in The Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, page 202:

The results of a study of manipulative treatment of dysarteriotony associated with cervical spondylosis are reported in the paper.

1991, W Guikang, “A study of manipulative treatment of dysarteriotony associated with oervioal spondyilsis”, in The Journal of Traditional Chinese Orthopedics and Traumatology:

The extubation time, PACU staying time and ICU staying time as well as the incidence of postoperative arrhythmias and dysarteriotony were not significantly different among the four groups […]

2017 September 28, Kai Hui Zeng, “Effect of dexmedetomidine combined with sevoflurane on myocardial injury and oxidative stress response after non-cardiac surgery in patients with coronary heart disease”, in Journal of Hainan Medical University:

(especially in China) Abnormal blood pressure.


sinofy

en-verb

sinofy (third-person singular simple present sinofies, present participle sinofying, simple past and past participle sinofied)

sinofies (present singular third-person)
sinofying (participle present)
sinofied (participle past)
sinofied (past)


tremble and obey

tremble and obey (third-person singular simple present trembles and obeys, present participle trembling and obeying, simple past and past participle trembled and obeyed)

trembles and obeys (present singular third-person)
trembling and obeying (participle present)
trembled and obeyed (participle past)
trembled and obeyed (past)

Calque from Chinese 凜遵／凛遵 (lǐn zūn), a phrase historically used in Chinese imperial edicts.

zh-l

凜遵／凛遵 (lǐn zūn)

The ordinary voter ... feels himself their humble subject, whose duty is, as the Chinese used to say, to “tremble and obey”.

1949, Bertrand Russell, Authority and the Individual:

Never “tremble and obey” if doing so will damage or destroy your business in China.

2005, James McGregor, One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China, page 153:

... the previous colonial government and the current tremble-and-obey government have helped foster the myth of a historically politically apathetic and selfish society ...

2017, Stephen Vines, “Those who think the Umbrella Movement failed need to learn a little history”, in Hong Kong Free Press:

(idiomatic, chiefly China) To unthinkingly obey or pander to authorities, especially the Chinese government.

totella kyselemättä

to unthinkingly obey or pander to authorities

Let the good tremble and obey; let them not act so as to have hereafter to repent. A special Proclamation.

1857, Thomas Wade, “Translation of a Paper forwarded by His Excellency the Governor of Macao”, in J. C. Parkinson, editor, Government Examinations, page 124:

(historical, China) Phrase promulgating a decree of the Chinese imperial government or the early British colonial administration in Hong Kong.


foreign devil

Calque of Cantonese 番鬼 (faan1 gwai2, literally “foreign devil”)

calque

"Alas! I called him 'foreign devil' then. Chang, too, had much to learn." "He is speaking of Lord Macartney."

1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:

Some liberals interested in reforming the law put out a questionnaire to poll public opinion on homosexuality. They got about two thousand people to answer the questionnaire but there were in the end only about five hundred responses. As usual most of these respondants were English, Europeans or Americans which gave a very skewed idea to the Chinese community who again viewed that only the "foreign devils" were interested in homosexuality and law reform.

1982 December 18, Siong-huat Chua, Sam Sasha, Philip Fung, “Hong Kong And The Emergence Of An Asian Gay Consciousness”, in Gay Community News, volume 10, number 22, page 8:

(China, archaic, derogatory) A foreigner.


microbusinessman

(China) Somebody who manages a microbusiness.


capitalist roader

en-noun

capitalist roader (plural capitalist roaders)

From capitalist + road (figurative) + -er (suffix denoting a person associated with or supporting a particular doctrine, theory, or political movement), as a calque of Chinese 走資派 /走资派 (zǒuzīpài, literally “one who takes the road of capital”), a contraction of 走資本主義道路(的)當權派 /走资本主义道路(的)当权派 (zǒu zīběnzhǔyì dàolù (de) dāngquánpài, “those in power who take the capitalist road”), first used in Chinese Communist Party literature in 1965.

contraction

走資本主義道路(的)當權派

Hsiangfen County CCP Committee has launched the cadres and masses to study Chairman Mao's teachings and criticize the revisionist program of "taking the three instructions as the key link" pushed by the unrepentant capitalist roaders in the party.

1976 February 26 [1976 February 25], “Shansi County Criticism Aids Tachai Emulation”, in Daily Report: People's Republic of China, volume I, number 39, Foreign Broadcast Information Service, sourced from Taiyuan Shansi Provincial Service, translation of original in Mandarin, →ISSN, →OCLC, People's Republic of China: North Region, page K 2:

(China, Maoism, chiefly historical, derogatory) One (especially a Chinese Communist Party official) who bows to pressure from bourgeois forces and attempts to pull the Cultural Revolution in a capitalist direction.

8th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party


typhoon shelter

en-noun

typhoon shelter (plural typhoon shelters)

Calque of Chinese 避風塘 /避风塘 (bìfēngtáng).

(China, Hong Kong) A sheltered section of a harbour where small to medium-sized watercraft can dock during typhoons, gales, or other rough weather.


health code

Calque from Chinese 健康碼／健康码 (jiànkāngmǎ).

zh-m

健康碼／健康码 (jiànkāngmǎ)

(China) A QR code identifying someone's risk level during the COVID-19 pandemic in the PRC, colored in green, yellow, or red in increasing danger.


tang ping

From Mandarin 躺平 (tǎngpíng, “lie flat”); compare Cantonese 躺平 (tong² ping⁴), Teochew 躺平 (tang² bên⁵). Attested in English from 2021 (see quotations below).

The new trend, known as "tang ping", is described as an antidote to society's pressures to find jobs and perform well while working long shifts.

2021 June 3, “China's new 'tang ping' trend aims to highlight pressures of work culture”, in BBC News:

A growing number of Chinese youth want to “lie flat.” This is the literal translation of what the expression “Tang ping” means in Chinese. Since last year, the trend has resurfaced. The generation born after 1995 claims to be “Tang ping” and rejects the 10-hours-a-day, 6-days-a-week work model.

2022 February 22, “What is the ‘Tang ping’ movement started by young Chinese who are against overworking?”, in Malay Mail, Kuala Lumpur:

Images of Ji lazily “lying flat” on the sofa has become a viral internet meme, and even leading to the posture receiving a nickname “Ge You tang”, or Ge You-esque slouching, since 2016, when the “tang ping” culture was on the rise in China.

2023 April 1, Fran Lu, “‘Making money while lying flat’: Chinese movie star Ge You pockets US$1.1 million from hundreds of lawsuits over famous ‘tang ping’ TV character”, in South China Morning Post (Online), Hong Kong:

2022 November 2, Han-Yu Hsu, “How do Chinese people evaluate “Tang-Ping” (lying flat) and effort-making: The moderation effect of return expectation”, in Frontiers in Psychology, New York:

“Tang-Ping” (TP), referring to “lying flat” literally, has been a buzzword in China web media since 2021. As the opponent of effort-making (EM) behaviors which have both instrumental and purpose values in Confucian culture, TP has a negative moral implication in China and has been criticized by the state-owned media.

(China, neologism) A lifestyle and social protest movement in China beginning in April 2021, which is a rejection of societal pressures to overwork.


Chunjie

Chunjies (plural)
Chun Jie (alternative)

/ˈtʃʊnˌdʒiːə/

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 春節 /春节 (Chūnjié, “Spring Festival”).

bor

(chiefly China) Synonym of Chinese New Year.


taosi

Other dishes include Super Bowl of China favorites like the deep-fried cuttlefish with spicy salt, yang chow fried rice, birthday noodles, Hunan tofu, crispy shrimp with sweet and sour sauce, fish fillet with taosi sauce, and more.

2009 March 12, “Tito Rey opens meat shop”, in The Philippine Star, Manila: Philstar Global Corp, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-09-21:

King Chef (2F Main Mall, 0932 323 1871) serves healthy food and authentic Cantonese cuisine in a fine dining setup. For Father's Day, treat the whole family to its dim sum platters! It has a roasted platter which includes soyed chicken, roast duck, barbecued pork asado, fried five-spice roll, and soyed cucumber with century egg. Another option is the steamed dim sum platter, where you can devour a spread of hakaw, pork & shrimp siomai, Japanese siomai, beancurd roll, and Taosi spareribs.

2022 June 18, “Go on a Binondo food trip this Father's Day at Lucky Chinatown”, in Manila Bulletin, Manila: Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-06-22:

Then there are the Filipino, Vietnamese, and Cambodian dishes (taosi, tàu xì, and seang, respectively) similar to douchi that frequently contain seasonings that alter the taste.

2023 August 31, Claire Redden, “Douchi, The Fermented Soybeans That Pack An Umami Punch In Any Dish”, in Tasting Table, archived from the original on 2023-09-21:

(Philippines, China) A fermented black soybean sauce.


catfish effect

(originally China) The tendency of weak competitors to improve themselves in order to keep up with the introduction of a stronger competitor.


people mountain people sea

People mountain / people sea / Heads bowed to phones / The road ahead unseen

2017 February 28, Kelvin Bei, Ravens' Haiku, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 23:

Jenny was lost among people mountain people sea. I don't blame her in such a gunvernment celebration.

2019, Changming Yuan, “Trade Deficit: Chinese Exported into English”, in T. R. Mwanaka, editor, Nationalism: (mis)understanding Donald Trump's Capitalism, Racism, Global Politics, International Trade and Media Wars, volume 2, →ISBN:

However, this rule seems to have been overturned in the PRC with its "people mountain people sea" strategy that played an important role in the successful exploration of mining resources, assisted by advanced technologies and heavy investments (see fig 1.5 for another example of this strategy in action).

2020 October 26, Li Hou, Building for Oil: Daqing and the Formation of the Chinese Socialist State, BRILL, →ISBN, page 19:

I didn't want to be part of Shanghai. I preferred to be an obscure visitor in Shanghai with nobody noticing me. I was fascinated by its noise and the people mountain, people sea.

2023 May 4, Wenyan Lu, The Funeral Cryer, Atlantic Books, →ISBN:

(China) crowded or jam-packed with people


good good study, day day up

Calque of Chinese 好好學習，天天向上 /好好学习，天天向上.

clq

Calque of Chinese 好好學習，天天向上 /好好学习，天天向上

Last, but the most important, I would like to thank my parents for their endless love and support. When I was a young girl, they told me "Good good study, day day up." I always keep these simple words in mind and try to make it.

2018 July 16, Jing Guo, High Resolution Imaging, Spectroscopy and Nuclear Quantum Effects of Interfacial Water, Springer, →ISBN, page xii:

William from Canada said, "My Chinese classmates often tell me to 'Good good study, day day up' (study hard and make progress every day). It's catchy; it has become my signature line!"

2024 May 22, Ruanni Tupas, Investigating Unequal Englishes: Understanding, Researching and Analysing Inequalities of the Englishes of the World, Taylor & Francis, →ISBN:

(China) if one studies hard, they will gradually improve day by day


RedNote

Compound of red + note. English translation of Chinese 小红书 (Xiaohongshu, literally “Little Red Book”). Coined in 2024, but launched in 2013.

calque

The start of this week saw a dramatic uptick in Google searches and social media posts about RedNote, as well as its surge to the top spot of the "free apps" chart on Apple's app store.

2025 January 17, “What to know about RedNote, the Chinese app that American TikTokkers are flooding”, in NPR:

(China, social media, technology, neologism) Chinese social networking and e-commerce platform.