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老婆本(lao po ben)
wedding savings
Many Chinese men save money when they begin working and the savings will be used to buy a house, home appliances and other important articles in order to marry a woman.
麦霸(mai ba)
microphone monopolist
This term is used by frequent patrons to a karaoke bar to describe a friend who dominates the singing party by keeping the microphone to himself or herself.
硬伤(ying shang)
inherent problem, glaring mistake
It means an unsolved inherent drawback that undermines an organization, a system, a relationship or a person’s integrity. It also refers to those glaring blunders that should be avoided in an artwork, such as misquoted words in a film.
吃空饷(chi kong xiang)
ghost payroll scheme
Chinese media spotlighted a scandal a few days ago that an Inner Mongolia human resource official used her position to allocate her 14-year-old daughter a job, which caused an embezzlement of three years of salary by misrepresenting the payroll.
苦肉计(ku rou ji)
play pain card, no-pain-no-gain scheme, smoke screen
It was originally a Chinese military strategy used to put a general in the enemy’s confidence by beating him up in public to show he had been purged. These days, people mean it to be a scheme to win eventual success by undergoing hardships or widespread reforms first.
老爷车(lao ye che)
jalopy, antique car
The Chinese word refers to both an old, dilapidated vehicle and those classic automobiles well worth collection. The 41 cars from Hamburg arriving in the city early this month fall into the second type.
脏话衫(zang hua shan)
clothing with expletives
Clothes printed with English, Japanese and Korean expletives are popular among local children, especially middle-school students. They think “It’s not nice to say these words, but it’s cool to wear them.” However, their fashion interest at present has worried parents, some of whom even use dictionaries to vet their children’s wardrobes.
零团费(ling tuan fei)
zero inclusive fee
This term refers to a sales promotion widely used by travel agencies, which attract tourists to attend their package tour by paying only a small amount of money, which usually includes air tickets, admission to scenic sites and some other fees. However, those travel agencies will earn profits from tourists by guiding them to buy some worthless but very expensive souvenirs and jewelry in local stores.
混枪势 （hun qiang shi）
muddle through
In Shanghai dialect, this expression is a form of pidgin that combines the Chinese word, 混, which means to muddle along, and the transliteration of the English word “chance.”
轧闹猛 （ga nao meng）
follow suit en masse
This popular phrase in Shanghai dialect reflects the fact that many locals love to follow fashion trends, ride the bandwagon, do what most people do and go where most go.
奥特曼 (ao te man)
out man
The expression is a transliteration from “Ultraman,” a hero in an animated TV series. But these days, many people use it as a transliteration for the English words “out man” to describe “out-dated rubes.”
糍饭糕 (ci fan gao)
wacky, irritating girl
The expression, which literally means a kind of traditional Chinese snack made of sticky rice, is a play on the three Chinese characters in the phrase, meaning someone who is wacky, irritating and pesky. It usually refers to girls.
月抛型 (yue pao xing)
monthly dumper
This refers to people who change their dating partners frequently. It borrows its meaning from contact lenses that are tossed after one month’s use.
万金油 (wan jin you)
jack of all trades
Originally, this was the name of a palm ointment used in traditional medicine to treat many minor problems. But it can never cure any real illness. Therefore, people use it to refer to someone regarded as a jack of all trades.
玉米虫 (yu mi chong)
cybersquatter
The term, which means “corn worm” in Chinese, refers to cybersquatters who register, traffick in or use a domain name that’s the same as or similar to a famous trademark, company or individuals’ names. They then offer to sell the domain names at an inflated price.
立军令状 (li jun ling zhuang)
make a sworn pledge
This is a very popular Chinese term that derives from a centuries-old practice in the military when someone makes a written pledge to carry out a mission, the failure of which will subject him to military punishment. Now, people use it to mean making a sworn pledge to accomplish something.
实话实说 (shi hua shi shuo)
talking straight, plain speaking
This Chinese phrase has become very popular partly due to a well-like namesake TV program on China Central Television. Nowadays, people often quote this phrase when they prepare to shoot straight.
地沟油(di gou you )
hogwash oil
Oil retrieved from eatery offal and grease in sewers may be used for individual purposes. But illegal peddlers sometimes sell it as edible oil, causing grave concern among consumers. A city in Zhejiang province recently raided an edible oil plant and seized 16,500 kilograms of hogwash oil.
打铁(da tie)
write a post
It refers to Netizens’ comparing an article, especially one worth reading. The phrase translates literally “iron forgoing,” which sounds the same as “writing a post” in Chinese.
淑女学堂(shu nv xue tang)
finishing school
This refers to some newly established schools specializing in teaching girls and women traditional ladylike manners, including playing lute, Chinese painting and writing poems.
吃素的(chi su de)
pushover, sucker, basket case
The term usually is used to call anyone who is a vegetarian. But in colloquial Chinese, it may also refer to someone who’s an easy target or easy prey or who’s weak and useless.
摸石头过河(mo shi tou guo he)
improvise by trial-and-error
The Chinese phrase translates literally “crossing a river by feeling the stones at the bottom of it.” Now it is often used to describe the approach of moving ahead in an uncharted territory by groping along and improvising.
肮三(ang san)
indecent, wicked, problematic
Originally, this was Pidgin English meaning “on sale” in Shanghai dialect. Then it was used to depict substandard or bad quality products. Now, it is often used to describe a person or his/her behavior that is immoral or highly offensive and obnoxious. It may also be used to talk about a bad situation.
城管(cheng guan )
urban management official
Urban management officials are supposed to keep illegal vendors off the street, among other jobs. Some officials in Shanghai have been equipped with safety equipment, including anti-puncture vests and steel helmets, to guard against possible violent violators.
存款准备金(cun kuan zhun bei jin)
reserve requirement
The term means the proportion of deposits a bank, by law, must keep in cash or place with the central bank. It is an important tool for monetary policy, as a higher reserve requirement means fewer funds are available to a bank for lending purposes. The People’s Bank of China, China’s central bank, raised banks’ deposit reserve ratio on August 15 by 0.5 percentage points to rein in excessive lending.
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