16 Chinese Slang Words You need to know

When you learn the Chinese language, you will come across a number of Chinese slang words – the kind of vocabulary and expressions you are more likely to hear on the roads when talking to real people than in your textbook. As with most languages, a lot of mandarin slang is vulgar, and there is no shortage of words for all to do with defection and sex.

Here, I am going to try to keep everything as clean as possible and avoiding some of the cruder elements of mandarin slang –but even without a few of the more un-savory instances, there is still a number of other colorful words to learn.

In this post, I will give you some of the most interesting, and one of most common and useful instances of Mandarin spoken and internet slang- so let’s jump right in and take a deep look!

Why learn Chinese Slang words?

When learning any foreign language, it is vital to go beyond the textbook words and know what is going on in reality with the local people. Learning Chinese slang will remarkably improve your day-to-day communication in China.

From texting your mandarin friends to talk about the lady or guy you met last night to understanding that somebody is not talking about each cat and dog, learning the fundamentals of Chinese slang can save you plenty of embracement.

To have a clear grasp, of the well-known culture which is constantly changing, it is vital to keep up with Chinese slang and what people are using in the discussion. Just as speaking informal Mandarin is different from the proper way you might be taught in a class, writing mandarin online or via cell phone texting will also vary from what you’ll be learning.

If you’re a beginner Chinese learner, slang words are not beyond you! You might already have the starting vocabulary to know what is being said but will need proper guidance to understand the meaning. All slang below comes with useful clarifications, so you might even grasp of quicker than you expected.

Chinese Slang Words Development 

In the past, most of the Chinese slang words were made through ancient tales that were passed down via generations. However, with the rise of texting and the internet, a new development of the Chinese language is forming. One of the main elements of Chinese is the tonal aspect.

From the very beginning, learners are taught to masker the 4 tones. Mispronouncing a Chinese word would have drastic effects on the actual meaning. Interestingly enough, the new generation has currently used this to their benefit.

For instance, the pronunciation of 520 (wǔ’èrlíng) is near to 我爱你 (wǒàinǐ – I love you). Over the times, 520 is currently used to mean I love you since the word pronunciation is so same. Mixed with English means, mandarin characters start to take new means. This can be seen with the phrase 玻璃 (bōlí – glass).

It is now a method to reference a gay lover. This came about because in the starting boy love was shortened as “BL.” When “BL” is inserted into a keyboard or phone for the Pinyin text, 玻璃is what initially shows up, turning it into slang words among the youngster generation.

Below are the most common Chinese slang words that beginners can take advantage of. They will range from words that have ancient tales behind them to recently made phrases you might want to save for texting or online use.

卖萌 (Mài méng) 

卖萌is a verb in Chinese that means, to purposely pretend to be cute. It’s generally used by people jokingly when posting selfies on social media sites.

For instance -“拍张自拍，卖萌一下!”

“Pāi zhāng zìpāi, maiming yīxià!”

Taking a selfie photo to show off my cuteness!

土 (tǔ)

In a literal sense, “土” means dirt or soil. When it’s utilized as an adjective, it means outdated or unfashionable.  A recent development in American slang words actually captures the essence of “土” properly spot-on, and that word would very basic.

For instance - “那件衬衫好土，不买它！”

“Nà jiàn chènshān hǎo tǔ, bú mǎi tā!”

That shirt is very basic, do not purchase it!

哥们 (gē men)

Same to the English language term bro, 哥们 (gē men) accurately means “brothers.” But whereas the American slang of bro has taken on a little derogatory meaning in its association with loathsome partying males. Mandarin 哥们are the ride or die friends who’ve each other, back no bad connotation here!

For instance - “Tom 是我高中时候的哥们.”

“Tom Shì wǒ gāo zhòng shíhòu dí gēmen.”

Tom is my bro from high school.

亲 (qīn)

It is an abbreviated form of the mandarin term of endearment “亲爱的 (qīnài de),” that latterly means dearest or dear. The term is most commonly used as a greeting on the internet in order to make an affectionate and warm tone. You can consider it as the mandarin equivalent of bae.

For instance - “亲! 我想你了!”

“Qīn! Wǒxiǎngnǐ le!”

Bae! I missed you! 

光想青年 (guāngxiǎngqīngnián)

These online Chinese slang words pass on to the young generation who state openly to have several ideas and or a number of intentions to do things. However, when it comes down to it they finished up just procrastinating and not inserting any of them into practice.

For instance – someone who always says that they want to improve their mandarin and will sign up for online teaches classes but then they never actually get around to doing it.

也是醉了(yěshì zuìle)

It’s a way to gently express your all frustrations with somebody or something that’s totally unreasonable. It exactly means, also drunk, as in I must also be drunk because I can’t understand you since you’re not making some sense. After all, you are drunk.

For instance - “一瓶水要一百块? 我也是醉了.”

“Yī píng shuǐ yào yībǎi kuài? Wǒ yěshì zuìle.”

A bottle of water costs a hundred bucks? I must also be drunk.

绿茶婊 (lǜchábiǎo)

Green tea bitch is an online slag words term used to mention a lady who appears to be very innocent and good looking… but in fact, the girl is just faking this and is manipulative and calculating.

For instance – it is unclear why latterly the term green tea was utilized.

A few people think it is because several green tea commercials use beautiful and innocent-looking girls to represent the purity of their product (green tea).

你行你上 (Nǐ xíng nǐ shàng)

This slang originally came from a heated comment among basketball lovers, and it means if you think you can do it, then you go and do it. The language in-check accurate English means of you can you upbeat, is also utilized widely in mandarin internet forums in place of these slang words.

For instance - “你知道科比有多努力吗？你行你上啊！”

“Nǐ zhīdào kēbǐ yǒu duō nǔlì ma? Nǐ xíng nǐ shàng a!”

Do you know how difficult Kobe works? You can you up!

凡尔赛文学 (fáněrsài wénxué)

You might be familiar with the Chinese word 凡尔赛 (fáněrsài) as the adaptation of the French Palace Versailles. Additional to this is 文学 (wénxué) meaning literature but not this Chinese slang is not talking about French Versailles literature.

For instance – instead, it is a term used to mention the humblebrag; it refers to the people who delicately flaunt their asset or success.

It comes to the Japanese manage series. The Rose of Versailles a tale about the lavish and luxurious lifestyle of Marie Antoinette, who excellently said, let them eat cake.

不感冒(bù gǎn mào)

“感冒” means, the common cold, but “不感冒” is very common internet speak for not interest or doesn’t care.

For instance – “我对她一见钟情，她对我不感冒.”

“Wǒ duì tā yījiànzhōngqíng, tā duì wǒ bù gǎnmào.”

I fell in love with him/her at first sight, she/he is not interested in me.

我太难了 (wǒtàinán le)

A slang that becomes very famous in 2019 我太难了 (wǒtàinán le)literally means, my life is very hard.

For instance – The term originated on mandarin video sharing application where the celebrity bro Giaotalked about how much heaviness he was under having to meet a number of deadlines etc. and said, said 我太难了 (wǒtàinán le).

The video went viral and mandarin netizens made some very funny emojis, a few people also switch the 难 for “南” (literally mean south) to make it even extra amusing (as in things are going to south).

算了 (suànle)

算了it has a meaning same to the English let it go to forget it. It’s also used to signal that things have come to an end – to finish up an evening on the town or end a relationship.

For instance - “我们就此算了吧，你说呢?”

“Wǒmen jiùcǐ suànle ba, nǐ shuō ne?”

Let’s just finish it between us, what do you say about it?

宅 (zhái)

The slang 宅 (zhái) means house or residence but has now become Chinese slang to refer to somebody who’s slightly antisocial.

宅word basically describes somebody who enjoys just hanging out at home or who’ll refuse invitations to go out and wish to stay at home.

一起爬山吗? (Yìqǐpáshānmɑ?)

Now we’ve quite a funny Chinese slang that became an ultra-popular meme in 2020. The mandarin -起爬山吗 (yìqǐpáshānmɑ?) looks simple like the innocuous query “want to go on a hike? Though it latterly has much darker undertones.

For instance – what the slang word has come to mean is that it’s a death summons or 死亡邀约 (sǐ wáng yāo yuē).

It comes from the 2020 hit drama the bad kids where the starting scene of the 1st episode is of one of the key characters pushing his in-laws off a cliff. After the series went extremely viral jokes with the header 一起爬山吗? (yìqǐpáshānmɑ?) Begun popping up entire of the Chinese social media community.

神 (shén) 

神 accurately translate to God and is normally used to compliment somebody on their Godly skills in something ranging from success in the stock market (股神)to being enormous at Photoshop (ps神).

For instance - “最早成就股神称号的是巴菲特.”

“Zuì zǎo chéngjiù gǔshén chēnghào de shì bāfēitè.”

The primary person to achieve the level of stock market God is a buffet.

520 (Wǔ'èrlíng) 

The final item on our most common Chinese slang list is not a word, but rather it is a number. Try to sound it out in mandarin to see if you can get what actually it means!

“Wǔ'èrlíng” is very close enough of an approximation to “我爱你 (Wǒàinǐ), that means I love you in mandarin language. Once you have mastered 520 try to guess what 5201314 means! 

(Hint – you’ve to send this one out, too).

Final words 

As you can see, Chinese people have plenty of fun, interesting and creative slang and expressions for you to learn and play with. In informal settings, it is vital to know some of the most common ones because you are likely to hear them being utilized. Watching shoes could be an ideal way to pick up Chinese slang words in context. And if you can slip multiple times into discussion, you are sure to impress your Chinese buddies too.