Chinese Slang, 牛逼!
This week, on my blog, I wanted to tell you guys a bit more about Chinese slang.
Chinese New Year is almost over – well, not yet, because the Lantern Festival has not yet taken place, but let’s just assume that is the case – and it’s time for us to focus on streetwise Chinese.
This is a very large topic, and, obvously, I won’t be able to cover it all here. It is too broad a topic for it to be covered exhaustively. That’s a very interesting one though.
I have decided to solely lay emphasis on some general slang terms used all over the place in China and on some terms used to circumvent the censorship taking place in China.

This post may be used as a guide for those of you who would like to further deepen their understanding of Chinese slang. It’s just a start in your journey into Chinese slang and a lot more awaits you…
Anyway, that being said, let’s get down to the nitty gritty and have a look of some commonplace, classic slang terms you are bound to encounter when going to China. The following terms have been vetted by my personal experience, so I know most of them are used quite often. Thus, I can vouch for their daily use.
Chinese slang
牛(屄/逼) | niú (bī) | awesome, cool. Lit the cow’s private parts… |
酷 | kù | cool (好酷喔 hǎo kù ō; that’s cool!); lit., equiv. cool |
太棒了 | tài bàngle | awesome! Swell! |
放屁 | fàngpì | to speak nonsense; lit. ‘to fart’ |
哥们(儿) | gēmen (er) | mate (friend), buddy, bro |
老铁 | lǎo tiě | mate (friend), buddy, bro |
废话 | fèihuà | to speak nonsense, to trashtalk; lit. ‘to waste words’ |
吹牛 | chuīniú | to brag, boast |
摸鱼 | mō yú | to be lazy on the job; lit. to rub fish |
赞 | zàn | likes, or to “like” (facebook like) |
王八蛋 | wángbā dàn | son of a bitch; lit. turtle egg |
坏蛋 | huàidàn | crook, scoundrel; lit. rotten egg |
笨蛋 | bèndàn | idiot; lit. stupid egg |
二百五 | èrbǎiwǔ | 250. In China, if you’re 250, you’re stupid. |
傻逼 | shǎbī | jerk, asshole, motherfucker |
弯的 | wān de | a bender, gay, queer |
杀价 | shājià | to haggle, to bargain |
同志 | tóngzhì | gay or lesbian (normally “comrade” in a Communist context) |
狐狸精 | húlíjīng | a woman that steals another woman’s man; lit. a fox spirit |
一夜情 | yīyèqíng | a one-night stand; lit. love for one night |
分手 | fēnshǒu | to break up in a relationship; to bid farewell; lit. divide hands |
No 做 no死 / die | No zuò no sǐ/ die | Don’t look for trouble or you’ll be in trouble |
么么哒 | me me dá | mwak!, kiss, xxx |
自拍 | zìpāi | take selfies |
葛优躺 | géyōu tǎng | couch potato |
闺蜜 | guīmì | BFF (only for girls) |
累死了 | lèi sǐle | knackered, exhausted, worn out |
开玩笑, 胡说八道 | kāiwánxiào, húshuō bādào | to banter, to kid, to joke |
花瓶 | huāpíng | an airhead, a bimbo. Hot but very stupid. Lit. An empty vase |
丑八怪 | chǒubāguài | minger (UK), dog, pig, ugly woman, plain Jade, old boiler, old boot |
佛系 | fú xì | zen, detached, let nature takes its course |
种草莓 | zhǒng cǎoméi | to kiss someone passionately, leaving a reddish mark (equiv. to give someone a hickey); lit. to plant strawberries |
白痴 | báichī | idiot; stupidity; lit. white fool |
蠢货 | chǔnhuò | idiot, blockhead, dunce, moron (used infrequently) |
傻瓜 | shǎguā | fool, simpleton (sometimes used lovingly); lit. stupid melon |
小子 | xiǎozi | guy, kid; prick, brat |
疯子 | fēngzi | madman, lunatic |
发疯 | fāfēng | to become insane, to go mad |
娘娘腔 | niángniáng qiāng | sissy, girly, effeminate (esp. of a male) |
傢伙 | jiāhuo | guy, chap (negative); weapon, gun |
吹牛 | chuīniú | to brag, boast |
摸鱼 | mō yú | to be lazy on the job; lit. to rub fish |
干嘛 | gàn ma | exclamation, “What is it now?” or “What do you want now?” “Why”, indicating irritation; why (impolite) |
炒饭 | chǎofàn | to make love; lit. to fry rice |
闭嘴 | bì zuǐ | Shut up ! |
不造 | bù zào | dunno (不知道 in a shortened form) |
約炮 | yuē pào | booty call, casual sex |
杀马特 | shā mǎ tè | Chinese subculture of young urban migrants, usually of low education, with exaggerated hairstyles, heavy make-up, flamboyant costumes, piercings etc (loanword from “smart”) |
直男 | zhí nán | straight |
宅男 | zháinán | otaku (male) |
宅女 | zhái nǚ | otaku (female) |
拍马屁 | pāimǎpì | to suck up to sb, lick boots. Lit pat on a horse’s butt |
马屁精 | mǎpìjīng | bootlicker, a brown-noser. |
条子 | tiáozi | a police officer; a strip (esp. of paper), a note |
老外 | lǎowài | foreigner (neutral connotation) |
我肏 !(他)妈的 | wǒ cào!(Tā) mā de | Fuck!, Shit!, To hell with it!, Damn it!; used to increase vulgarity. 他妈的 can also meaning “fucking…” |
扎心了 | zhā xīnle | you broke my heart (used for irony or hyperbole) |
油腻 (男) | yóunì (nán) | flat slob, repulsive middle-age man, lit. Oily |
I couldn’t help but show you a picture of what 杀马特 – shā mǎ tè – is all about. It’s quite famous in China and made me laugh quite a bit the first I heard about this phenomenon.

China being a communist country, some words might be removed from the Chinese keyboard – such as “Wo cao”, whose proper spelling is “我肏”, but which is almost always replaced by 卧槽 due to its similar pronounciation – but, worry no more my friends, because a lot of ways are found to circumvent censorship.
Slang to avoid censorship
I have seen most of these words in use but not all of them. What is more, be cautious when you use them. Some people might not know them or be aware of their double meanings.
河蟹 | héxiè | censorship, harmony (= 和谐)=> river crab |
目田 | zitian | freedom (=自由)=> my field |
躲貓貓 | duǒmāomāo | hide and seek (Chinese police brutality in prisons) |
抄水表 | chāoshuǐbiǎo | Police pays a visit to your place (to check a water meter) |
帝都 | dìdū | imperial city (making fun of Beijing all too powerful) |
打酱油 | dǎ jiànɡyóu | just passing by (getting soy sauce) |
草泥马 | cǎo ní mǎ | Grass Mud Horse… actually means “Fuck your mother” |
法克鱿 | fǎ kè yóu | French-Croatian Squid… this one is rather explicit. |
雅蠛蝶 | yǎ miè dié | Small Elegant Butterfly (Yamete: stop it! from Japanese porn) |
菊花蚕 | jú huā cán | Chrysanthemums scattered… Chrysanthemums means “asshole” in Chinese. So I let you imagine |
鹑鸽 | chún gē | Quail pigeon ( 春哥= effeminate person) |
吉跋猫 | jí bá māo | Lucky Journey Cat (鸡巴毛 = hairy penis) |
尾申鲸 | wěi shēn jīng | Stretch-Tailed Whale ( 卫生巾= menstruation pads ) |
达菲鸡 | dá fēi jī | Intelligent Fragrant Chicken ( 打飞机 = masturbate) |
喝茶 | he cha | Police investigation (= 核查) |
传世 | chuanshi | reincarnate (been deleted and created again) |
自干五 | zi gan wu | 50 cents volunteers that use propaganda techniques in favour of the Chinese government |
科学上网 | kexue shangwang | circumvent China’s internet censorship |
宅左 | zhaizuo | Chinese Extremist (leftist from the party) |

Well, that’s all for our Chinese slang today.
Feel free to let me know if you want me to add some terms in those columns!
I haven’t added Chinese acronyms (used with numbers) yet and will probably do so in the future. Nonetheless, I’ll conclude this post by using 2 examples to illustrate how some might be used: one of the last Chinese slangy term of this page is “88” (baba). It’s often used to say “bye bye” in Chinese because it’s very similar to its Chinese equivalent, just like “thank you” for “3Q” (san Q).
So, 88! 3Q 4 reading that post!
😉
Posted on February 22, 2021 by Mat.