{"id":5710,"date":"2021-09-11T08:00:23","date_gmt":"2021-09-11T08:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.co.uk\/blog\/?p=5710"},"modified":"2026-09-09T18:30:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T18:30:19","slug":"a-beginners-guide-to-chinese-internet-slang","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.languagetrainers.co.uk\/blog\/a-beginners-guide-to-chinese-internet-slang\/","title":{"rendered":"A Beginner’s Guide to Chinese Internet Slang"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo via Pixabay<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Are you someone who has only just begun to come to terms with words like “LOL”, “meme” and “YOLO”? <\/span><\/p>\n

Does the sight of strange, internet acronyms make you want to “facepalm”, or “headdesk”? <\/span><\/p>\n

Do you ever wonder why people do not write online as they speak “IRL”? <\/span><\/p>\n

Then you are not alone. “Tbh”, using too much slang in writing just makes something even harder to read. “JS.” “IMHO”, young people these days really do spend far too much time online, “smh”.<\/span><\/p>\n

And if the above is all gobbledygook to you, then just imagine ploughing through the sea of slang in a <\/span>foreign<\/span><\/i> language every time you try to use the internet to boost your reading skills. This is a particularly difficult challenge for those who are trying to learn Chinese. Heck, even a <\/span>native<\/span><\/i> Chinese speaker may struggle to understand the meaning behind every odd phrase and abbreviation. This article will provide you with a simple guide to some of the most common internet slang found on the Chinese web, so you don’t have to worry about the odd colloquialisms and focus on the information you are actually looking for.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2192Sign Up Now: Free Trial Chinese Lesson With a Native Speaker Teacher!\u2190<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Photo via Pixabay<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

1) \u6253\u9171\u6cb9 (d\u01ce ji\u00e0ng y\u00f3u)<\/h2>\n

“I was just getting some soya sauce.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The phrase became popular from a news broadcast in Guangzhou, where a news reporter asked a male passerby for his thoughts on the “Edison Chen photo scandal”, where pornography photos of Hong Kong celebrities were leaked. The man’s response was short and brutal: “What’s it to me? I was just getting some soya sauce.”<\/span><\/p>\n

From then on, the phrase \u6253\u9171\u6cb9 has evolved to mean “nothing to do with me”, or “just passing by, don’t get me involved”.<\/span><\/p>\n

2) hhhhh\/\u7ea2\u7ea2\u706b\u706b\u604d\u604d\u60da\u60da (h\u00f3ng h\u00f3ng huo hu\u01d2 hu\u01ceng hu\u01ceng h\u016b h\u016b)<\/h2>\n

In Chinese, laughter is written as \u54c8\u54c8\u54c8 and shares the same phonetic sounds as laughter in English. This is then abbreviated in Chinese into simply the first letter of each character, hence “hhhh”, which is much easier to type. There is no set limit for how many times a user can repeat the letter, e.g. both “hhh” and “hhhhhhh” are acceptable and mean the same thing.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, when the letter “h” is inputted 8 times into a Chinese writing system, such as Sogou, the system uses predictive text to produce two four-character adjectives, which is: “\u7ea2\u7ea2\u706b\u706b” describing wealth and general prosperity, and “\u604d\u604d\u60da\u60da”, meaning confusion and daze. So both \u7ea2\u7ea2\u706b\u706b\u604d\u604d\u60da\u60da and hhhh are the Chinese equivalents of LOL (Laugh Out Loud)<\/span><\/p>\n

3) \u4e0d\u660e\u89c9\u5389 (b\u00f9 m\u00edng ju\u00e9 l\u00ec)<\/h2>\n

\u867d\u7136\u4e0d\u660e\u767d\u4f60\u5728\u8bf4\u4ec0\u4e48\uff0c\u4f46\u611f\u89c9\u597d\u5389\u5bb3\u7684\u6837\u5b50<\/p>\n

(Su\u012b r\u00e1n b\u00f9 m\u00edng b\u00e1i n\u01d0 z\u00e0i shu\u014d sh\u00e9nme, d\u00e0n g\u01cen ju\u00e9 h\u01ceo l\u00ec h\u00e0i de yang zi)<\/p>\n

“Even though I <\/span>don’t<\/b> really <\/span>understand<\/b> what you’re talking about, it still <\/span>seems<\/b> pretty <\/span>amazing<\/b>!”<\/span><\/p>\n

This is a phrase most often used to express admiration towards users who are seen to be experts in a certain field. However, it may also be used in a mocking sense, implying that a person is simply putting on a show, and actually has no idea what they’re talking about either.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo via Pixabay<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

4) \u6f5c\u6c34\u515a (qi\u00e1n shu\u01d0 d\u01ceng)<\/h2>\n

Literally: “the Underwater\/Diving Party”. It is used to describe those users who silently scroll through forums or read articles without commenting. Nudge, nudge<\/em> to any members of this party currently reading this article! You are always free to send us an email and to tell us your thoughts.<\/span><\/p>\n

5) \u6c34 (shu\u01d0)<\/h2>\n

Much like the English word “spam”, which is technically a type of canned meat, the word \u6c34, when used online does not mean “water” but “rubbish” or “meaningless content”. It is most commonly found on Baidu forums, where some users may post meaningless or repetitive threads in order to gain “EXP” and “level up” on the system.<\/span><\/p>\n

6) 6\/\u6e9c (li\u00f9)<\/h2>\n

The number “6” in Chinese shares the same pronunciation as the character “\u6e9c”, meaning “skilled” or “expert”. It is typically used to express admiration in gaming, though may also be applied in other situations. The number “6” may be repeated as many times as the user wants, but on international servers, players will try to avoid writing the number “666” due to its association in Christianity with the devil.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo via Pixabay<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

7) \u5355\u8eab\u72d7 (d\u0101n sh\u0113n g\u01d2u) \/\u5403\u72d7\u7cae (ch\u012b g\u01d2u li\u00e1ng)<\/h2>\n

If you are currently not in a relationship, then you can join the large masses of “single dogs” out there in China and enjoy the “dog food” provided by those couples endlessly posting pictures of their romantic dinner dates on Instagram. \u5355\u8eab\u72d7 is a jokingly self-deprecating nickname for all those who don”t have a partner and “never will”.<\/span><\/p>\n

8) \u94f2\u5c4e\u5b98 (ch\u01cen sh\u01d0 gu\u0101n)<\/h2>\n

The “Official Poop Scooper” is another affectionate nickname, this time for pet owners. This joke applies in particular to cats, who are often referred to as \u4e3b\u5b50 “masters”, who appoint their own “Official Poop Scooper”.<\/span><\/p>\n

9) \u89c1\u5c01\u6eda (ji\u00e0n f\u0113ng g\u01d4n)\/\u89c1X\u6eda (ji\u00e0n X g\u01d4n)<\/h2>\n

\u770b<\/span>\u89c1\u5c01<\/b>\u9762\u6211\u5c31<\/span>\u6eda<\/b>\u8fdb\u6765 (<\/span>k\u00e0n ji\u00e0n f\u0113ng mi\u00e0n w\u01d2 ji\u00f9 g\u01d4n j\u00ecn l\u00e1i<\/span>)<\/span><\/p>\n

“I <\/span>saw<\/b> the <\/span>cover<\/b> and <\/span>rolled<\/b> straight in”\/”I <\/span>saw<\/b> X<\/b> and <\/span>rolled<\/b> straight in”. <\/span><\/p>\n

This phrase is most commonly found on video sharing sites, such as Bilibili, where the thumbnails of videos, often depicting a popular anime character, will bait many curious fans to click.<\/span><\/p>\n

10) 3Q\/88<\/h2>\n

3Q is a clever play on sounds in order to replicate the English word “Thank you”. The number 3 in Chinese is pronounced as “<\/span>s\u0101n<\/span>“, and paired with the letter Q, produces the sound “<\/span>sankyou”<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Similarly, the number 8 is pronounced “<\/span>b\u0101<\/span>“, so 88 (“<\/span>b\u0101 b\u0101<\/span>“) represents “Bye-bye” in English.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2192Sign Up Now: Free Trial Chinese Lesson With a Native Speaker Teacher!\u2190<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And that sums up some of the most basic slang you will find online! If you found this article 6666, then don’t forget to leave a comment, even if you are a hardcore member of the “\u6f5c\u6c34\u515a”. 3Q for your time, and 88!<\/span><\/p>\n

If you want to learn all the Chinese slang terms you will need on your trip to China or to talk to your Chinese friends, our native-speaking tutors can help you! Join our Online Open Group Chinese Lessons<\/a> and get started.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Are you someone who has only just begun to come to terms with words like “LOL”, “meme”…","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":5715,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,864],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chinese","category-learning-resources"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Beginner's Guide to Chinese Internet Slang<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This article will provide you with a simple guide to some of the most common internet slang found on the Chinese web. 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