汉语新词新译系列-C

拆违 (chai1 wei2) demolish illegal buildings

The Chinese term is an abbreviation of a longer phrase which means “demolishing illegal buildings.” Many urban home owners have tried to expand their living space by erecting illegal additional buildings.

春困 (chun1 kun4) vernal fatigue

Late spring and early summer is traditionally believed a time for people, especially the youngsters, to easily feel listless and sleepy.

城管 (cheng2 guan3) urban administration, chengguan

The term means the city or urban administration in Chinese. The job of urban administrative inspectors is to enforce urban planning and administration. They also keep order in the street markets and deal with individual peddlers. Now, the Romanized spelling of this Chinese term, chengguan, is sometimes used directly in English news stories.

草食男 (cao3 shi2 nan2) grass-eating boy

In Japanese, it’s “Soshokukei Danshi”, which means boys who are impassive toward women in love, sex or marriage. For instance, they would engage in activities with women, from shopping to traveling, but would not develop a romantic relationship with them.

城中村 (cheng2 zhong1 cun1) urban village

It refers to “rural islands” created by ill-planned urban expansion. Such villages scatter in sprawling big cities and often evolve into shanty towns. They are called “urban cancers” by some sociologists.

错峰游 (cuo4 feng1 you2) off-season tour

To avoid the high cost during the peak travel season, more and more people now opt to go on a trip in the off-season in order to save costs and avoid crowds.

裁员滚滚 (cai2 yuan2 gun3 gun3) continuous layoff

This concocted phrase sounds similar to a popular term meaning “having fortune flooding to you” in Chinese. However, the first two characters have changed from “fortune” in the popular saying to “laying off.” So, in the face of economic downturn, Chinese jokingly used this new phrase to replace the popular one as a greeting during the recent Chinese New Year holidays.

城市补丁 (cheng2 shi4 bu3 ding1) run-down neighborhoods

The Chinese term literally means “city patches,” which is a reference to an urban area marked by crowded and dirty run-down housing, against the backdrop of spanking new high-rises.

彩虹族 (cai3 hong2 zu2) rainbow clan

Rainbow is seen as colorful and cheerful. So, this term refers to people who are good at finding a balance between work and life. They pay attention to diet, health and quality of life without sacrificing career advancement.

充电 (chong1dian4) recharge

Borrowed from the common practice of recharging batteries, this expression is now often used figuratively to mean reeducation and vocational training.

醋溜族 (cu4liu1zu2) trendy clan

A group of metropolitan youth is happily caught in the dilemma of following trend and freeing themselves from restrictions. They like brassy appearances but hate neat dressing; like making money but love spending beyond their means; and long for romance but dread responsibilities. The phrase comes from a cartoon series by a Taiwan artist.

吃豆腐 (chi1dou4fu0) take advantage of, come on to

Eating tofu, as this Chinese phrase literally means, is not just common at dinner tables, but also very popular in daily conversations among locals. But in conservations, this phrase usually means a man takes advantage of or comes on to a woman. It may also be used among people of the same sex, when one bullies another verbally or even physically.

城乡结合部 (cheng2xiang1jie2he2bu4) rural-urban fringe zone

Millions of migrants flowing into the city every year have turned the boundary zone outside the urban proper into bustling areas where the migrants can find affordable housing and relatively easy access to their work in downtown districts. Sometimes, however, the term has a pejorative intonation as it’s often deemed as a synonym of the hotbed for crimes and unlicensed shoddy products.

创新型国家 (chuang4xin1xing2guo2jia1) innovation-oriented country

President Hu Jintao outlined China’s strategy to become an innovation-oriented country in 15 years during a science and technology conference in Beijing.

粗口 (cu1kou3) four-letter word

Dirty words used to express annoyance. Chinese film director Feng Xiaogang said some four-letter words to a female reporter during an interview last week. According to media reports, this was not the first time Feng has offered such words.

触电 (chu4dian4) flick appearance, thrill

The term was first used to describe a person who acts for the first time in a movie on the sideling of his or her profession. Now it applies to whoever gives it a try on TV or theatrical stages or in any business related to entertainment and high-tech outside their regular job. It also means the thrill you feel when excited or surprised.

草根艺人 (cao3gen1yi4ren2) mudsill artiste

The past few years have seen quite a few self-taught artistes, particularly stand-up comedians, around the country rise to the national fame. The Chinese term translates literally “artiste from the grassroots.” Although they practice a “low” art form, they are getting high ratings and laughs.

抽条 (chou1tiao2) shoot up, give short weight

Based on the phenomenon of plants sprouting in spring, this term has been used to describe kids reaching puberty and beginning to shoot up. But now it is also used to mean a business fraud of giving customers short weight by randomly taking away small amount of products from large packs.

超额配售 (chao1e2pei4shou4) green shoe option

A provision in an underwriting agreement which allows the underwriter to purchase additional initial public offering shares at the original price after the shares begin trading. The name comes from the fact that Green Shoe Company was the first to grant such an option to underwriters. It also called over-allotment provision.

炒作 (chao3zuo4) sensationalize

It is a popular way to promote a film, a star or anyone who wants to be famous. For example, you may hear a film’s star fall in love during the production, which is actually used to attract more attention to the movie.

草莓族 (cao3mei2zu2) strawberry clan

This term refers to students fresh from school. Just like the fresh fruit, they usually have a good appearance, but are easily perishable as they lack work experience or the moxie to fight pressure.

吃空饷 (chi1kong1xiang3) 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.