汉语新词新译系列-Q

群殴 (qun2 ou1)
group fight

This term originally means a physical group fight. However, as job market pressure increases, college students use the term to refer to company group interviews, in which job candidates are organized into panels to discuss topics and compete with each other.

强势 (qiang2 shi4)
domineering

It refers these days to a person who is assertive and sometimes high-handed, either within a family, a company or a country.

糗事 (qiu2 shi4)
faux pas, gaffe

Young people use this Chinese expression to refer to those occurrences that embarrass one or both parties, either because of a slip of the tongue, improper act or misunderstanding.

情义男 (qing2 yi4 nan2)
man of love and loyalty

This Chinese term was first used about the man who carried the body of his wife piggyback on a moped home after his wife died in the Sichuan Province earthquake last May. After his action was revealed by the media, he was called "a man of love and loyalty."

桥段 (qiao2 duan4)
stereotyped plot

This term literally means "bridge suspension" and is borrowed to refer to stereotyped plots in a film, such as a hero coming to the rescue of victims at a crucial moment and defusing a bomb in the nick of time.

巧实力 (qiao3 shi2 li4)
smart power

The term in international relations means the ability to combine hard and soft power in a winning strategy. The term gained notice when then US Secretary of State nominee Hillary Clinton used it frequently during a speech in January. Clinton pledged to use America's "smart power" to renew the nation's international leadership and deal with trouble spots.

呛声 (qiang4 sheng1)
vociferous challenge, protest

The term is derived from the dialect of southern China's Fujian Province. It means making public challenges or demonstrating one's anger against certain decisions, proposals or public figures by speaking out loudly.

禽流感 (qin2liu2gan3)
avian flu or bird flu

The World Health Organization warned earlier this month that the economic impact from a flu pandemic would be enormous and urged countries to prepare for a possible outbreak like the 1918 one that killed 50 million people.

秋老虎(qiu1lao3hu3)
Autumn Tiger

This is a spell of hot weather that usually appears in late summer or early autumn, when the daily high hovers around 35 degrees Celsius. It's not quite the same as the Indian Summer in North America or the Old Wives' Summer in central Europe.

抢沙发 (qiang3sha1fa1)
sofa grabbing

Despite varying etymological accounts, it is generally agreed that the first person to post a follow-up comment or article after the thread starter assumes a sofa, implying a comfortable or important position. It is said it comes from a person who says "so fast" as a response to a responding comment immediately after the threat starter posts an article. The second follow-up comment poster will 坐板凳 (zuo4ban3deng4), or sit on a bench, implying a less comfortable or important place.

起蓬头 (qi3peng2tou2)
sudden pickup

This is a colloquial term used mainly in Shanghai area and the local dialect to describe something, such as sales or activities, beginning to pick up momentum quickly. It also implies a bit of hullabaloo.

翘课 (qiao4ke4)
cutting classes

Five foreign students were expelled from the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics for not attending enough classes in the current semester.

枪手 (qiang1shou3)
ghost test-taker, ghost writer

Gunman is the direct translation for this Chinese term, but it is now used metonymically to describe anyone who sits in examinations for others for a fee. The government has been trying very hard to stamp out ghost test-taking, which has become widespread around the country.

奇客 (qi2ke4)
geek

The Chinese term, created according to the sound of the English word, literally means a "strange guest." One doesn't have to be a computer expert or specialist to become a geek. If you are a computer aficionado with a free and unorthodox thinking, people call you a geek.

全武行(quan2wu3hang2)
acrobatic fighting, scuffle

The term originally means the acrobatic fighting in traditional Chinese operas. These days it refers to the undue fighting or violence at a public place such as in the street or a parliament hall.

腔调 (qiang1diao4)
aura, manner

The word means an accent or tone of expression in Mandarin but takes on a rich array of meanings in Shanghai dialect. It can refer to polished taste in clothing, well-paced elegance in behavior, sleek manner in spending, or even well-acclaimed style in handling, a tricky issue. It can also mean a special kind of attitude.

起步费(qi3bu4fei4)
base rate, initial meter charge

The city has just raised the taxi base rate from 10 yuan for the first three kilometers to 11 yuan and the additional kilometer rate from 2.0 yuan to 2.1 yuan to offset the soaring prices in the world and domestic oil markets.

清凉装 (qing1liang2zhuang1)
revealing clothing

It refers to women's summer wear that reveals a lot of skin. However, these days, people have expanded its meaning to any moderately sexy clothing.

抢注(qiang3zhu4)
preemptive registration

When the name of a celebrity or a famous organization is used for a brand name like "Clinton" condom and "bushi (Bush)" diaper, an original advertising effect is secured. A Chinese condom factory's application states television is still awaiting the go-ahead.

七夕(qi1xi1)
Qi Xi Festival

It's the seventh day of the seventh month in the Chinese lunar calendar. Chinese legend says farmer Niu Lang and his wife Zhi Nu, who is actually an angel from heaven, are allowed to meet once a year on the day after their secret marriage is discovered by her heavenly family.