汉语新词新译系列-F

富二代 (fu4 er4 dai4)
The second rich generation

The term refers to children of rich families in China who are usually born with a silver spoon. Unlike their parents making fortunes from scratch, they are entitled to inherit huge assets at birth. With strong financial backgrounds, this second generation features in media headlines for their extravagant spending on luxury cars and arrogant attitudes that annoy the public.

飞毛腿 (fei1 mao2 tui3)
bargain hunter

Some young people are enthusiastic bargain hunters at all kinds of sales or service promotions. The expression originally refers to someone who is a fast runner.

副卡 (fu4 ka3)
Party partner

He or she accompanies the opposite sex to a party as a lover, sometimes in the sense of an extramarital one which is clear to the other partygoers, though the relationship is not public or acknowledged.

返聘 (fan3 pin4)
returnment

The term means inviting retired employees to return to the workforce, a phenomenon of an ageing society where fewer people are contributing to an occupational pension.

发泄餐厅 (fā xiè cān tīng)
anger-venting restaurant

This refers to a special restaurant in Nanjing, which is perfect for anyone wanting to let off steam. It allows diners to smash anything in the restaurant, ranging from dishes and bowls to acoustic equipment, as long as they are willing to pay for the damages.

复原乳 (fu4yuan2ru3)
reconstituted milk

The state standards administrative authority has recently told all dairy producers they must tell customers clearly whether the milk they sell is "reconstituted milk" or "pure fresh milk." Earlier, press reports disclosed that many dairy producers sold the former under the name of the latter in order to cut costs.

房虫 (fang2chong2)
house bug

People who buy apartments as an investment rather than accommodation are referred to as house bugs, or house investors. They are blamed on China's mainland for helping drive up the prices of newly developed houses beyond the means of urbanites with average incomes. The central government's policy to control the property market deals a heavy blow to the house bugs.

福娃 (fu2wa2)
friendlies

Friendlies is the official English name for the five mascots picked for the 2008 Olympics Games in Beijing, though each of the doll-like mascots has its own name, such as Beibei, Jingjing and Yingying. The selection marks the first time that more than three images will share Summer Olympic mascot duty.

非法集资 (fei1fa3 ji2zi1)
ponzi scheme

Ponzi scheme, named after its early 20th century inventor Carlo Ponzi, is a form of fraudulent investment scam. In a recent case, a local woman allegedly defrauded more than 50 people, many of them friends and co-workers, out of 7.69 million yuan (US$949,400) involving the sale of pre-paid mobile cards.

放鸽子(fang4ge1zi)
stand up, no-show

This Chinese term, flying a pigeon, derives from an old lottery scheme in Shanghai and the fact that the owner who sets free a trained homing pigeon would lose nothing since the bird always knows the way back home. Now, it is frequently used to describe the behavior of standing somebody up, playing no-show or offering empty promises.

夫妻相 (fu1qi1xiang4)
husband-wife looks

In the west, people say if a couple live together long enough, the husband and wife tend to resemble each other and even become look-alike. In China, many believe that the marriage will last longer between a man and a woman who share some matching or similar facial features. So, the husband-wife looks are deemed as one of the criteria for looking for one's other half.

伏都娃娃 (fu2du1 wa2wa)
voodoo doll

Voodoo dolls have hit the market in Shanghai as boys and girls buy them in the belief that the dolls can bring good luck to them and bad luck to their enemies. But don't bet all your luck on a small needle that pierces a voodoo doll. Better treat such a doll as fun, not your savior.

反式脂肪 (fan3shi4 zhi1fang2)
trans fat

Trans fat, also known as trans fatty acid, is made through the chemical process of hydrogenation of oils. It has been making headlines as consumers become aware that the artery-clogging fat is lurking in many food products, including fried fast food.

负心汉 (fu4xin1han4)
love rat, love cheat

A Website run by a young woman that exposes the private details of men who cheat their girlfriends of not only love, but also property has spawned many follow-up articles. But it has raised concerns about privacy rights and doubt about the credibility of the "sad stories."

发烧友 (fa1shao1you3)
aficionado, buff

The Chinese term translates literally a "feverish friend." Next weekend the city will make another spectacular pirouette on the international stage as the world's greatest rock band, the Rolling Stones, plays their first Chinese mainland concert here. Naturally, the event is expected to attract hundreds of "feverish" rock fans.

飞行特技 (fei1xing2te4ji4)
aerobatics

Russian air forces recently staged an airplane acrobatics show in the zhangjiajie tourist area in central China's Hunan Province. Daredevil though they may be, the air acrobatic team dropped a plan to fly through a hole on the peak of a local mountain because of the dangers and ensuing environment damage.

发福 (fa1fu2)
grow stout

Chinese believe that middle-aged people putting on some weight is a sign of well-being. The Chinese character "fu"means felicity, and the term "fafu" is a propitious saying of gaining weight.

饭搭子(fan4da1zi)
meal pal

This term refers to office workers who lunch together. Many white-collar workers are seeking lunch pals via the Internet to share high prices as well as the delicious dishes in nearby restaurants.

放倒钩(fang4dao4gou1)
booby trap

A "reverse hook", as the Chinese term means, is dangerous for unsuspicious prey, because it's easy to swallow, but hard to spit out. In a recent case in the city, an official pretended to be a hitchhiker and offered driver a 10-yuan bill as a thank-you token at the end of the ride. But when the driver took the money, the official flashed his ID and pressed charges against the driver for "illegal carpooling".

封口费(feng1kou3fei4)
gag fee

This is the price you pay to stop people with inside knowledge from talking about what they know. It can be paid in money, dinners or presents.