汉语新词新译系列-S

手袋峰会 (shou3 dai4 feng1 hui4) the Summit of Purses

The Summit of Purses refers to activities attended by first ladies of country heads when their husbands are busy in official conferences. Those so-called purse summits usually include charity events, health forums and tourism promotions.

省长 (sheng3 zhang3) chief thrifty officer

The term originally means in Chinese the governor of a province but now it is also used to describe those who are extremely thrifty and even stingy as “sheng”, the first character in the term, means a province but also “thrifty.”

三低男 (san1 di1 nan2) three-low man

The term refers to men who keep a low profile before their wife instead of being a male chauvinist, pose low risk of income problems because of steady, though not high, wages, and set low limits on their wife’s freedom.

晒伤妆 (shai4 shang1 zhuang1) sunburn makeup

This makeup causes the wearer’s face to look like it is sunburned. It was the signature makeup style of Chinese pop singer Faye Wong who made the look very fashionable among young people.

速配 (su4 pei4) speed group dating

White-collar class members’ problems with finding a soul partner have spawned group dating activities, some in the form of a TV show, to help match up young lonely hearts.

笋盘 (sun3 pan2) dream property

The term refers to a house or apartment that is cheap but actually worth more and usually hard to come by. It is a Cantonese dialect term meaning a good buy in property.

37度女郎 (37 du4 nv3 lang2) every man’s dream woman

It is a type of woman who is well-educated, well-paid, good-natured and good-looking and who is adored by every man. As 37 degrees Celsius is the human body temperature, her company makes people feel pleasant and comfortable.

室内儿童 (shi4 nei4 er2 tong2) indoor kids

The term refers to children who are unwilling to take part in outdoor activities and are indifferent to the appeal of nature. They indulge in playing computer games or watching TV programs and aren’t concerned about the external environment.

闪孕 (shan3 yun4) quick pregnancy

It refers to some white-collar women who get pregnant in a hurry to avoid being fired. China’s labor law prevents a company from firing a pregnant employee unless the company is insolvent.

试民 (shi4 min2) tester

This term refers to people who agree to test use new products or services provided by manufacturers or service providers. They usually submit reports on the quality and effectiveness.

时差党 (shi2 cha1 dang3) time-difference party

“Time-difference party,” as the Chinese term means literally, refers to people who live in a different time zone compared with their friends in China. They share their online game registration with a person in another time zone, so they can play the same game in shifts.

剩斗士 (sheng4 dou4 shi4) leftover love seeker

The term shares the same pronunciation as that for popular Japanese cartoon character “Saint Saiya” in Chinese and refers to men and women who, for whatever reason, have not found their right marriage partners at an age traditionally believed way past their prime. But they still keep looking.

手办 (shou3 ban4) in-action figure

The term “in-action figure” refers to plastic figurines modeled on comic book or science fiction characters. These figurines are normally 10-30 centimeters in height and produced in small quantities.

蛇夫座 (she2 fu1 zuo4) Ophiuchus

Some people support the introduction of Ophiuchus (November 30-December 17) as the 13th sign of the zodiac in order to correct calendar calculation errors. Meaning “snake-holder” in Greek, Ophiuchus would be inserted between Scorpio and Sagittarius.

睡眠机器 (shui4 mian2 ji1 qi4) sleep machine

The high-tech machine is designed to treat insomnia by physically stimulating some part of insomniacs’ brains to help them quickly enter a state of deep sleep.

数独 (shu4du2) sudoku or number place

This is probably the most popular logic puzzle around the world today. The aim of the puzzle is to fill in each empty square of a grid of 81 cells so that the figures 1 to 9 appear just once in every row, column and individual 3*3 block. Though sudoku is a Japanese name, the puzzle’s true modern origin lies with a team of puzzle constructors in 1970’s New York. Check out the sudoku column on B-15 in Shanghai Daily.

杀手锏 (sha1shou3jian3) trump weapon

In ancient China, jian was not a very common weapon, but if someone could use it skillfully, it would prove to be a surprisingly decisive one. Today, the Chinese term shashoujian means a trump weapon, which is rarely used before.

闪婚 (shan3hun1) flash marriage

In a metropolis like Shanghai, speed is everything. So, the “eight-minute speed dating” has become quite popular, particularly among young white-collar workers. Over the weekend, several hundred single men and women participated in a “flash marriage” event, hoping to find their Mr/Miss Right there and then tie the knot in a matter of days or even hours, if not minutes.

生活家 (sheng1huo2jia1) life-ist

The pompous term is popular with those who claim to know how to make the best of their life, even on a meager income.

水货 (shui3huo4) grey import

It is also know as a parallel import, which is made available in the local “grey market” by retailers who order the trademark goods directly from overseas wholesales at a lower price and without going through official import channels. Most such imports are shipped to the local market by water, hence the Chinese term, shuihuo (water goods).

色友 (se4you3) shutterbug

Enthusiastic amateur photographers in China call themselves seyou or “colorful friends”. They claim they are a bunch of people who love anything that’s colorful. Don’t try to translate this Chinese term without a real understanding of it, because the first character in the term can also mean “lascivious” .

素质教育 (su4zhi4 jiao4yu4) all-round education

Many Chinese educators, parents and politicians have long been calling for a fundamental reform in the country’s education system in order to eradicate its numerous flaws rooted in traditional exam-oriented schooling. They say what the country needs is an all-round education system to help bring forth millions of young people with a well-balanced moral, intellectual and physical education, not just examination machines.

私房菜 (si1fang2cai4) private home cuisine

Sifangcai or “private home cuisine” has become a fad in many large cities around the country. It’s a kind of home catering that features traditional family recipes in a setting just like home.