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Chinese Slang


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I would like to share some rather new Chinese slang terms:

拔份儿 [bá fènr]

Explanation of meaning in English: show off one's strength or power; demonstrate one's power over others

Explanation of meaning in Chinese: 炫耀自己的威风. 显示自己比别人厉害。

Sample Sentence:  我看不起那些好在人群前拔份儿的人。

English translation: I look down on those who like to show off in front of others.

把势 [bǎ shi]

Explanation of meaning in Chinese: 就是武术的意思。

Explanation of meaning in English: martial art(s)

Sample sentence: 瞧他那把势练得多地道。

Moreover, in some cases, 把势 can also mean skill, technique (拔术的意思)。

白鼻在 [bái bí zǎi]

Explanation of meaning in Chinese: 指好吃懒做,游手好闲,贪图享受的人。

Explanation of meaning in English: A so called "white-nose boy" --> A term for a vagabond or someone who is fond of eating but not willing to work or idle but seeking a life of pleasure.

Sample sentence: 你得尽快找份差使干,不能再这样闲下去了,想个白鼻仔。

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  • 2 weeks later...

I tthink slangs tend to stay in their specific regions. So unless you live at a certain state or province in China, some of them are rarely heard of. Even though I'm a native speaker but I've only heard of "白鼻仔" because I don't live in China. It was a friend from China that used it.

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Indeed! With so many different dialects for the Chinese language, there's bound to be slangs that are made specifically for a certain dialect. From what I know, Hakka, Hunan, Chaozhou all have slangs that only the common speaker can understand.

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In Taiwan a lot of the slang comes from Taiwanese so I assume it's similar in different mainland regions and the other dialects. I like to try to be familiar with slang so I can have an easier time understanding people. It's difficult though. Slang is always changing.

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