)
Alluring woman, siren. Literally “evil spirit.”
尖果儿 jiān guǒr ( jinn gwurr )
Beijing slang for a hot girl. Literally “sharp girl.”
尖孙儿 jiān sūnr ( jinn swurr )
Beijing slang for a hot guy. Literally “sharp guy.”
辣妹 làmèi ( lah may )
Southern Chinese slang for a hot girl. Literally “spicy sister.”
惹火 rěhuǒ ( ruh hwuh )
Sexy, hot (female). Popular among young people.
帅 shuài ( shwhy —think of it as “shh” and “why” mushed into one syllable)
Handsome. Literally “leader in battle.” Describes men, but like “pretty,” piàoliang (page 59), this can also be said in response to an impressive spectacle. You can make the sentiment stronger by saying 很帅! hěn shuài! ( hun shwhy ), literally “very handsome,” or 帅呆了 shuài dāi le , literally “stunningly handsome.”
帅哥 shuài gē ( shwigh guh— shuài rhymes with “high”)
Handsome man. Literally “handsome older brother.” Often used as a flattering form of address for any good-looking young man.
壮 zhuàng ( jwong )
Buff, strong. Beijingers pronounce it using third tone instead of fourth tone— zhuǎng ( jwong ).
酷 kù ( coo )
Cool (a transliteration from the English). A common way to describe a guy you find attractive, and more likely to be used by young people today than 帅 shuài ( shwigh ), which means “handsome.”
棒 bàng ( bahng —almost like “bong” but with an ahh sound replacing the o )
Capable, strong, awesome. Often said when praising someone. If a child does a good job cleaning his or her room, you can say 很棒! hěn bàng! ( hun bahng ), literally “very great.” Or if a girl has a really rockin’ body, you can say, “他的身材很棒!” “ Tā de shēncái hěn bàng! ” ( tah duh shen tsigh hun bahng ): “Her body is awesome!”
倍儿棒 bèir bàng ( burr bahng )
Really great, really awesome. This is how a Beijing or Tian jin local might express 棒 bàng ( bahng ) . (倍 Bèi means “multiply” and the儿 er ( er ) sound indicates a Beijing accent.) Thus a Beijinger complimenting a girl’s body might say, “你的身材倍儿棒!” “ Nĭ de shēncái bèir bang! ” ( nee duh shen tsigh burr bahng ): “You have a rockin’ body.”
养眼 yǎngyǎn ( yahng yen )
Eye candy, good-looking, beautiful, easy on the eyes. Literally “fits eye.”
喜欢 xǐhuān ( shee hwun )
To like.
爱 ài ( aye —rhymes with “sigh”)
To love.
疼 téng ( tung ) or 疼爱 téng ài ( tung aye )
Love (verb). Can be used both for romantic love and for parental or familial love. Can also mean “to spoil,” as in spoiling a beloved child. Téng can also mean “pain,” which you shouldn’t read into too deeply, but knowing it should give extra depth to this way of saying love.
暗恋 ànliàn ( ahn lyinn )
To have a crush on.
谈恋爱 tánliàn’ài ( tahn lyinn aye )
To date, to have a relationship with. Literally “talk about love” or “talk romance.”
约会 yuēhuì ( yreh hway )
A date (noun). Came about due to Western influence.
AA 制 AA zhì ( AA jih ) and AB 制 AB zhì ( AB jih )
Literally “AA system” and “AB system.” “Going Dutch” when you eat out is often called AA zhì in Chinese. However, going Dutch is a relatively recent concept for Chinese people. More recently, some people (men dining out with women in particular) are choosing to split the bill but pay a bit more, say 70 percent, and this is called AB zhì .
初恋 chūliàn ( choo lyinn )
First relationship, first love.
女朋友 nǚpéngyǒu ( nee pung yo )
Girlfriend. A direct translation from the English word, and like the English it usually means the girl a guy is dating but sometimes merely refers to a female friend.
男朋友 nánpéngyǒu ( nahn pung yo )
Boyfriend.
马子 mǎzi ( mah dz )
A slangy word for
Alluring woman, siren. Literally “evil spirit.”
尖果儿 jiān guǒr ( jinn gwurr )
Beijing slang for a hot girl. Literally “sharp girl.”
尖孙儿 jiān sūnr ( jinn swurr )
Beijing slang for a hot guy. Literally “sharp guy.”
辣妹 làmèi ( lah may )
Southern Chinese slang for a hot girl. Literally “spicy sister.”
惹火 rěhuǒ ( ruh hwuh )
Sexy, hot (female). Popular among young people.
帅 shuài ( shwhy —think of it as “shh” and “why” mushed into one syllable)
Handsome. Literally “leader in battle.” Describes men, but like “pretty,” piàoliang (page 59), this can also be said in response to an impressive spectacle. You can make the sentiment stronger by saying 很帅! hěn shuài! ( hun shwhy ), literally “very handsome,” or 帅呆了 shuài dāi le , literally “stunningly handsome.”
帅哥 shuài gē ( shwigh guh— shuài rhymes with “high”)
Handsome man. Literally “handsome older brother.” Often used as a flattering form of address for any good-looking young man.
壮 zhuàng ( jwong )
Buff, strong. Beijingers pronounce it using third tone instead of fourth tone— zhuǎng ( jwong ).
酷 kù ( coo )
Cool (a transliteration from the English). A common way to describe a guy you find attractive, and more likely to be used by young people today than 帅 shuài ( shwigh ), which means “handsome.”
棒 bàng ( bahng —almost like “bong” but with an ahh sound replacing the o )
Capable, strong, awesome. Often said when praising someone. If a child does a good job cleaning his or her room, you can say 很棒! hěn bàng! ( hun bahng ), literally “very great.” Or if a girl has a really rockin’ body, you can say, “他的身材很棒!” “ Tā de shēncái hěn bàng! ” ( tah duh shen tsigh hun bahng ): “Her body is awesome!”
倍儿棒 bèir bàng ( burr bahng )
Really great, really awesome. This is how a Beijing or Tian jin local might express 棒 bàng ( bahng ) . (倍 Bèi means “multiply” and the儿 er ( er ) sound indicates a Beijing accent.) Thus a Beijinger complimenting a girl’s body might say, “你的身材倍儿棒!” “ Nĭ de shēncái bèir bang! ” ( nee duh shen tsigh burr bahng ): “You have a rockin’ body.”
养眼 yǎngyǎn ( yahng yen )
Eye candy, good-looking, beautiful, easy on the eyes. Literally “fits eye.”
喜欢 xǐhuān ( shee hwun )
To like.
爱 ài ( aye —rhymes with “sigh”)
To love.
疼 téng ( tung ) or 疼爱 téng ài ( tung aye )
Love (verb). Can be used both for romantic love and for parental or familial love. Can also mean “to spoil,” as in spoiling a beloved child. Téng can also mean “pain,” which you shouldn’t read into too deeply, but knowing it should give extra depth to this way of saying love.
暗恋 ànliàn ( ahn lyinn )
To have a crush on.
谈恋爱 tánliàn’ài ( tahn lyinn aye )
To date, to have a relationship with. Literally “talk about love” or “talk romance.”
约会 yuēhuì ( yreh hway )
A date (noun). Came about due to Western influence.
AA 制 AA zhì ( AA jih ) and AB 制 AB zhì ( AB jih )
Literally “AA system” and “AB system.” “Going Dutch” when you eat out is often called AA zhì in Chinese. However, going Dutch is a relatively recent concept for Chinese people. More recently, some people (men dining out with women in particular) are choosing to split the bill but pay a bit more, say 70 percent, and this is called AB zhì .
初恋 chūliàn ( choo lyinn )
First relationship, first love.
女朋友 nǚpéngyǒu ( nee pung yo )
Girlfriend. A direct translation from the English word, and like the English it usually means the girl a guy is dating but sometimes merely refers to a female friend.
男朋友 nánpéngyǒu ( nahn pung yo )
Boyfriend.
马子 mǎzi ( mah dz )
A slangy word for
Similar Books
