汉语新词新译系列-N
脑抽 (nao3 chou1)
brain spasm
It is a rude expression ud by young Netizens to describe a person who acts or speaks in an insane way as if he or she is suffering from cerebral spasms.
牛皮癣 (niu2 pi2 xuan3)
street spam
The Chine term literally means psoriasis, a common but annoying skin dia. It is now often ud figuratively to describe usually shoddy printed ads or signs unsightly plastered on street walls, trees, utility poles, telephone booths or other public places.
内功 (nei4gong1)
inner power
The term originally referred to the rare power a kungfu master accumulated in the inner org
ans, such as control of breathing to enhance the impact of a punch. The days, people often u it to describe an organization's competitiveness and efficiency resulting from its internal system and innovation.
农家乐 (nong2jia1le4)
farmer's home inn
During the weeklong golden holidays, people often cannot find hotels in popular sites, so some farmers will lend their hous to tourists, which are cheaper than normal hotels. Tourists can also eat with the farmer's family and do farmer chores for fun.
裸考 (luo3kao3)
naked exam
This is word-for-word translation of the newly invented Chine term. It does not mean that one takes a test with nothing on. It means a "pure test," in which no one can get any special treatment, such as winning additional points becau of one's other talents or perf
ormance. In the past, student who have artistic or athletic gifts, were often given extra points on their academic exams.
闹洞房 (nao4dong4fang2)
bridal chamber pranks
It's Chine tradition that guests crowd into the bridal chamber to tea the newly-wed couple after the wedding banquet. Anything goes here and sometimes it turns into a rather rowdy gathering that lasts late into the night.
女猪(nu3zhu1)
heroine, female protagonist
"pig" and "protagonist" have similar pronunciations in Chine except for their tones, so do not mistake the term for "female pig" next time you e it online – it is actually a trendy way of saying heroine among the literature fans on the Internet.
娘娘腔(niang2niang2qiang1)
sissy, pansy
The English phra originally refers to a weak man or a homoxual. People in Shanghai u the Chine phra to describe boys or men who talk or behave in an effeminate way.
脑子进水(nao3zijin4shui3)
bubble brain
If water is injected into the brain, as this Chine term reads verbatim, it won't be able to work very well. This term is commonly ud the days to mean someone who is being stupid or confud.
裸替 (luo3ti4)
nude stand-in
Nude stand-in refers to people who substitute big stars in movies for nudity shots. A nude
stand-in for movie star Zhang Ziyi in "The Banquet" recently popped up in the spotlight of the media by telling her own stories and career.
脑体倒挂(nao3ti3dao4gua4)
limbs before brains
The phra refers to the phenomenon that some talent-intensive jobs such as rearchers are paid less than labor-intensive ones such as meter readers when industries are not market-oriented.
牛皮癣 (niu2pi2xuan3)
nagging problem, eyesore ads
The term for a skin dia, psoriasis, is often ud to describe a prolonged nagging problem. It may also be ud to depict the eyesore ads, such as illicit trashy ads posted or printed on walls, telecomm poles, door steps or even pavements, which are very difficult to get rid of.
鸟人族(niao3ren2zu2)
bird people
In colloquial Chine, this is not a term for creatures in science fiction, fantasy fiction or mythology. Instead, it refers to people who move their home frequently, on an average of two to three times a year, in a city like Shanghai. Their purpos are to find novel living environments, new lifestyles or to meet particular personal needs, such as sleeping in an absolutely quiet room.
内紧外松 (nei4jin3wai4song1)
floating duck tactic
This translation is bad on the English term of "floating duck syndrome," which describes a situation where a duck paddles frantically underneath in order to keep its body calmly floating on the water. In China, however, people don't e it as a syndrome, but a tactic to hide one's efforts in speeding up his work or in controlling damages underneath a calm and relaxed appearance.
(你)太有才了!(ni3tai4you3cai2le0)
You're so gifted!
This was the jape repeatedly cited by a female comedian in a show at this yea's Spring Festival television gala, now a sine qua non of the Chine New Year celebration. Since then it has become so popular, and it is widely ud in daily conversations to flatter someone for his/her smarts.
内定(nei4ding4)
predetermination
It usually refers to the process of making decisions on choosing candidates or leaders to certain positions in government departments, companies, work units or organizations before the official announcement or going through some prescribed formalities.
奶粉钱 (nai3fen3qian2)
baby money
The Chine term translates verbatim the money for buying milk powders. It now often refers to the money for raising a new baby.
内鬼 (nei4gui3)
inner culprit
The Chine term means literally "inner ghost." It refers to the perpetrators, spies or any kind of wrongdoers inside an organization. Becau they work from inside, it's usually rather difficult to discover their moves.
暖巢管家 (nuan3chao2 guan3jia1)
empty-nest rvant
A rvant offering home rvices to older citizens who children have moved out. Empty nest is a term commonly ud for families where the children have grown up and moved away, leaving behind their aging parents.
诺亚规则 (nuo4ya4 gui1ze2)
Noah Principle
It refers to the theory that the world should join hands in reining in the trend of global warming before it is too late.
暖春之旅 (nuan3chun1zhi1lu3)
warm spring trip
Refers to the recent visit by Chine President Hu Jintao to Japan. Hu described his visit as a warm spring trip to indicate the efforts made by the two countries to enhance their bilateral.
农业通胀 (nong2ye4tong1zhang4)
agflation
A blend of "agriculture and "inflation. It refers to the inflation driven predominantly by rising prices of agricultural products.
奶油妈妈 (nai3 yo2u ma1 ma1)
milky mom
The term refers to mothers who, after the prescribed four-month maternity leave, have to go back to work but keep feeding their babies with their own milk. So, they have to find time and proper places to collect their milk during work hours and then bring the milk home after work. Since thousands of babies have recently fallen sick after taking some tainted milk powder products, the "milky mom" has become a healthy trend.
男人妆(nan2ren2zhuang1)
unix makeup
Some women make themlves up in a way that is unix instead of purely feminine.
NONO族(NoNo zu2)
NONO clan
The word came from best-ller Naomi Klein's book "No Logo" in 2002. It refers to young people who pursue a pure and environmentalfriendly life that refus any luxurious products. Though well-off, they despi all the famous brands but prefer goods with strong individual styles.
逆商 (ni4 shang1)
adversity quotient
It is the capability of a person to stand firm against tbacks and pull through hard times. A person with a high AQ is able to survive a career crisis.
捏捏族 (nie3 nie3 zu2)
package crumbling clan
This new group, mainly made up of young people, vents their rage by crunching food packages such as tho of instant noodles in supermarkets. Such harmful behavior is widely condemned on the Internet. Experts suggest proper communication and physical e
xerci are a better way to beat the pressure.
牛奋男 (niu2 fen4 nan2)
bull-featured men
This expression is ud to describe men who work hard without high incomes for their families. They are increasingly popular among young female white-collar workers for their bull-like characteristics, such as loyalty, diligence and n of responsibility. Their popularity indicates a change in female office workers's preferences.
男人婆 (nan2 ren2 po2)
macho woman
It refers to a woman who is preoccupied with the will to gain the upper hand over men, besides her remblance to a man in behavior.
NC63
The phra is short for "No Computer 63 Hours" that refers to a campaign becoming pop
ular in big cities. The organizer of the campaign advis people to shut down their computers at 6pm on Friday and not turn them on again until 9am on Monday to enjoy real life as well as save energy.
年午饭 (nian2 wu3 fan4)
Lunar New Year's lunch
With Chine New Year coming, the peak ason for restaurants rving New Year Eve's dinner - a tradition for family reunions - is also looming. More families tend to take lunch for year-end meals to avoid the rush.
年清族 (nian2 qing1 zu2)
yearly spend-all
An expression coined by lf-mocking youngsters who spend virtually all their savings within a year in the weeklong Spring Festival on gifts and "red envelopes." The expression plays on the word 清, which means to "u up" here but is pronounced the same as 轻，as in 年轻，which means young.
奴现象 (nu2 xian4 xiang4)
slave phenomenon
The phra refers to the huge pressure young people face that has enslaved them with all the burdens of daily life. The young people are overwhelmed by hou mortgages and gasoline fees and cannot support a family with monthly incomes already stretched thin. Some even called themlves a festival slave as socializing and gifts cost too much.
牛奶大脑 (niu2 nai3 da4 nao3)
milk brain
The term refers to feelings of disorientation and mental sluggishness reported by some mothers of newborn babies as a result of their total involvement in the child's care to the exclusion of almost everything el.
奈特尔家庭 (nai4 te4 er3 jia1 ting2)
NETTEL family
The term is abbreviated from "Not Enough Time to Enjoy Life Family," referring to tho w
ho have a high income but no time to enjoy life becau of busy work schedules. Australian sociologists found the number of NETTEL families has incread in their country. However, the sociologists also found that most NETTEL families like their lifestyle becau it shows they are successful in business.
