Mandarin Chinese profanity

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Profanity in Mandarin Chinese most commonly involves sexual references and scorn of the object's ancestors, especially their mother. Other Mandarin insults accuse people of not being human. Compared to English, scatological and blasphemous references are less often used.

In this article, unless otherwise noted, the traditional character will follow the simplified variant if it is different.

Video Mandarin Chinese profanity

Sex

Penis

As in English, many Mandarin Chinese slang terms involve the genitalia or other sexual terms. Slang words for the penis refer to it literally, and are not necessarily negative words:

• j?b? (simplified Chinese: ??/??; traditional Chinese: ??/??, IM abbreviation: J8/G8) = cock (used as early as the Yuan Dynasty), also written ??
• j?j? (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??/??, IM: JJ/GG) = roughly equivalent of "thingy" as it is the childish version of the above.
• j?ju (??), baby talk, "tool".
• xi?o dìdi (???) = roughly equivalent of "wee-wee" (lit. "little younger brother") IM: DD
• kuàxià wù (???) = roughly equivalent of "the package" (lit. "thing under crotch")
• y?nj?ng (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??)= penis (scientific)
• di?o (Chinese: lang or substituted by ?) = dick (the same character also means to have sexual intercourse in Cantonese, alternatively written as ?)
• lìn (?) same as "?", used in some southern areas such as Fujian and Guangdong. Also written as "?" in Cantonese. It was misinterpreted as lu?n (?) by Mandarin speakers, though sometimes "?" is used instead for euphemism.
• l?o èr (??) = penis (lit. "second in the family", "little brother")
• nà huó er (simplified Chinese: ???; traditional Chinese: ???) = penis, usually seen in novels/fictions. (lit. "That thing", "that matter")
• xi?o ni?o (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??) = used by people (mostly children) in Taiwan, Malaysia, and Singapore to mean penis (lit. "little bird"), often simplified to ni?o (?, lit. "bird")
• gu?tóu (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??) = turtle's head (glans/penis)
• b?opí (??) = foreskin (literally: wrapper)
• di?os? (??) = originally meant male pubic hair, but means an unprivileged nobody. Formerly Internet slang, now a popular word often used in self-mockery (lit. "dick silk/wire")

Note: One should note that in Middle Chinese the words for ? and ? were homophones. The f?nqiè of "?" (???) and the f?nqiè of "simplified Chinese: ?; traditional Chinese: ?" (???) denoted the same pronunciation; both began with a voiceless unaspirated alveolar stop (/t/ in IPA and d in pinyin) and the same vowel and tone. Based on regular sound change rules, we would expect the word for bird in Mandarin to be pronounced di?o, but Mandarin dialects' pronunciations of the word for bird evolved to an alveolar nasal initial, likely as a means of taboo avoidance, giving contemporary ni?o while most dialects in the south retain the Middle Chinese alveolar stop initial and the homophony or near homophony of these words.

Vagina

There appear to be more words for vagina than for penis. The former are more commonly used as insults and are also more aggressive and have negative connotations:

• b? (?, ?, ?, IM: B) = cunt
• j?bái (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??) = cunt (Taiwanese Mandarin, near-homophone of Hokkien profanity chi-bai)
• xi?omèimei (Chinese: ???) = pussy (lit. "little younger sister", see. xiaodidi above)
• bàoyú (??) = pussy (lit. "abalone" due to its flesh having a superficial resemblance to a vulva)
• èrb? (??, IM: 2B) = fucking idiot or inbred (lit. "double vagina"; general insult)
• sh?b? (??) = stupid person (lit. "stupid cunt") IM: SB
• s?ob? (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??) = bitch (lit. "lewd cunt")
• chòub? (??) = stinking cunt
• lànb? (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??) = rotten cunt
• y?ndào (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??) = vagina (scientific)
• y?nhù (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??) = vulva (scientific)
• táohu?yuán (???) = vagina (lit. "garden of peach blossoms")
• zhu?ngb? (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??) = poser (lit. "pretending to be the cunt")
• dà yí m? (simplified Chinese: ???; traditional Chinese: ???) = Literally "The Eldest Aunt", a popular mainland contemporary term which refers to menstruation. Comparable to 'A visit from Aunt Flo'

Brothel frequenter

• yín chóng (??) literally, lewd worms. Men who enjoy frequent sex with women.
• l?o piáo (??) literally, old frequenter of prostitutes. There is actually a verb for frequenting prostitutes in Chinese.

Prostitution

In addition to the above expressions used as insults directed against women, other insults involve insinuating that they are prostitutes:

• jì n? (??) = (female) prostitute
• chòu bi?ozi (???) = stinking whore
• mài dòufu (simplified Chinese: ???; traditional Chinese: ???; literally "selling tofu") is a euphemism for prostitution.
• xi?oji? (??) = means "Miss" or "Small elder sister" in most contexts but, now in Northern China, also connotes "prostitute" to many young women, as it suggests expressions like zuò xi?oji? (???) or s?npéi xi?oji? (????), which refers to bargirls who may also be prostitutes. This connotation does not apply outside of the People's Republic of China.

Mistress

• xi?o l?opó (???) = mistress (lit. "little wife" or "little old women"). Note: when combined with other words, the character ? (l?o, literally "old") does not always refer to age; for example, it is used in the terms ?? (l?og?ng 'husband'), ?? (l?opó 'wife'), ?? (l?osh? 'mouse'); or other, more rare cases such as ?? (l?oh? 'tiger'), ?? (l?oy?ng 'eagle'), ?? (l?owài 'foreigner'); or important persons such as ?? (l?ob?n 'boss') or ?? (l?osh? 'master' or 'teacher'). ? (l?o 'old') thus often carries with it a degree of familiarity.
• xi?o tàitai (Chinese: ???), lit., "little wife" (but definitely not to be mistaken for "the little woman", which can be a way of referring to a wife in English).
• èr n?i (Chinese: ??), lit., "the second mistress" (means a concubine, a kept woman).
• xi?o s?n (Chinese: ??), lit., "little three" (means a mistress, since she is supposed to be the third person in a relationship).

Breasts

• m?m? (??; literally cat's purring "meow meow") is a euphemism for breast.
• dà dòufu (???; literally "big tofu") slang for large breasts, more prevalent in Guangdong
• mántóu (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??; literally "steamed bun") also refers to a woman's breasts; as mantou is typical of northern Chinese cuisine this term is used primarily in northern China.
• b? (?, literally "wave" or "undulating", but sometimes suggested to be derived from "ball" which has a similar pronunciation) = boobs. The typical instance is b?bà (Chinese: ??), which refers to a woman with very large breasts.
• fúshòu (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??); literally "happy long life")
• n?in?i (Chinese: ??) = boobies.
• x?miàn n?i (???) = motorboating (lit. "facial cleanser", where "?" serves as both slang for breasts and a thick liquid, and pressing one's head between a woman's breasts vaguely resembles washing one's face)
• z?r (Chinese: ?) (Beijing slang)
• gege (Tianjin slang)
• bàor? (Chinese: ??; literally: "busty breasts ('explosive breasts')") = big tits, likely reborrowing from Japanese.
• f?ij?ch?ng (simplified Chinese: ???; traditional Chinese: ???; literally "airport") = flat breasts
• háng k?ng m? jiàn (simplified Chinese: ????; traditional Chinese: ????) - literally "aircraft carrier", referring to a flat chest. Compare with ?? (zhàn jiàn), meaning battleship, which refers to larger-sized "chimneys" of the chest.
• tàipíng g?ngzh? (Chinese: ????) means Princess of Peace, this was the actual title of a real princess. However ? means great or extreme and ? means flat or level. Hence, this phrase is a double entendre, i.e., "Extremely Flat Princess."

Anus

• júhu? (Chinese: ??); literally "chrysanthemums") - anus. This term comes from the observation that the shape of an anal opening resembles a chrysanthemum flower, where the skin folds are comparable to the flower's small, thin petals. Although nowadays usage is mostly common amongst Chinese netizens, the euphemism has existed in Chinese literature from much earlier.
• pìy?n (Chinese: ??) - anal orifice, asshole
• g?ngmén simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??) - anus (medical term), literally "door of anus".
• hòutíng (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??) - anus. literally "back yard".

Masturbation

Male masturbation, at least, has several vulgar expressions, in addition to two formal/scientific ones that refer to both male and female masturbation (sh?uyín ?? and zìwèi ??):

• d? sh?uqi?ng (simplified Chinese: ???; traditional Chinese: ???) = male masturbation (lit. "firing a handgun")
• d? f?ij? (simplified Chinese: ???; traditional Chinese: ???) = male masturbation (lit. "hitting an airplane"). A term which originated from the Cantonese language.
• l?gu?n/l?gu?nr (??/???) = male masturbation (lit. "stroke the pipe")
• l?g?an (??) = male masturbation, also "stroking the pipe"
• wán l?o èr (???) = male masturbation (lit., "play with little brother")
• w?d?y? (???) = male masturbation (lit. "five beating one")
• jiàn W? g?niáng (simplified Chinese: ????; traditional Chinese: ????) = male masturbation (lit. "to see [visit] Miss Five", to see [use] five prostitutes [fingers])
• zìkuài (??) = masturbation (lit. private pleasure)
• zh?ji?o (??) = fingering
• ji? y?nj?ng (???) = dildo (lit. fake penis)
• ànmó bàng (???) = vibrator (lit. massage stick)

Foreplay

• k?u ji?o (??) = oral intercourse (scientific); informally euphemized in text as "?" (y?o, lit. "bite" due to its resemblance)
• chu? g?ng (??) = blowjob (lit. "blow service")
• chu? xi?o (??) = blowjob ("play flute")
• h? bàng (??) = Taiwanese slang for blowjob
• sh?nhóu (??) = deep throating
• càok?u (??) = mouth fucking (a form of blowjob)
• miàncào (??) = face fucking
• diào cháb?o (???) = teabagging
• y?nhù k?uji?o (????) = cunnilingus (scientific)
• ti?ny?n (??) = muff diving (lit. "licking vagina")
• p?nyù (??) = muff diving (lit. "evaluating jade")
• ch?b? (??) = eat pussy (borrowed from English)
• yánmiàn qíchéng (????) = facesitting
• ti?ng?ng (??) = anilingus (scientific)
• dúlóng zu?n (???) = anilingus (lit. "drilling for poisonous dragons")

Sexual intercourse

• cào (?/?) = to fuck (the first shown Chinese character is made up of components meaning "to enter" and "the flesh"; the second is the etymological graph, with the standard meaning being "to do exercise")
• gàn (?/?) = to do = to fuck (alternatively ? g?o, to do) or from Hokkien ?, also means fuck.
• rì (?) (lit. "to enter)" = to fuck. The meaning is obvious and in normal contexts ? is pronounced rù. But when it is used as a coarse expression, the "u" is elided. See ????, vol. 3, p. 3257. It is also commonly seen on internet websites and forums as rì ?, due to similar pronunciation and ease of input.
• bàojúhu? (???) = anal sex. (lit. burst the chrysanthemum (anus)), i.e., insert the penis into the anus
• d?pào (??) = to ejaculate (lit. to fire the cannon)
• g?ocháo (??) = Sexual orgasm (lit. high tide, also used to describe a climax point in other domains)
• ch? (?)= to have sex (lit. to insert)
• ch?ofàn (??) = to have sex (lit. "making stir-fried rice")
• h?i xi? (??) = to have sex (onomatopoeia for grunting noises made when exerting effort, heave-ho)
• d? huíhé (???) = to have sex (lit. "a round of a fight", but usually made into number of rounds if having sex multiple times, such as "?????" or "round 3 of fighting" to mean "3rd time having sex")
• qiángji?n (??) = rape
• j?ji?n (??) = sodomy
• shèj?ng (??) = to ejaculate (scientific)
• cháo chu? ?? = female ejaculation; squirt (lit. "orgasm blow")
• r?ji?o (??) = intermammary sex; tit-fuck (lit. "breast intercourse")
• zh?nzh? xiàngliàn (????) = ejaculating on a woman's chest after intramammary sex; pearl necklace
• jiào chuáng (??) = moaning in bed

Maps Mandarin Chinese profanity

Insults

As in English, a vulgar word for the sexual act is used in insults and expletives:

• cào (?/?) = fuck (the variant character ? was in use as early as the Ming dynasty in the novel Jin Ping Mei). ? is often used as a substitute for ? in print or on the computer, because ? was until recently often not available for typesetting or input.
• cào n? z?z?ng shíb? dài (???????) = "Fuck your ancestors to the eighteenth generation"; the cào ?, in modern Standard Chinese, is often substituted with ?; the cào ? (fuck) has been substituted for ?, which meant "confiscate all the property of someone and of his entire extended family." In China, ancestor worship is an important aspect of society, as a result of Confucianism, where filial piety and respect for one's ancestors is considered crucial; insulting one's ancestors is a sensitive issue and is generally confronting.

Mother

Insulting someone's mother is also common:

• t? m?de (simplified Chinese: ???; traditional Chinese: ???, IM: TMD) = [fuck] his mother's, or frequently used as "Shit!" (lit. "his mother's"; in the 1920s the famous writer Lu Xun joked that this should be China's national curse word)
• t? m? b?zi (simplified Chinese: ????; traditional Chinese: ???? his mother's clitoris. Lu Xun differentiates this expression from the previous one. This one can be said in admiration, whereas "t? m?de" is just abusive. See his essay, "On 'His mother's'" (????).
• t? m?de ni?o (simplified Chinese: ????; traditional Chinese: ????) = goddamn it (lit. "his mother's dick"; ?/? literally is "bird", but used here as a euphemism for di?o; ?; "penis")
• qù n? n?inaide (Chinese: ?????) = your mom (lit. "go to your grandma")
• qù n? m?de (simplified Chinese: ????; traditional Chinese: ????) = your mom (lit. "go to your mom")
• qù n?de (Chinese: ???) = fuck off/shut the fuck up (milder)
• n? m?de b? (simplified Chinese: ????; traditional Chinese: ????) = your mother's cunt
• cào n? m? (simplified Chinese: ???; traditional Chinese: ???) / cào n? niáng (???) = fuck your mom
• cào n? m?de b? (simplified Chinese: ?????; traditional Chinese: ?????) = fuck your mother's cunt
• gàn n? m? (simplified Chinese: ???; traditional Chinese: ???) / gàn n? l?o m? (simplified Chinese: ????; traditional Chinese: ????) = fuck your mom (gàn is similar to the English euphemism do)
• gàn n? niáng (simplified Chinese: ???; traditional Chinese: ???) = fuck your mother (Taiwanese Mandarin influenced by the regional vernacular Taiwanese Minnan ??? (kàn-lín-nió); also "???")

Other relatives

• n? èr dàyé de (Chinese: ?????) = damn on your second uncle. This is a part of local Beijing slang.
• l?olao (Chinese: ??) = grandmother-from-mother-side. In Beijing dialect, this word is used for "Never!".
• t? n?inai de (Chinese: ????) = His grandmother!

Turtles and eggs

The ????? Zh?ng wén dà cí di?n (Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Chinese Language)) (something a little like the OED), discusses ?? (wáng b?) in vol. 6 p. 281. "Wáng b?" is the term that is usually written casually for the slur that means something like "son of a bitch."

A "wángb?dàn ?/???" is the offspring of a woman lacking virtue. Another meaning of ?? is ? bi?, fresh-water turtle. Turtle heads reemerging from hiding in the turtle's shell look like the glans emerging from the foreskin, and turtles lay eggs. So a "wang ba" is a woman who has lost her virtue, and a "wang ba dan" is the progeny of such a woman, a turtle product, but, figuratively, also a penis product. ?? (gu?tóu, "turtle head") can refer to the glans of the penis.

"Wáng b? ??" originally got switched over from another "?? wàng b?" (one that referred to any very unvirtuous individual) because of a man with the family name Wáng ? who picked up the nickname ??? zéi Wáng b? ("the thieving Wang Eight") but for being a dastard, not for being a bastard. The dictionary doesn't say, but he may have been the eighth Wang among his siblings. Anyway, he became "crook Wang eight" and the term stuck and spread just as "Maverick" did in English. There is a pun here because of the earlier expression ?? wáng b? used to describe (1) any person who forgets/disregards the eight virtues, (2) an un-virtuous woman, i.e., one who sleeps around. The first meaning applied to the dastardly Wang, but the family name got "stuck" to the second, sexual, term.

Illegitimacy

Many insults imply that the interlocutor's mother or even grandmother was promiscuous. The turtle is emblematic of the penis and also of promiscuous intercourse, because turtles were once thought to conceive by thought alone, making paternity impossible to prove. Eggs are the progeny of turtles and other lower animals, so the word dàn (?) is a metonym for offspring.

• wángb? (??) / wàngb? (??) = soft-shell turtle; this was an insult as early as the Song Dynasty.
• wángb?dàn (???, informal simplified: ???) / wàngb?g?ozi (????) = bastard (lit: "Wang eight eggs child.")
• gu? s?nzi (simplified Chinese: ???; traditional Chinese: ???) / gu? érzi (simplified Chinese: ???; traditional Chinese: ???) = bastard (lit. "turtle grandson" and "turtle son")
• dài l?màozi (simplified Chinese: ????; traditional Chinese: ????) = to be a cuckold (lit. "wear a green hat," supposedly because male brothel workers in the Tang Dynasty had to wear green hats)
• zázh?ng (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??) = mixed seed, half-caste, half breed, hybrid, illegitimate child. There are proper terms for children of mixed ethnicity, but this is not one of them.
• hún dàn (??) = individual who has at least two biological fathers and one biological mother, the idea being that the mother mated with two or more males in quick succession and a mosaic embryo was formed.
• hún zhang wángb? dàn (simplified Chinese: ?????; traditional Chinese: ?????) = similar to turtle egg, see above.

Stupid

• bái ch? (Chinese: ??) Idiot, someone with mental retardation.
• bái mù (Chinese: ??) stupid. Literally, white-eyed, blind. Here it means not understanding the situation and reacting in a wrong way as a result.
• bèn dàn (Chinese: ??) Idiot (lit. stupid egg).
• ch?n dàn (Chinese: ??) Stupid (lit. stupid egg).
• ch?n zh? (Chinese: ??) Stupid (lit. dumb pig).
• dà n?o jìn shu? (Chinese: ????) water leaked in the brain, a possible reference to hydrocephalus.
• n?o cán (Chinese: ??) Mental deficiency
• sh? zi (Chinese: ??) Blockhead

Suck up

• chóngyáng mèiwài (Chinese: ????) Chinese who ass kiss foreigners.
• fànjiàn (Chinese: ??) asking to be disrespected.
• zh?o bi?n (Chinese: ??) asking to be kicked.
• d?s?nxiàsì (Chinese: ????) low (lit. "low three down four")
• g?utu?zi (Chinese: ???) someone's dog.
• p?i m? pì (Chinese: ???) to suck up, to be a toady (lit. patting a horse's butt).

Madness

• shén j?ng bìng (simplified Chinese: ???; traditional Chinese: ???) Insanity. Literally "disease of the nervous system", or having problems with one's nervous system. In China, imbalance of the nervous system is commonly associated with mental illness (for instance, ???? Shenjing shuairuo, literally "weakness of the nervous system", is a more socially accepted medical diagnosis for someone who, in the West, would have normally been diagnosed with schizophrenia, due to the social stigma against mental illness in China). Now the word is used quite generally when insulting someone whose actions seem odd, rude, offensive, or inappropriate.
• f?bi?o (Chinese: ??) going crazy.
• f?f?ng (Chinese: ??) going insane
• biàntài (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??) Perverted, deviant, abnormal.

Buttocks

While there are vulgar expressions in English referring to the buttocks or rectum, there are no real equivalents in Mandarin. Pìgu y?n (???) or pìy?nr (???/???), one expression for anus, is not vulgar, but it occurs in various curses involving an imperforate anus

• s? pì y?n (Chinese: ???) damned asshole.
• jiào n? sh?ng háizi méi pìgu y?n (simplified Chinese: ?????????; traditional Chinese: ?????????) - literally, "May your child be born with an imperforate anus"; sometimes méi pìgu y?n (simplified Chinese: ????; traditional Chinese: ????) is used as an epithet similar to "damned"
• jiào n? sh?ng háizi zh?ng zhì chu?ng (????????) - "May your child be born with hemorrhoids"
• w? kào (?? or ??) - "Well fuck me!", "Fuck!", "Fuckin' awesome!" or "Holy shit!" (Originally from Taiwan, this expression has spread to the mainland, where it is generally not considered to be vulgar. ? originally meant "butt.")

Age

• l?o bù s?de ????--death grip on life--is used as an angry comment directed against old people who refuse to die and so clog up the ladder to promotion in some organization. It is implied that they have outlived their usefulness, which conveys a deeper meaning of that person inconveniencing or hogging a resource or benefit that is beneficial to the insulter (such as a job promotion) by being alive; thus the insulter wishes for his death. The expression comes from the Analects of Confucius where the Master complains against those who engage in heterodox practices aimed at assuring them extreme longevity. In the original these individuals are described as "l?o ér bù s?" (????), i.e., it is said that they "are old but won't die."
• l?o zéi ??= l?o bù s?de
• l?o tóuzi (simplified Chinese: ???; traditional Chinese: ???), literally "old head," it refers in a somewhat slighting way to old men. Its usage is rather like such expressions as "old geezer" in English.
• l?o tài pó ???, old hag.
• xi?o gu? ??," little devil," is used familiarly and (usually) affectionately (c.f. "rascal" in English).
• xi?o tù z?izi ????," little rabbit kitten," refers to someone young. Its usage is rather like such expressions as "little brat" in English.
• r? xiù wèi g?n (simplified Chinese: ????; traditional Chinese: ????) Literally "(the) smell (of) milk is not dry (=gone) yet," wet behind the ears.
• l?o wán gù ???, an old arrogant man.

Promiscuity

As in the West, highly sexual women have been stigmatized. Terms for males who sleep around are rare.

• ch?ng fù (??) = bitch/whore
• húli j?ng (???) = bitch (overly seductive woman or a golddigger; lit. "fox spirit"or a female who attracts men in love and not in love)
• s?nb? (??) = airhead, braggart, slut (lit. "three eight"). Used to insult women. One derivation claims that at one point in the Qing Dynasty, foreigners were only permitted to circulate on the eighth, eighteenth, and twenty-eighth of each month, and the Chinese deprecated these aliens by calling them ??, but others claim ?? refers to March 8: International Women's Day. In Taiwan, the term has less of a misogynous connotation, and means "silly" or "airhead."
• g?ng gòng qì ch? (simplified Chinese: ????; traditional Chinese: ????) = slut (lit. "public bus") used for a woman who sleeps around, as in "everyone has had a ride"
• bi?ozi (??) = whore, slut
• jiàn n? rén (???) = bitch, cheap woman
• hu? hu? g?ngz? (????) = playboy, notorious cheater (lit. "Flower-Flower Prince")
• sè láng (??) = womaniser, sex maniac (lit. "Coloured Wolf", in this context the adjective "colour" is a euphemism for "lewd")
• sè gu? (??) = pervert (lit. "Colour Ghost")

Positive connotations

Occasionally, slang words with a negative connotation are turned around and used positively:

• w? cào (??) = An expression of impressed surprise or approval, akin to "holy fuck" or "holy shit!" in English (lit. "I fuck") Alternatively, "??" (w? kào, "I lean on". IM:KAO) or "??" (wa kào) is used when the subject intends on being less obscene, such as when speaking in public.
• niúb? (??/??) = fucking awesome (literally "cow cunt"; possibly influenced by the expression chu? niú pí; ???, which means "to brag"). This phrase also has many alternative forms, including NB, ?B, ??, ?? ("cow's nose"), as well as alternative pronunciations such as ??/?X niúch?. It can also just be shortened to ?.
• di?o (?) / ni?o (simplified Chinese: ?; traditional Chinese: ?) = cock; this was an insult as long ago as the Jin Dynasty. Now it sometimes also means "fucking cool" or "fucking outrageous", thanks in large part to the pop star Jay Chou. Because of the substitution of "ni?o" which means bird, sometimes English-speaking Chinese in Malaysia sometimes use "birdie" as a euphemism for "penis" for small children. "??" (bird man) sometimes has a derogative meaning as a "wretch", but also often used between close friends as affectionate appellation like "fellow".
• di?o s? (??) = originally meant to mean male pubic hair, but means an unprivileged nobody. Originally an Internet slang, now a popular word often used in self-mockery (lit. "dick silk/wire")

Mixed-up

Other insults include the word hùn (?), which means "mixed-up", or hùn (simplified Chinese: ?; traditional Chinese: ?), which means "muddy":

• hùnzhàng (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??) = bullshit, damn
• hùndàn (?? / simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??) = prick
• h?ndàn (??) = prick
• hùnqiú (??) = prick
• m?m?h?h? (????) = sloppy, careless

Eggs

Perhaps due to the influence of wángb?dàn (???), dàn (?; "egg") is used in a number of other insults in addition to hùndàn (??):

• bèndàn (??) = dummy, fool, idiot (lit. "dumb egg")
• ch?n dàn(??)= dummy, fool
• d?odàn (?? / simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??) = "to cause trouble"
• g?ndàn (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??) = get out of sight!
• huàidàn (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??) = a wicked person. Literally a bad egg.
• hútú dàn (???) = confused/clueless person (a sucker)
• qíonggu?ng dàn (simplified Chinese: ???; traditional Chinese: ???) = a poor/penniless person

Melons

The word gu? (?; melon or gourd) is also used in insults:

• sh?gu? (??; also sh?zi, ??) = dummy, fool, idiot. The term was in use as early as the Yuan Dynasty.
• d?igu? (??; also d?izi, ??) = dummy, fool, idiot.

In addition to the senses listed above, the "melon" is a metonym for the womb, and a "broken melon" refers to a female's lost virginity.

Sticks

The noun ? gùn, stick/staff is often used to refer to someone who is morally corrupted.

• ègùn (?? / ??) = bad guy, bully, villain (lit. "evil stick")
• shéngùn (??) = fake fortune teller (lit. "god stick")
• d?gùn (?? / ??) = rogue gambler (lit. "gamble stick")
• dégùn (??) = fascist (lit. "german stick")

Ghosts and spirits

The noun for "ghost" ? is often used to mock someone with some bad habit. The mocking tone may not be very serious though.

• ji?gu? (??) = drinker, alcoholic
• zuìgu? (??) = drunkard
• xi?oqì gu? (???) = tightwad, cheapskate; selfish
• d?nxi?o gu? (???) = coward

? "nonhuman spirit in a human's form" is usually for insulting some cunning people.

• húli j?ng (???) = vixen (overly seductive woman or a golddigger; lit. "fox spirit")
• m?pì j?ng (???) = flatterer (lit. "horse fart spirit")
• l?o y?o pó (???) = evil old witch
• y?ojing (??) = alluring woman; also fairy or goblin
• y?oguài (??) = monster, demon
• rény?o (??) = shemale, transwoman (lit. "human demon")
• tàiguó rény?o (????) = Thai shemale (lit. Thailand human demon; usually used as a stronger insult than merely calling someone a shemale)

Useless

• méiyòng (Chinese: ??) = useless
• Fèi (Chinese: ?, Chinese: ?; "(noun) waste/garbage, (verb) to waste, to throw away") appears in a number of insults:
  • w?nang fèi (simplified Chinese: ???; traditional Chinese: ???) = loser
  • fèi wù (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??)= good for nothing
  • fèirén (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??) = useless person
  • fèihuà (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??) = nonsense, bullshit, useless talk or chit-chat
• liúmáng (Chinese: ??) = scoundrel, gangster or pervert (the word originally meant vagrant); often used by women to insult men who act aggressively.
• n?ozh?ng (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??) = coward, useless, or weak person.
• rén zh? (Chinese: ??) = Scum. Someone who is useless and unwanted as garbage.
  • wúyòng (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??) = literally "useless"
  • fànt?ng (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??) = useless person. Literally "rice bucket", the connotation being that, like a bucket, the person is only useful for storing food and nothing else.
• er bai wu (Chinese: ???) = haven't got the full deck.

Boasting

• bàn píngzi cù (Chinese: ????): literally, a half-empty bottle of vinegar, used to address a person with limited professional expertise.
• chu?niú b? (Chinese: ???): lit. inflating (blowing air into) a cow's vagina. Used to address bragging activities. Often bowdlerized to chu?niú (Chinese: ??) when speaking in public or in the presence of children.
• ch? b?ole ch?ng de (Chinese: ?????): lit. eats too much. Used to refer weird, nonsense or illogical deeds.
• ch? b?o fàn méi shì zuò (??????) = same as ch? b?o le ch?ng de, but literal meaning is different (lit. "just finished eating and there's nothing to do")

Cruelty

• sh?rén bù zh?y?n (Chinese: ?????) stone cold killer.
• xi?o bàwáng zh?u t?ng (Chinese: ?????) a wicked man.
• hu?y?n xiéshén (Chinese: ????) evil spirit.
• dà mó tóu (Chinese: ???) a very wicked and powerful man.
• sàng x?n bìng ku?ng (Chinese: ????) crazy cruelty.
• liáng x?n bèi g?u ch? le (Chinese: ??????) conscience was eaten by dog.

Face

Because shame or "face" is important in Chinese culture, insulting someone as "shameless" is much stronger than in English:

• bú yàoli?n (simplified Chinese: ???; traditional Chinese: ???) = shameless, lit. "doesn't want face," i.e., "discards his face, does not seek to maintain a good status in society".
• di? li?n (??) = disgrace; humiliating (lit. "discarded face")

Girlish

• niángniangqi?ng (Chinese: ???) is a pejorative used to describe Chinese males who are extremely effeminate in their speaking style. It is related to the term s?jiào (??, to whine), but is predominantly said of males who exhibit a rather "girlish" air of indecisiveness and immaturity. Adherents of both tend to lengthen sentence-final particles while maintaining a higher-pitched intonation all throughout. The usage of the tilde as an Internet meme reflects the popularization of this style of speaking, which is often perceived as being cute or seductive.
• niángpào (??) = same as ??? (above)
• tàijiàn (??) or g?nggong (??) - Eunuch. From the stereotypes of Imperial eunuchs seen in TV shows in China (with a high, feminine voice). Men with higher voices are called eunuchs.
• n? qì (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??), female lifebreath. A man having the psychological attributes of a woman is said to exhibit "n? qì," i.e., is said to be effeminate.
• pì j?ng (Chinese: ??) roughly meaning ass fairy
• n?i yóu (Chinese: ??) lit. meaning cream or butter

Boyish

• nán rén pó (Chinese: ???) a female who behaves like a male. Tomboy
• mu ye cha (Chinese: ???) a female Yaksha, an ugly and rough female; often domineering in personality.

Inhuman

Other insults accuse people of lacking qualities expected of a human being:

• chùsheng (??) = animal; it literally means "beast", a likely reference to the Buddhist belief that rebirth as an animal is the result of karma conditioned by stupidity and prejudice. The word is also used in Japanese, where it is pronounced "chikush?", often used as an expletive, akin to "hell!"
• qín shòu (??) = beasts (lit.: "bird and animal"), often used as qín shòu bù rú (????) = worse than beasts
• n? bú shì rén (????) = you're not human (lit.: "you are not a person")
• n? shì shénme d?ngxi (simplified Chinese: ??????; traditional Chinese: ??????) = you're less than human, literally: What kind of object are you? (compares the level of a person to that of an object)
• n? búshì d?ngxi (simplified Chinese: ?????; traditional Chinese: ?????) = you're less than human (implies less worth than an object)
• bùyàoli?n de d?ngxi (simplified Chinese: ??????; traditional Chinese: ??????) = you're shameless and less than human (lit.: "you are a thing that has no shame")
• jiànhuò (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??) = lit. "cheap goods" ("[you] despicable creature!")
• s?ohuò (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??) = lit. "lewd goods" ("[you] lewd creature!")
• shu?huò (Chinese: ??) = lit. "junk"

Death

S? (?; "dead", "cadaverous," or, less precisely, "damn(ed)") is used in a number of insults:

• s? gu? (??) lit., "dead imp," "dead demon," "dead ghost". Used as a term of contempt.
• s? s?n b? (???) / chòu s?n b? (???), lit., stinking (derogatory term for woman) bitch
• s? bù yào li?n (simplified Chinese: ????; traditional Chinese: ????) = shameless (lit.: "[you] shameless corpse")
• qù s? (??) = Lit. "Go die!", comparable to the English phrase "Go to hell!"
• s? y? tóu ???, lit., dead serving wench. -- This term is no longer in common use. It appears in early novels as a deprecating term for young female bondservants. The "ya" element refers to a hair style appropriate to youths of this sort.
• g?i s? (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??) damned, damn it! (lit. should die)
• zh?o s? (Chinese: ??): literally "look [for] death" (i.e. "looking to die"). Roughly equivalent to the English phrase 'asking for trouble'.
• qù xià dì yù (????) - Lit. "Go to hell"

Excrement

The words "?" (sh?) (= turd, dung), "?" (fèn) (= manure, excrement) and "?? (= stool, poop)" (dà biàn), all mean feces but vary from blunt four letter to family-friendly, respectively. They can all be used in compound words and sentences in a profane manner.

Originally, the various Mandarin Chinese words for "excrement" were less commonly used as expletives, but that is changing. Perhaps because farting results in something that is useless even for fertilizer: "fàng pì" (??; lit. "to fart") is an expletive in Mandarin. The word "pì" (?; lit. "fart") or the phrase is commonly used as an expletive in Mandarin (i.e. "bullshit!").

• qù ch? dà biàn (????) [Go] Eat shit! (By itself, ?? is neither an expletive nor does it have the same effect as 'shit' in English.)
• ch? sh? (??) = Eat shit!
• sh? dàn (??) Lit., "shit egg", a turd.
• fàng pì (??) = bullshit, nonsense, lie (literally "to fart"; used as an expletive as early as the Yuan dynasty.
• 'ge pì (??) = A common variation of ??, also meaning "bullshit" (as in lies, c.f. English "my ass!"). This term is used because "fang pi" can be taken literally to mean Flatulence. Often tacked on to the end of a sentence, as in "XYZ ??!"
• pìhuà (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??) = bullshit, nonsense
• n? zài ji?ng shén me pì huà (simplified Chinese: ???????; traditional Chinese: ???????) = What the shit/fuck are you saying
• pì shì (??) = a mere nothing; also gu?nw?pìshì (????)= I don't give a damn!
• m? tián gòng (???) - A play on the writing of ? (the traditional form of ? (fen), also "kuso" in Japanese), referring to excrement.
• qí yán fèn t? y? (simplified Chinese: ?????; traditional Chinese: ?????) - an expression in Classical Chinese that means, "His words are [nothing but] excrement." (See Giles, A Chinese-English Dictionary.)
• y?u huà kuài shu?, y?u pì kuài fàng ????,???? = an expression meaning to stop beating around the bush (lit. If you have something to say, hurry up and say it; if you have a fart, hurry up and let it out)
• sh? b? ba (? or ???) - Children's slang term for faeces, similar to English "poo-poo" or "brownie". A variant of this term is ?? (b? ba), while ?? (biàn bian) is also used as a children's term, albeit less frequently used.
• pìtóu (??) = fart.

Animals

• s?nì=chaplony.

Dogs

The fact that many insults are prefaced with the Mandarin Chinese word for dog attest to the animal's low status:

• g?uz?izi (???/???) = son of dog (English equivalent: "son of a bitch")
• g?u pì (??) = bullshit, nonsense (lit. "dog fart"); in use as early as 1750 in the Qing Dynasty novel Ru Lin Wai Shi (The Scholars)
• n? ge g?u pì (simplified Chinese: ????; traditional Chinese: ????) = what you said is bullshit. also "n? ge pì"(simplified Chinese: ???; traditional Chinese: ???)or simply "pì"(Chinese: ?).
• g?u pì bù t?ng (????) dog fart + does not (come out at the end of the tube =) communicate= incoherent, nonsensical
• fàng n? m? de g?u pì (simplified Chinese: ??????; traditional Chinese: ??????) = what you said is fucking bullshit (lit. "release your mother's dog fart")
• fàng n? m? de g?u chòu pì (simplified Chinese: ???????; traditional Chinese: ???????) = what you said is fucking bullshit (lit. "release your mother's dog stinky fart")
• g?u niáng y?ng de (simplified Chinese: ????; traditional Chinese: ????) = son of a bitch (lit. "raised by a dog mother")
• g?urìde (???) = son of a bitch (from Liu Heng's story "Dogshit Food", lit. "dog fuck" ? is here written for ?, which when pronounced rì means "fuck".)
• g?ush? du? (???) = a person who behaves badly (lit. "a pile of dog shit"); g?ush? (??), or "dog shit," was used to describe people of low moral character as early as the Song dynasty. Due to Western influence, as well as the similar sound, this has become a synonym for bullshit in some circles.
• g?uzázh?ng (simplified Chinese: ???; traditional Chinese: ???) = literally "mongrel dog," a variation on zázh?ng (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??), above.
• z?ug?u (??) = lapdog, often translated into English as "running dog", it means an unprincipled person who helps or flatters other, more powerful and often evil people; in use in this sense since the Qing Dynasty. Often used in the 20th century by communists to refer to client states of the United States and other capitalist powers.
• g?utu?zi (???) / g?utu? (??) = Variant of z?ug?u (??), lit. "dog thigh"
• h? b? g?u (???) = someone who incessantly follows someone around, and is usually seen as a sycophant. (lit: "pug dog")

Rabbits

In at least one case, rabbit is part of an insult:

• xi?otùz?izi (????) = son of a rabbit (quite ironically, this insult is often used by parents to insult their children)

Horse

• m?zi (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??; literally: "horse") = a derogatory word for girlfriend. (Possibly influenced by U.S. slang, "filly," used for any girl.)

Bird

The Chinese word for bird "ni?o"(?) was pronounced as "di?o" in ancient times, which rhymes with (?) meaning penis or sexual organ. It also sounds the same as "penis" in several Chinese dialects. Thus, bird is often associated with 'fuck', 'penis' or 'nonsense':

• w? ni?o n? (simplified Chinese: ???; traditional Chinese: ???) = I fuck you (Beijing dialect)
• w? ni?o t? de (simplified Chinese: ????; traditional Chinese: ????) = damn fuck; fuck him
• ni?o huà (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??; literally: "bird speech") = bullshit, fucking words ; n? zài ji?ng shénme ni?o huà (simplified Chinese: ????????; traditional Chinese: ???????) = What fucking words are you talking about?
• ni?o rén (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??; literally: "bird person") = bastard, asshole. This word commonly appears in Water Margin, a Ming dynasty Classical Chinese Novel.
• ni?o shì (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??; literally: "bird matters") = mere nothing; also gu?n w? ni?o shì (simplified Chinese: ????; traditional Chinese: ????) = I don't care a damn

Tigress

A tigress or ??? (M? l?oh?) refers to a fierce woman, usually someone's strict wife.

Dinosaur

A dinosaur or ?? (K?nglóng) has been used as Internet slang to describe an ugly girl.

Insect

• wútóu c?ngyíng (????) = someone running around with no sense of direction (lit: "headless fly", or similar to "chicken with its head cut off" in English)
• hudu chong (???) = absent-minded person, a scatterbrain (lit. "confused insect"), compare with wútóu c?ngyíng
• g?n pì chóng (???) = someone that aimlessly follows someone around, usually for the purpose of flattery (lit: "butt-chasing insect")

Contempt

Certain words are used for expressing contempt or strong disapproval:

• qiáobùq? ({???) = To look down upon or to hold in contempt.
• w?p?i (??) = I boo in disapproval. P?i ? is a spoken onomatopoeia that represents the action of spitting.

Divinity

• w?nshén (??) = troublemaker (literally "plague god"). Compares the insulted person to a disliked god.
• w? de ti?n a (????) = Oh my God (literally "Oh my sky").

Miscellaneous

Some expressions are harder to explain:

• èrb?iw? (???) = stupid person/idiot (see 250)
• sh?d?izi, (simplified Chinese: ???; traditional Chinese: ???) roughly equivalent to "bookworm" or, possibly, "nerd". It is used to portray a studious person as lacking either hands-on experience or social skills. Unlike "nerd", sh?d?izi is rarely used in the context of hobbies.
• bì zu?, (??) = Shut up!

Action specific

Some expressions represent offensive insults involving some kind of actions:

• g?nk?i (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??) = go to hell! (lit. roll or roll away)
• n?g?iw?g?n (simplified Chinese: ????; traditional Chinese: ????) = get out of my sight! (lit. roll for me!)
• g?ndàn (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??) = scram, get out! (lit. "roll[ing] egg")
• g?nduzi (simplified Chinese: ???; traditional Chinese: ???) = get out of here. (lit. "Roll over, calf.")
• g?nn?m?dedàn(simplified Chinese: ?????; traditional Chinese: ?????) = get the f--- out of here! f--- off! (lit. "Roll your mother's egg.")
• g?nn?m?b? (simplified Chinese: ????; traditional Chinese: ????) = get the f--- out of here! f--- off! (lit. "Roll to your mother's c---.")

Region specific

Many locations within China have their own local slang, which is scarcely used elsewhere.

• n? y? t?ng de (????) - Local slang from Beijing, meaning "you son of a b----!"
• gàn n? xi?o BK de (???BK?) - Local slang from Tianjin, meaning "go fuck your 'thing'", where "BK" refers to male genitalia. However, when insulting females, "?B" is used instead.
• xi?o yàng le ba (????) - Originating from Southern China. Said upon someone's misfortunes, similar to "haha" or "suck that".
• shén me ni?o (simplified Chinese: ???; traditional Chinese: ???) - From the northeastern Heilongjiang, although also used in the South. Used similar to "what the fuck?"
• f?gé (??) - Used in Shanghai, direct transliteration from English "fuck".
• èrb?d?o (???) - Beijing slang for a good-for-nothing; klutz. Literally "double-ended sword", considered a concept which is useless.
• xi?omì (??) - Beijing slang for a special female friend (literally translated as "little honey"), often used with negative connotations.
• cènà (??) - Shanghainese for "fuck", similar in usage to ? cào albeit less strong.

src: i.ytimg.com

Racial euphemisms

Mandarin Chinese has specific terms and racial euphemisms for different races and ethnicities, and some discriminatory slurs against representatives from certain governments and backgrounds.

Against Westerners

• yáng gu?zi (???) -- "Foreign devil", a slur for foreigners, after Portuguese pirates came to rob children and women in villages in the name of evangelization.
• gu?l?o (Chinese: ??) -- Borrowed from Cantonese "Gweilo", "devil" or "devil guy", a slur for Westerners in Hong Kong.
• hóng máo gu?zi (simplified Chinese: ????; traditional Chinese: ????) -- "Red fur devil", rude slang term for Caucasians, especially Caucasians from English speaking countries (see ang mo)
• g?o bízi (Chinese: ???) -- "high nose", a slur for Caucasians.
• máo zi (Chinese: ??) - Ethnic slur against Russians. (Literally "fur".) Alternatively ??? (hóng máo zi, red (communist) fur), ??? (é máo zi, Rus fur). Similar concept to "hóng máo gu?zi" above.
• l?o m?i (Chinese: ??) -- literally "old American", an anti-American slur and pejorative term for Americans. The slur is similar to the term yank, used by people from English speaking countries such as Canada, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand as a pejorative towards Americans.
• yáng l?j? (Chinese: ???) - "Foreign trash", an ethnic slur for unemployed and uneducated foreigners, especially Caucasians from English speaking countries looking to seek jobs in China. The slur is similar to the term White trash, used in the United States.
• l?o wài (Chinese: ??) -- "foreigner", literally "old outsider", slang term for Caucasians in Mainland China, especially Caucasians from English speaking countries. Since this term is quite often used colloquially without malicious intent (even directly to foreigners proficient in Mandarin), its meaning is highly context specific. As a rough guide, however, it is best to avoid using the term outside China.
• mán zi (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??) -- foreign barbarians; This historical term, when mixed with the word "south" (?) is also used as an ethnic slur by northern Han Chinese against someone thought to be from southern China.

Against Other East Asians

Against Japanese

• xi?o Rìb?n (???) "Japs" -- Literally "little Japan[ese]". This term is still commonly used as a slur toward Japanese among Chinese but it has very little impact left. This term was historically by the Chinese associating the Japanese with dwarfism and the historical lower average stature of Japanese in comparison with the Han Chinese. This term is also used to refer to Japan's smaller geographical size in comparison to China.
• Rìb?n gu?zi (????) -- Literally "Japanese devil". This is used mostly in the context of the Second Sino-Japanese War, when Japan invaded and occupied large areas of China. This is the title of a Japanese documentary on Japanese war crimes during WWII.
• d?ngyáng gu?zi (simplified Chinese: ????; traditional Chinese: ????) -- Literally "Oriental devil". An anti-Japanese variant of yáng gu?zi, and similar to Rìb?n gu?zi above. (Note that whereas the term ?? has the literal meaning of "Orient" in the Japanese language, the characters themselves mean "eastern ocean", and it refers to Japan exclusively in modern Chinese usage--since Japan is the country which lies in the ocean east of China.)
• W? (?) -- This was an ancient Chinese name for Japan, but was also adopted by the Japanese. Today, its usage in Chinese is usually intended to give a negative connotation (see W?kòu below). The character is said to also mean "dwarf", although that meaning was not apparent when the name was first used. See Wa (Japan).
• W?kòu (??) -- Originally referred to Japanese pirates and armed sea merchants who raided the Chinese coastline during the Ming Dynasty (see Wokou). The term was adopted during the Second Sino-Japanese War to refer to invading Japanese forces, (similarly to Germans being called Huns). The word is today sometimes used to refer to all Japanese people in extremely negative contexts.
• Rìb?n g?u (???) -- Literally "Japanese dogs". The word is used to refer to all Japanese people in extremely negative contexts.
• dà ji?o pén zú (????) -- Ethnic slur towards Japanese used predominantly by Northern Chinese, mainly those from the city of Tianjin. Literally "Big Feet Bowl Race".
• huáng j?n (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??) -- a pun on the homophone "??/??" (huáng j?n, literally "Imperial Army"), the definition of ? (huáng) used is "yellow". This phrase ??/?? ("Yellow Army") was used during World War II to represent Japanese soldiers due to the colour of their uniform. Today, it is used negatively against all Japanese. Since the stereotype of Japanese soldiers are commonly portrayed in war-related TV series in China as short men, with a toothbrush moustache (and sometimes round glasses, in the case of higher ranks), ??/?? is also often used to pull jokes on Chinese people with these characteristics, and thus "appear like" Japanese soldiers.
• zì wèi duì (simplified Chinese: ???; traditional Chinese: ???) -- A pun on the homophone "???/???" (zì wèi duì, literally "Self-Defence Forces"), the definition of ? (wèi) used is "to comfort". This phrase is used to refer to Japanese (whose military force is known as "???") being stereotypically hypersexual, as "???" means "Self-comforting Forces", referring to masturbation. The word ? (wèi) also carries highly negative connotations of "???/???" (wèi ?n fù, "Comfort women"), referring to the use of sex slaves by the Japanese military during World War II.

Against Koreans

• G?olì bàng z? (simplified Chinese: ????; traditional Chinese: ????) -- A neutral term used against all ethnic Koreans when they come to China as sex tourists hunting for sex among underaged girls and women. ??/?? refers to Ancient Korea (Koryo), while ?? means "club" or "corncob", referring to how Korean men are well-endowed, and often walking around with erections when they see Chinese women (during the Tang Dynasty, it was common fashion for Chinese women to wear low-cut clothing exposing their bosoms]], so the Korean men were referred to as "big clubs fitting into trousers of the Ancient Koryo design." Nowadays, the term is modernized. Sometimes ??? (hán bàng z?, "?" referring to South Korea) is also used.
• s? bàng z? (???) -- A mean expression. Literally "dead club" or "dead plank" with the sexual innuendo of a "useless or dead erection"; refer to ???? above. It means that "awful / horrible (club that fits into trousers)".
• èr gu? z? (???) -- (See ????) During World War II, ??? referred to Traitors among the Han Chinese hanjian and Koreans in the Imperial Japanese Army, as the Japanese were known as "??" (devils) for massacring innocent children and women. ??? literally means "second devils". Today, ??? is used to describe ethnic Koreans who had been absorbed into Japan and joined the Japanese Imperial Army to massacre Chinese children and women. This term is sometimes used today if Koreans come into China expecting colonial treatment as though they were Japanese, and lord over Chinese peasants.

Against Taiwanese

• tái b?zi (???) -- Ethnic slur and slang term for Taiwanese, especially advocates of Taiwan independence. The term originated from Mainland China as a pejorative towards Taiwanese. The term "Bazi" can mean a clitoris or (in baby-talk) a "wee-wee" (the penis of a little boy).

Against South Asians

Against Indians

• l?o yìn (??) - Literally "Old Indian", slang term for Indians common among the Mandarin-speaking crowd in Mainland China, Taiwan, and Overseas Chinese.
• yìndù ? s?n (????) -- A euphemism to Indians. It means "Indian, Hassan".
• ? ch? (??) -- A popular term common among the Cantonese in Hong Kong to refer to Indians. The term derives from the frequent uttering of ?cch? 'good, fine' by (Northern) Indians (cf. Hindi ?????) Originally referring to the Punjabi "singhs" security force who used to work for the British government during colonial era. Nowadays, any South Asian is referred to as "? ch?". In Cantonese, "Ah" means "Dude", so "Ah Cha" means the dude called "Cha". It is not an ethnic slur, it is used because Cantonese cannot pronounce "Indian" as it derives from a Mandarin term that sounds too formal.
• g?lí rén (???) - A much more common contemporary term used to refer to Indians, derived from the use of curry in Indian cuisine and the perception that Indian's eat food to some Chinese find to have a strong smell, and which Indians eat with their hands, a practice that many Chinese find to be dirty and unclean. For these two reasons, it is applied as a derogatory term to Indians.

Against Southeast Asians

Against Filipinos

• Huanna (Chinese: ??; Pe?h-?e-j?: hoan-á) - a term in Hokkien literally meaning "foreigner or non-Chinese". Used by most Overseas Chinese to refer generally to non-Chinese Southeast Asians and Taiwanese Aborigines. In the Philippines, this term is used by Chinese Filipinos towards indigenous Filipinos. Although it is generally not considered racist, it is considered to hold the same connotations as the term gaijin in Japanese.

Against Indonesians

• yìnníbazi (??? or ????) -- lit. "Indonesian mud", an ethnic slur towards that refers a play on "??" (Indonesia) and "??" (mud), where ?/? are homophones, thus associating Indonesians as being primitive, backward, and dirty.

Against Vietnamese

• l?o yuè (??) - Literally "Old Vietnamese", or "Old Guy from Vietnam". It is not an anti-Vietnamese slur but rather a familial slang term for Vietnamese.
• Xi?o Yuenán (???) Literally "little Vietnam[ese]". This can be used in a derogatory context, referring Vietnam's smaller geographical size than China and the lower average stature of Vietnamese in comparison with the Han Chinese.
• Yuenán houz? (????) Literally means "Vietnamese monkeys". An derogatory insult used by the Chinese towards Vietnamese associating them as being uncultured, barbaric, dirty, primitive, and backward. This term also alludes to the historical region of Nam Viet (?? which in Chinese translates to "land of the southern barbarians"), a province that was ruled by the Chinese Han dynasty during the First Chinese domination of Vietnam; when mixed with the word "southern barbarian" (??) is also used as an ethnic slur by the Han Chinese.

Against Communists

• gòngfei (??) -- Literally "Communist bandits" referring to communists, or to a larger extent, all Mainlanders. The term has been in use since the Chinese Civil War by the Kuomintang against the Chinese Communist Party, but today reflects the rifts in cross-strait relations.
• gòngzei (??) -- Literally "Communist thieves", referring to the Beijing government or people in the Communist Party
• ? gòng z? (???) -- Literally "Commie guy", a derogatory slang term used by Taiwanese against mainland Chinese, which refers to communism as an ad hominem.
• gòngch?nd?ng (???) -- Official, academic and commonly used Chinese translation for communist parties. In Taiwan it is considered a shame to be a communist. A Taiwanese legislator was charged with public defamation for calling a protester "gongchandang".
• gòngc?nd?ng (???) -- By replacing the middle character with "?", a near-homophone to "?", meaning sad and pitiful, the name of the Communist Party changes to mean "a party which causes everyone to suffer" (lit. "Everyone Suffers Party"). This term has seen increasing usage in internet communities critical of the Communist Party of China.

Other

• l?o h?i (??) -- Literally "Old Black", a racial slur towards black people or people of Sub-Saharan Black African descent.
• l?o mò (??) -- "Old Mexican", an ethnic slur used towards Mexicans. ? should not be confused with "ink", which bears the same character and pronunciation from "?" in ??? (Mexico).
• h?i gu?zi (???) or h?i gu? (??) -- Literally "Black devil", racial slur directed towards black people or people Sub-Saharan Black African descent. The term is similar to the English term nigger as an ethnic slur directed at black people.
• t?b?ozi (???) -- Literally "Mud baozi/muddy baozi". An insult directed at those seen as uncultured or backward, implying that the insulted person comes from a peasant background. Roughly equivalent to the English phrases "country bumpkin" and "hayseed". The term can also be used without any negative connotations to denote someone who is new, unfamiliar and inexperienced in any profession or activity, roughly similar to the English internet slang "noob".
• nóng (?) -- A contraction of "nóngm?n" (??), the Chinese word for peasant. This insult refers to those displaying rude, disruptive and/or disgusting behavior. As with "???", calling someone a "nóng" implies they come from an uncultured rural background.
• xi?ngji?o rén (???) -- 'Banana People' - Overseas Chinese who have lost any true Chinese trait. As the insult implies, they are like bananas: Yellow (Chinese) on the outside while white (western) on the inside (c.f. "oreo" for African Americans or "coconut" for Hispanic-Americans).

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Homosexuality

There are various circumlocutions in Mandarin Chinese for homosexual, and the formal terms are recent additions just as is the direct translation of "masturbation" (hand soiling).

Duànxiù (simplified Chinese: ? ?; traditional Chinese: ??) -- cut off sleeve, from the story of a ruler whose male favorite fell asleep on the sleeve of his jacket, so when the ruler had to get up to conduct some needed business he cut his sleeve off rather than awaken his lover (See Bret Hinsch, Passions of the Cut Sleeve, p. 53). An analogous story, of a sleeve being cut off so as not to disturb a sleeping cat, is told of both Confucius and Muhammad, and perhaps others.

Yútáo (simplified Chinese: ? ?; traditional Chinese: ??) -- remains of a peach, from the story of a favorite who rather too familiarly offered his sovereign a peach of which he had already eaten half. (From Han Fei Zi, chapter 12)

B?lí (??, glass) -- lit., "glass" person. It comes from a passage in the Dream of the Red Chamber in which Phoenix is described as having a "crystal heart in a glass body," meaning that she was glistening, pure, clear, fastidious, etc. It stands as high praise for a lady, but comes off as an effeminate slur when referring to men. The English translation of Bai Xian-yong's novel about male homosexuals in Taiwan includes the term "crystal boys," derived from the same passage in the earlier novel, and also a rather gruff reference to the old photographer who befriends some of the boys as "you old glass," which, delivered by a female friend of his, comes out sounding about on the level of "you old fart," i.e., not really so very offensive, but indicating a passing mood of aggravation on the speaker's part. Nevertheless, the general meaning is probably closer to "old queer."

Nán f?ng (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??), male custom, is homophonous with (??, southern custom.) The first writing of the term would fairly easily be picked out as referring to sexual interactions, whereas the second term could just mean "the customs of the southern part of China."

Tóngzhì (??) (lit. "comrade") was recently adopted in Hong Kong and Taiwan to mean homosexual, and is frequently used on the mainland. Literally the term means "one having same aspirations," and was transferred from the arena of political allegiances to the realm of sexual alliances.

Tùzi (??) lit., "bunny," but used to refer to catamites. (See Herbert A. Giles, A Chinese-English Dictionary, entry 12,122) See also Tu Er Shen.

Since the success of Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain, duànbèi (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??, lit. "Brokeback") has also become popular.

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See also

• Baidu 10 Mythical Creatures
• Cantonese profanity
• Diu (Cantonese)
• Grass Mud Horse

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References

Footnotes

Sources

• Modern Chinese Slang at Thinking Chinese.

Source of the article : Wikipedia