100 Chinese Slang Words You Won’t Learn From Your Textbook [31-40]

In Chinese Culture, Chinese Slang, Practical Chinese Phrases by Angel Huang

This is part 4 of a 10 part series in which you'll learn a total of 100 Mandarin Chinese slang words and expressions!

How do you say that something is old-fashioned in Chinese? And what's an informal way of describing a stingy person?

These are some of the popular expressions we'll cover in this part of my Chinese slang series.

Let's get started!

Common Chinese Slang Words [31-40]

Full lesson transcript of the 10 Chinese slang expressions from the video above.

#31
 
酷 kù

cool

See examples of how to use 酷 kù in conversation:

Example:

Ricky:

你的耳环好呀!

nǐ de ěr huán hǎo ya!

Your earrings are so cool.

Angel:

哪里?很普通啊!

nǎ lǐ ? hěn pǔ tōng a!

They're not cool. They're very ordinary.

#32
 
抠门儿 kōu mén er

stingy

See examples of how to use 抠门儿 kōu mén er in conversation:

Example:

Luoluo:

老妈,可以拜托你给我一个包包吗?

lǎo mā, kě yǐ bài tuō nǐ gěi wǒ yī gè bāo bāo ma?

Mom, could you please give me a bag?

Angel:

没问题。

méi wèn tǐ.

Sure.

Luoluo:

哈?天啊!就这么一个布包。

hā?  tiān a!  jiù zhè me yī gè bù bāo.

Ah?OMG!Just a cloth bag like this!?

我怎么会有你这么抠门儿的老妈呀?

wǒ zěn me huì yǒu nǐ zhè me kōu mén er de lǎo mā ya?

How come I have such a stingy mom like you?

#33
 
炒鱿鱼 chǎo yóu yú

(coll.) to be fired / to fire

See examples of how to use 炒鱿鱼 chǎo yóu yú in conversation:

Example:

Ricky:

Angel, 你怎么哭了?

Angel, nǐ zěn me kū le?

Angel, why are you crying?

Angel:

我刚刚被炒鱿鱼了。

wǒ gāng gāng bèi chǎo yóu yú le.

I just got fired

Ricky:

别哭了!

bié kū le!

Don't cry!

你会找到更好的工作的。

nǐ huì zhǎo dào gèng hǎo de gōng zuò de.

You'll find a better job.

#34
 
土 tǔ

outdated / old-fashioned / out of touch

See examples of how to use 土 tǔ in conversation:

Example 1:

Angel:

诶?这是什么玩意?

éi? zhè shì shén me wán yì?

Ah? What's this thing?

Luoluo:

这是iPhone啊!

zhè shì iPhone a!

It's an iPhone.

iPhone 你都不知道。

iPhone nǐ dōu bù zhī dào.

You don't know iPhone.

你好啊!

nǐ hǎo a!

You're really out of touch

喂!喂!诶,信号不好!喂!

wéi! wéi! éi, xìn hào bù hǎo! wéi!

Hello! Hello! Ah, I've got bad reception. Hello!

Example 2:

Luoluo:

嘿!你觉得我这个杯子怎么样?

nǐ jué de wǒ zhè gè bēi zi zěn me yàng?

Hey! What do you think of my cup?

Angel:

土!

tǔ!

It's outdated.

#35
 
悲催 bēi cuī

unfortunate / unhappy / unpleasant

See examples of how to use 悲催 bēi cuī in conversation:

Example:

Angel:

我家的空调坏了。

wǒ jiā de kōng tiáo huài le.

The air conditioner in my house is broken.

电视机也坏了。

diàn shì jī yě huài le.

The TV is also broken. 

马桶也堵了。

mǎ tǒng yě dǔ le.

The toilet is also blocked.

Ricky:

不会吧?你可真悲催

bù huì ba? nǐ kě zhēn bēi cuī

No way? You're really unfortunate!

#36
 
撒娇 sā jiāo

act in a childish, cutesy and coaxing way to get what you want

See examples of how to use 撒娇 sā jiāo in conversation:

Example 1:

Luoluo:

亲,你就帮帮我吧!好不好?

qīn, nǐ jiù bāng bāng wǒ ba! hǎo bù hǎo?

Darling, please help me! All right?

Angel:

好吧!你真会撒娇

hǎo ba! nǐ zhēn huì sā jiāo.

Okay! You're really good at 'sa jiao'.

Example 2:

Luoluo:

嘿!你哥哥的女朋友怎么样?

hēi! nǐ gē ge de nǚ péng yǒu zěn me yàng?

Hey! How is your brother's girlfriend?

Angel:

她呀,很会撒娇

tā ya, hěn huì sā jiāo.

She is really good at 'sa jiao'.

Luoluo:

哦!

ó!

Oh!

#37
 
拍马屁 pāi mǎ pì

to suck up to someone

See examples of how to use 拍马屁 pāi mǎ pì in conversation:

Example:

Angel:

老板,你的衣服很漂亮。

lǎo bǎn, nǐ de yī fú hěn piào liàng.

Boss, your clothes are really beautiful.

鞋子很好看。

xié zi hěn hǎo kàn.

Your shoes are really nice.

还有你的发型超帅的。

hái yǒu nǐ de fà xíng chāo shuài de.

And your hairstyle is super cool.

Ricky:

你啊,

nǐ a,

You,

可真会拍马屁

kě zhēn huì pāi mǎ pì

You're really good at sucking up to me.

快去工作吧!

kuài qù gōng zuò ba!

Go to work!

Angel:

是...

shì...

Yes...

#38
 
臭美 chòu měi

to flatter oneself 

See examples of how to use 臭美 chòu měi in conversation:

Example 1:

Angel:

看!我的照片。

kàn! wǒ de zhào piàn.

Look! My photos.

美吧?性感吧?

měi ba? xìng gǎn ba?

Are they nice? Are they sexy?

Luoluo:

哎呀!你实在是太臭美了!

āi ya! nǐ shí zài shì tài chòu měi le!

Oh my! You're really flattering yourself.

Example 2:

Luoluo:

瞧!我的新发型是不是做得特别漂亮呢?

qiáo! wǒ de xīn fà xíng shì bù shì zuò de tè bié piào liàng ne?

Look! Is my new hairstyle beautiful?

好不好看呀?

hǎo bù hǎo kàn ya?

Does it look good?

Angel:

你呀!少臭美吧!

nǐ ya! shǎo chòu měi ba!

You! Don't flatter yourself.

#39
 
吹牛 chuī niú 

to brag / to talk big 

See examples of how to use 吹牛 chuī niú in conversation:

Example:

Ricky:

我要每天健身一小时。

wǒ yào měi tiān jiàn shēn yī xiǎo shí.

I'm going to work out an hour very day.

炼成八块腹肌。

liàn chéng bā kuài fù jī.

I'm going to build eight pack abs.

Angel:

吹牛了!

bié chuī niú le!

Don't talk big!

你能少吃一点巧克力就不错了。

nǐ néng shǎo chī yī diǎn qiǎo kè lì jiù bù cuò le.

It would be great if you could just eat a little less chocolate.

#40
 
圈粉 quān fěn

to get fans / to attract fans

See examples of how to use 圈粉 quān fěn in conversation:

Example 1:

Angel:

诶!你有听过张杰的新歌吗?

éi! nǐ yǒu tīng guò zhāng jié de xīn gē ma?

Hey! Have you heard Zhang Jie's new song?

Luoluo:

当然有啦!

dāng rán yǒu la!

Sure!

他的新歌啊,很圈粉的!

tā de xīn gē a, hěn quān fěn de!

His new song will get him lots of fans.

Example 2:

Luoluo:

马云捐了五百万做公益。

mǎ yún juān le wǔ bǎi wàn zuò gōng yì.

Ma Yun donated five million for public welfare.

他的这个善举呀,非常地圈粉呢。

tā de zhèi gè shàn jǔ ya, fēi cháng de quān fěn ne.

His kind act is really getting him lots of fans.

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