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 its simplified form if it is different.
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:
diǎo (屌 or substituted by 吊) = dick (the same character also means to have sexual intercourse in Cantonese, alternatively written as 𨳒)
lìn (闝) same as "屌", used in some southern areas such as Fujian and Guangdong. Also written as "𨶙" in Cantonese. It was misinterpreted as luǎn (卵) by Mandarin speakers, though sometimes "卵" is used instead for euphemism.
diǎosī (屌丝; 屌絲) = 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")
Vagina
bī (屄, 逼, 比, IM: B) = cunt (often used as an interjection instead of a noun)
shǎbī (傻屄) = stupid person (lit. "stupid cunt") IM: SB
sāobī (騷屄) = bitch (lit. "lewd cunt")
chòubī (臭屄) = stinking cunt
lànbī (爛屄) = rotten cunt
zhuāngbī (裝屄) = poser (lit. "pretending to be the cunt")
Prostitution
In addition to the above expressions used as insults directed against women, other insults involve insinuating that they are prostitutes:
chòu biǎozi (臭婊子) = stinking whore
jī (鸡; lit. "chick") = (female) prostitute
yā (鸭; lit. "duck") = (male) prostitute
Sexual intercourse
cào (肏/操) = 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 (幹) = to do = to fuck, originally from Hokkien姦.
Insults
As in English, a vulgar word for the sexual act is used in insults and expletives:
cào (肏) = fuck (the variant character 肏 was in use as early as the Ming dynasty in the novel Jin Ping Mei). 操 is often used as a substitute for 肏 in print or on the computer, because 肏 was until recently often not available for typesetting or input.
cào nǐ zǔzōng shíbā dài (肏你祖宗十八代) = "Fuck your ancestors to the eighteenth generation"; the cào 肏, in modern Standard Chinese, is often substituted with 操; the cào 肏 (fuck) has been substituted for 抄, 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.
tā māde (他媽的, IM: TMD) Literally "[fuck] his mother's" but 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)
tā niángde (他娘的) = damn it
tā mā bāzi (他媽巴子 his mother's clitoris. Lu Xun differentiates this expression from the previous one. This one can be said in admiration, whereas "tā māde" is just abusive. See his essay, "On 'His mother's'" (論他媽的).
tā māde niǎo (他媽的鳥) = goddamn it (lit. "his mother's dick"; 鸟/鳥 literally is "bird", but used here as a euphemism for diǎo; 屌; "penis")
qù nǐ nǎinaide (去你奶奶的) = your mother (lit. "go to your grandma")
qù nǐ māde (去你媽的) = your mother (lit. "go to your mom")
qù nǐde (去你的) = fuck you, screw off, shut up (used jokingly and is considered mild and not insulting)
nǐ māde bī (你媽的屄) = your mother's cunt
cào nǐ mā (肏你媽, also "CNM"") / cào nǐ niáng (肏你娘) = fuck your mother
cào nǐ māde bī (肏你媽的屄) = fuck your mother's cunt
gàn nǐ mā (幹你媽) / gàn nǐ lǎo mǔ (幹你老母) = fuck your mother (gàn is similar to the English euphemism do)
gàn nǐ niáng (幹你娘) = fuck your mother (Taiwanese Mandarin influenced by the regional vernacular Taiwanese Minnan姦汝娘 (kàn-lín-nió); also "幹您娘")
Other relatives
nǐ èr dàyé de (你二大爷的) = damn on your second uncle. This is a part of local Beijing slang.
lǎolao (姥姥) = grandmother-from-mother-side. In Beijing dialect, this word is used for "Never!".
tā nǎinai de (他奶奶的) = His grandmother-from-father-side!
Turtles and eggs
The Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Chinese Language (中文大辭典, Zhōng wén dà cí diǎn), discusses 王八 (wáng bā) in vol. 6 p.281. "Wáng bā", usually in casual writing, carries much the same import as "son of a bitch."
A "wángbādàn 忘/王八蛋" is the offspring of a woman lacking virtue. Another meaning of 王八 is 鼈 biē, fresh-water turtle.[1]
Illegitimacy
Many insults imply that the interlocutor's mother or even grandmother was promiscuous.
wángbā (王八) / wàngbā (忘八) = softshell turtle; this was an insult as early as the Song dynasty.
wàngbāgāozi (王八羔子) = bastard (lit. "soft shell turtle's lamb"; 羔 generally means newborn lamb but can also refer to the young of certain animals - especially mammals - in general. Generally used in Northern slang.)
dài lǜmàozi (戴綠帽子) = to be a cuckold (lit. "wear a green hat," supposedly because male brothel workers in the Tang dynasty had to wear green hats)
zázhǒng (雜種) = 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 (混蛋) = 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 wángbā dàn (混賬王八蛋) = similar to turtle egg, see above.
Disability
References to various kinds of disability are sometimes used against both abled and disabled people as an insult.
shén jīng bìng (神經病) Lunatic/madman. Literally "neuropathy", or having problems with one's nervous system. The word 神經病 used in this context properly refers to 精神病 (jīng shén bìng, literally [person with] psychiatric disorder or schizophrenia); 神經病 is an anastrophe of the latter.
Buttocks
While there are vulgar expressions in English referring to the buttocks or rectum, there are no real equivalents in Mandarin. Pìgu yǎn (屁股眼) or pìyǎnr (屁眼兒) one expression for anus, is not vulgar, but it occurs in various curses involving an imperforate anus
sǐ pì yǎn (死屁眼) damned asshole.
wǒ kào (我靠 or 我尻– "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. 尻 originally meant "butt.")
Age
lǎo zéi老賊 = lǎo bù sǐde (literally "old thief")
xiǎo tù zǎizi小兔崽子," little rabbit kitten," refers to someone young. Its usage is rather like such expressions as "little brat" in English.
rǔ xiù wèi gān (乳臭未乾) Literally "(the) smell (of) milk is not dry (=gone) yet," wet behind the ears.
Promiscuity
húli jīng (狐狸精) = bitch (overly seductive woman or a golddigger; lit. "fox spirit")
sānbā (三八) = 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 三八, but others claim 三八 refers to March 8: International Women's Day. In Taiwan, the term has less of a misogynistic connotation, and means "silly" or "airhead."
biǎozi (婊子) = whore, slut
Positive connotations
Occasionally, slang words with a negative connotation are turned around and used positively:
wǒ cào (我肏) = An expression of impressed surprise or approval, akin to "fuck me", "holy fuck" or "holy shit!" in English (lit. "I fuck") Alternatively, "我靠" (wǒ kào, "I lean on". IM:KAO) or "哇靠" (wa kào) is used as a euphemism (similar to "frigging" "frick" in English) when the subject intends on being less obscene, such as when speaking in public.
niúbī (牛屄/牛逼) = fucking awesome (literally "cow cunt"; possibly influenced by the expression chuī niú pí; 吹牛皮, which means "to brag"). This phrase also has many alternative forms, including NB, 牛B, 牛比, 牛鼻 ("cow's nose"), as well as euphemisms such as 牛叉/牛Xniúchā. It can also just be shortened to 牛.
diǎo (屌) / niǎo (鳥) = cock; this was an insult as long ago as the Jin dynasty. Despite remaining a profane word in Cantonese, now it sometimes also means "fucking cool" or "fucking outrageous" in Mandarin. The positive expression is believed to have been invented by Sun Ta-Wei in an MTV Taiwan advertisement,[2] but the pop star Jay Chou played a major role in its promotion. Because of the substitution of "niǎo" 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".
diǎo sī (屌丝) = originally meant to mean male pubic hair, but means an unprivileged nobody. Originally an Internet slang denoted an "incel", it is now a popular word often used in self-mockery (lit. "dick silk/wire")
Mixed-up
Other insults include the word hùn (混), which means "mixed-up", or hùn (渾), which means "muddy":
hùnzhàng (混賬) = bullshit, damn
hùndàn (混蛋; 渾蛋) = prick (lit. muddy egg)
hùnqiú (混球) = jerk (lit. muddy ball)
Eggs
chǔn dàn (蠢蛋) = dummy, fool
gǔndàn (滾蛋) = get out of sight!
huàidàn (壞蛋) = a wicked person. Literally a bad egg.
hútú dàn (糊涂蛋) = confused/clueless person (a sucker)
qióngguāng dàn (窮光蛋) = a poor/penniless person
chě dàn (扯蛋) = nonsense, bullshit, bollocks
Ghosts and spirits
精 "nonhuman spirit in a human's form" is usually for insulting some cunning people.
húli jīng (狐狸精) = vixen (overly seductive woman or a golddigger; lit. "fox spirit")
rényāo (人妖) = shemale, trans woman (lit. "human demon")
tàiguó rényāo (泰國人妖) = Thai shemale (lit. Thailand human demon; usually used as a stronger insult than merely calling someone a shemale)
Useless
nāozhǒng (孬種) = coward, useless, or weak person.
Girlish
niángniangqiāng (娘娘腔) is a pejorative used to describe Chinese males who are extremely effeminate in their speaking style. It is related to the term sājiào (撒娇, 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.
niángpào (娘炮) = same as 娘娘腔 (above)
tàijiàn (太监) or gōnggong (公公) – 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.
nǚ qì (女氣), female lifebreath. A man having the psychological attributes of a woman is said to exhibit "nǚ qì," i.e., is said to be effeminate.
pì jīng (屁精) roughly meaning ass fairy. It is often used as a derogatory for feminine gay people.
Boyish
nán rén pó (男人婆) a female who behaves like a male. Tomboy.
mǔ yè cha (母夜叉) 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 (畜生) = 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 "chikushō", often used as an expletive, akin to "hell!"
qín shòu (禽兽) = beasts (lit.: "bird and animal"), often used as qín shòu bù rú (禽兽不如) = worse than beasts
zá zhǒng (杂种) = lit. "hybrid", due to its connotations used with reference to animal breeding, it is an offensive term when used towards a person
Death
Sǐ (死; "dead", "cadaverous," or, less precisely, "damn(ed)") is used in a number of insults:
sǐ guǐ (死鬼) lit., "dead imp," "dead demon," "dead ghost". Used as a term of contempt.
sǐ sān bā (死三八) / chòu sān bā (臭三八), lit., stinking (derogatory term for woman) bitch
qù sǐ (去死) = Lit. "Go die!", comparable to the English phrase "Go to hell!"
sǐ yā tóu (死丫頭), 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.
gāi sǐ (該死) damned, damn it! (lit. should die)
zhǎo sǐ (找死): literally "look [for] death" (i.e. "looking to die"). Roughly equivalent to the English phrase 'asking for trouble'.
Excrement
The words "屎" (shǐ) (= shit, turd, dung), "粪" (fèn) (= manure, excrement) and "大便 (= 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. "fàng pì" (放屁; lit. "to fart") is an expletive in Mandarin. The word "pì" (屁; lit. "fart") or the phrase is commonly used as an expletive in Mandarin (i.e. "bullshit!").
chī shǐ (吃屎) = Eat shit!
shǐ dàn (屎蛋) Lit., "shit egg", a turd.
fàng pì (放屁) = bullshit, nonsense, lie (literally "to fart"; used as an expletive as early as the Yuan dynasty.
fàng nǐ mā de pì (放你媽的屁) = you are fucking bullshitting (lit. "release your mother's fart")
gè pì (个屁) = A common variation of 放屁, also meaning "bullshit" (as in lies, cf. 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 个屁!"
méi pì yòng (没屁用) = no damn use (lit. "to have no fart use")
yǒu pì yòng (有屁用) = no damn use, to be of damn-all use (lit. "to have fart use")
pì shì (屁事) = a mere nothing; also guānwǒpìshì (关我屁事)= I don't give a damn, it means damn all to me
Animals
In a 1968 academic study of Chinese pejorative words, more than a third of the 325-term corpus of abusive expressions compare the insulted person with an animal, with the worst curses being "animal" generally, "pig, dog, animal", or "animal in dress", which deny the person of human dignity.[3] The expressions contain metaphorical references to the following domesticated animals: dogs, cows, and chickens (12 or 11 terms each), (8 times), horse (4), cat (3), and duck (2), and one each to sheep, donkey and camel.[4] A variety of wild animals are used in these pejorative terms, and the most common are monkey (7 times) and tiger (5 times), symbolizing ugliness and power respectively.[5]
Dogs
The fact that many insults are prefaced with the Mandarin Chinese word for dog attest to the animal's low status:
gǒuzǎizi (狗崽子) = dog pup (English equivalent: "son of a bitch")
gǒu pì (狗屁) = bullshit, nonsense (lit. "dog fart"); in use as early as 1750 in the Qing dynasty novel The Scholars.
nǐ gè gǒu pì (你個狗屁) = what you said is bullshit. Also "nǐ gè pì"(simplified Chinese:你个屁; traditional Chinese:你個屁) or simply "pì"(Chinese:屁). Generally appears at the end of sentences.
gǒu pì bù tōng (狗屁不通) dog fart + does not (come out at the end of the tube) communicate = incoherent, nonsensical
fàng nǐ mā de gǒu pì (放你媽的狗屁) = what you said is fucking bullshit (lit. "release your mother's dog fart")
fàng nǐ mā de gǒu chòu pì (放你媽的狗臭屁) = what you said is fucking bullshit (lit. "release your mother's dog stinky fart")
gǒu niáng yǎng de (狗娘養的) = son of a bitch (lit. "raised by a dog mother")
gǒurìde (狗日的) = son of a bitch (from Liu Heng's story "Dogshit Food", lit. "dog fuck" 日 is here written for 入, which when pronounced rì means "fuck".)
gǒushǐ duī (狗屎堆) = a person who behaves badly (lit. "a pile of dog shit"); gǒushǐ (狗屎), 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.
gǒuzázhǒng (狗雜種) = literally "mongrel dog", a variation on zázhǒng (雜種), above.
zǒugǒu (走狗) = 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.
hǎ bā gǒu (哈巴狗) = 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:
xiǎotùzǎizi (小兔崽子) = rabbit kitten (quite ironically, this insult is often used by parents to insult their children)
Horse
mǎzi (Chinese:馬子; lit.'horse') = a derogatory word for girlfriend. (Possibly influenced by U.S. slang, "filly," used for any girl.)
Bird
The Chinese word for bird "niǎo" (鸟) was pronounced as "diǎo" in ancient times, which rhymes with (屌) meaning penis or sexual organ.[6] It also sounds the same as "penis" in several Chinese dialects. Thus, bird is often associated with 'fuck', 'penis' or 'nonsense'：
wǒ niǎo nǐ (我鳥你) = I give a shit about you (Beijing dialect)
wǒ niǎo tā de (我鳥他的) = I give a shit about him
niǎo huà (鳥話; 'bird speech') = bullshit, fucking words; nǐ zài jiǎng shénme niǎo huà (你在講什麼鳥話) = What fucking words are you talking about?
niǎo rén (鳥人; 'bird person') = bastard, asshole. This word commonly appears in Water Margin, a Ming dynasty Classical Chinese Novel.
niǎo shì (鳥事; 'bird matters') = mere nothing; also guān wǒ niǎo shì (Chinese:關我鳥事) = I don't care a damn, it means damn all to me
Contempt
Certain words are used for expressing contempt or strong disapproval:
qiáobùqǐ (瞧不起) = To look down upon or to hold in contempt.[7]
Divinity
wēnshén (瘟神) = troublemaker (literally "plague god"). Compares the insulted person to a disliked god.
wǒ de tiān a (我的天啊) = Oh my God (literally "Oh my sky").
Miscellaneous
Some expressions are harder to explain:
èrbǎiwǔ (二百五) = stupid person/idiot (see 250) Note that the number 250 would normally be pronounced liangbǎiwǔ.
Region specific
Many regions within China have their own local slang, which is scarcely used elsewhere. Some of them have been listed above, but these are a few expressions that are not aforementioned:
nǐ yā tǐng de (你丫挺的) – Local slang from Beijing, meaning "you son of a bitch!"
gàn nǐ xiǎo BK de (干你小BK的) – Local slang from Tianjin, meaning "go fuck your 'thing'" (lit. "dry your small thing"), where "BK" refers to male genitalia. However, when insulting females, "马B" is used instead.
xiǎo yàng le ba (小样了吧) – Originating from Southern China. Said upon someone's misfortunes, similar to "haha" or "suck that". Roughly translates to " you're small now".
shén me niǎo (Chinese:什麼鳥) – From the northeastern Heilongjiang, although also used in the South. Used similar to "what the fuck?" (lit. "what dick" 鸟/鳥 literally is "bird", but used here as a euphemism for diǎo; 屌; "penis")
fāgé (发格) – Used in Shanghai, direct transliteration from English "fuck".
èrbǎdāo (二把刀) – Beijing slang for a good-for-nothing; klutz. Literally "double-ended sword", considered a concept which is useless.
xiǎomì (小蜜) – Beijing slang for a special female friend (literally translated as "little honey"), often used with negative connotations.
cènà (册那) – Shanghainese for "fuck", similar in usage to 肏cào albeit less strong.[8]
Racial euphemisms
Mandarin Chinese has specific terms and racial euphemisms for different ethno-racial groups around the world, and some discriminatory slurs against Chinese representatives from certain governments and backgrounds.
Against Mainlanders
zhīnà (支那) — A derogatory term for China (see Shina). It used to be a neutral historic name for China, but later it became a derogatory since it was extensively used by Japanese invaders during the Sino-Japanese Wars.
zhīnàzhū (支那猪) — "Shina pigs", see zhīnà (支那). Mostly used by anti-China diaspora Chinese, Taiwanese and Hongkongers.
ālùzaǐ (阿陆仔) — Mainlander, a word originated from Southern Min language. A slang term used by Taiwanese people. The word itself is largely neutral, but it was often used in a negative context.
sǐālù/426 (死阿陆/426) — An alternation of ālùzaǐ (阿陆仔), literally means "dead Mainlanders". It is often written as 426, as in Southern Min the word sounds similar to 426. The slang is widely used by anti-China Taiwanese people online.
huángchóng (蝗虫) — Literally "Locust" or "Insect." The term is mainly used by Hong Kongers, Taiwanese, and Chinese Singaporeans and directed at mainland Chinese immigrants and tourists because they come in large numbers and supposedly end up consuming local resources at the expense of the host native populations.[original research?]
huánghàn (蝗汉) — A pun on the homophone huánghàn (皇汉). Similar to above, but mainly directed to Han nationalists who advocated for Han ethnonationalism.
Against Communists
gòngfei (共匪) — Literally "Communist bandits" referring to communists, or to a larger extent, all Mainlanders and non-Chinese communists. 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 (共贼) — Literally "Communist thieves", referring to the Beijing government, people in the Communist Party, or all Mainlanders.
gòngcǎndǎng (共慘黨) — By replacing the middle character with "慘", a near-homophone to "產", 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 Chinese Communist Party.
Against Westerners
baí pí zhū (白皮猪) — "white skin pigs" a slur for white people, as they regarded on the implication that Whites are perceived to be lazier and less diligent in comparison to their Han Chinese counterparts.
baí pí (白皮) — "white skins" a slur for white people.
yáng guǐzi (洋鬼子) — "Foreign devil", a slur for white foreigners.
guǐlǎo (鬼佬) — Borrowed from Cantonese "Gweilo", "devil" or "devil guy", a slur for Westerners in Hong Kong.
hóng máo guǐzi (紅毛鬼子) — "Red fur devil", rude slang term for Caucasians, especially Caucasians from English speaking countries (see ang mo)
máo zi (毛子) – Ethnic slur against Russians. (Literally "fur".) Alternatively 红毛子 (hóng máo zi, red (communist) fur), 俄毛子 (é máo zi, Rus fur). Similar concept to "hóng máo guǐzi" above.
yáng lājī (洋垃圾) – "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.
mán zi (蠻子) — Literally "foreign barbarians", this historical term, when mixed with the word "south" (南) is also used as an ethnic slur by northern Han Chinese against someone thought to be from southern China.
Against other East Asians
Against Hong Kongers
gǎng dú (港毒) — A pun on the homophone "港獨" (gǎng dú, literally "Hong Kong independence"), the definition of 毒 (dú) used is "poison". A slur for Hong Kong's people who advocate for Hong Kong's independence, literally meaning "poison of Hong Kong".
Against Taiwanese
tái wā / wā wā (台蛙 / 蛙蛙) — Literally "Taiwanese frogs." Taiwanese are seen as 井底之蛙 (Chinese idiom, literally means "a frog in a well", referring to a person with a very limited outlook and experience), and as often holding naïve beliefs about the mainland.
tái dú (台毒) — a pun on the homophone "台獨" (tái dú, literally "Taiwan independence"), the definition of 毒 (dú) used is "poison". A slur for Taiwanese people who advocate for Taiwanese independence, literally meaning "poison of Taiwan".
tái bāzi (台巴子) — Literally "Taiwanese penis shaft." A slur and slang term against the Taiwanese. The term originated from mainland China as a pejorative directed at the Taiwanese.
Against Japanese
Demonstrators in Taiwan host signs telling "Japanese devils" to "get out" of the Diaoyutai Islands following an escalation in disputes in 2012.
xiǎo Rìběn (小日本) "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.
dōngyáng guǐzi (東洋鬼子) — Literally "Oriental devil". An anti-Japanese variant of yáng guǐzi, and similar to Rìběn guǐzi above. (Note that whereas the term 東洋 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.)
Wō (倭) — 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 Wōkòu below). The character is said to also mean "dwarf", although that meaning was not apparent when the name was first used. See Wa (Japan).
Wōkòu (倭寇) — 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.
Rìběn gǒu (日本狗) — Literally "Japanese dogs". The word is used to refer to all Japanese people in extremely negative contexts.
dà Jiǎopén zú (大腳盆族) — Ethnic slur towards Japanese used predominantly by Northern Chinese, mainly those from the city of Tianjin. Literally "big-feet-like-washbasins race", also punning on the English "Japan".
huáng jūn (黃軍) — a pun on the homophone "皇軍" (huáng jūn, literally "Imperial Army"), the definition of 黃 (huáng) used is "yellow". This phrase 黃軍 ("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 is 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), 黃軍 is also often used to pull jokes on Chinese people with these characteristics, and thus "appear like" Japanese soldiers.
zì wèi duì (自慰隊) — A pun on the homophone "自衛隊" (zì wèi duì, literally "Self-Defence Forces"), the definition of 慰 (wèi) used is "to comfort". This phrase is used to refer to Japanese (whose military force is known as "自衛隊") being stereotypically hypersexual, as "自慰队" means "Self-comforting Forces", referring to masturbation. The word 慰 (wèi) also carries highly negative connotations of "慰安婦" (wèi ān fù, "Comfort women"), referring to the use of sex slaves by the Japanese military during World War II.
wěi jūn (伪军) - Literally "pretender army." The word is used as an insult to collaborationist Chinese forces during World War II, but is occasionally used to refer to Japanese forces as well. It is used officially by Chinese historians, and is specifically spoken towards those people, making it a rare and ineffective insult against Japanese people in general.
Against Koreans
Gāolì bàng zǐ (高麗棒子) — A neutral term used against all ethnic Koreans . 高丽/高麗 refers to Ancient Korea (Goryeo), while 棒子 means "club" or "corncob", referring to how Korean security guards hired by the Japanese during WW2 were not given guns, only clubs/batons as they were untrustworthy. The term is modernized sometimes as 韓棒子 (hán bàng zǐ, "韓" referring to South Korea)
sǐ bàng zǐ (死棒子) — Literally "dead club" or "dead plank" with the sexual innuendo of a "useless or dead erection"; refer to 高丽棒子 above.
èr guǐ zǐ (二鬼子)[10] — (See Riben guizi) During World War II, 二鬼子 referred to traitors among the Han Chinese hanjian and Koreans in the Imperial Japanese Army, as the Japanese were known as "鬼子" (devils) for massacring innocent children and women. 二鬼子 literally means "second devils". Today, 二鬼子 is used to describe ethnic Koreans who had been absorbed into Japan and joined the Japanese Imperial Army. It is rarely used as a slur in recent times.
yìndù ā sān (印度阿三) — A euphemism to Indians. It means "Indian, Hassan".
ā chā (阿差) — A popular term common among the Cantonese in Hong Kong to refer to Indians. The term derives from the frequent uttering of ācchā 'good, fine' by (Northern) Indians (cf. Hindi अच्छा) 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 "ā chā". 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.[citation needed]
gālí rén (咖喱人) — Literally "curry person." A much more common contemporary term used to refer to Indians, derived from the use of curry in Indian cuisine and the perception that Indians eat food to some Chinese find to give off a strong smell, and to which Indians typically 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 and Malays
Huanna (Chinese:番仔; Pe̍h-ōe-jī:hoan-á) – a Hokkien term in literally meaning "foreigner or non-Chinese." Used by most Overseas Chinese to refer generally to indigenous Southeast Asians and Taiwanese Aborigines. In the Philippines, this term is used by Chinese Filipinos towards indigenous Filipinos.[11] In Malaysia, this term is instead used by Chinese Malaysians towards ethnic Malays.
Against Indonesians
yìnníbazi (印尼巴 or 印泥巴子) — lit. "Indonesian mud", an ethnic slur towards that refers a play on "印尼" (Indonesia) and "泥巴" (mud), where 尼/泥 are homophones, thus associating Pribumi Indonesians as being primitive, backward, uncivilized, and dirty.
Against Vietnamese
lǎo yuè (老越) – Literally "Old Vietnamese", or "Old Guy from Vietnam". It is not an anti-Vietnamese slur but rather a familial slang term for Vietnamese.
Xiǎo Yuenán (小越南) – Literally "little Vietnam[ese]". This can be used in a derogatory context, referring Vietnam's smaller geographical size than China, darker skin tone, and the lower average stature of Vietnamese in comparison with their Han Chinese counterparts.
Yuenán houzǐ (越南猴子) – Literally means "Vietnamese monkeys." A term used by the Han Chinese to derogatorily refer towards Vietnamese by associating them as being uncivilized, barbaric, dirty, primitive, and backward people. This term also alludes to the historical region of Nam Viet (南越), a province that was ruled by the Han dynasty during the First Chinese domination of Vietnam; when mixed with the word "southern barbarian" (南蠻) is also used as an ethnic slur towards the Vietnamese by the Han Chinese.[12]
Yuenán gòngfei or Yue gòngfei (越南共匪 or 越共匪) – Literally means "Vietnamese communist bandits". A variation of gòngfei, this was directed at the Viet Cong by anti-communists during the Vietnam War. While rarely used today, this term is still also used by Taiwanese anti-communists to refer to the Communist Party of Vietnam, or Vietnamese Communists in general.
Other
hēi guǐzi (黑鬼子) or hēi guǐ (黑鬼) — Literally "Black devil", racial slur directed towards people of Sub-Saharan Black African descent. The term is similar to the English term "nigger" as an ethnic slur directed at blacks.
tǔbāozi (土包子) — 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 gaming slang "noob."
xiāngjiāo rén (香蕉人) — 'Banana People' – a term used to refer to any person of Overseas Chinese ancestry who have assimilated in the Western world and 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 (akin to "Oreo" for African Americans or "coconut" for Hispanic-Americans).
See also
The Wikibook Chinese has a page on the topic of: Slang
↑ Custer, Charlie (12 August 2010). "StarCraft 2 in China: "We Gamers Really Suffer"". ChinaGeeks | analysis and translation of modern China. ChinaGeeks. Archived from the original on 16 August 2010. Retrieved 15 August 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
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