Niubi! The Real Chinese You Were Never Taught in School

Insults and mockery

BS

Usually means the English “bullshit” but may also stand for 鄙视 bǐshì (bee shih), which literally means “despise.”

JP

Stands for 极品 jípǐn (gee peen), literally “extreme conduct.” Basically means “weirdo” or, rather, an eccentric or anyone who behaves unconventionally.

LB

Stands for 篱笆 líbā (lee bah), the name of an online forum (Liba) known for being popular among materialistic girls. Vapid, shallow girls, then, are often dismissively described as

LB.

BC

Stands for 白痴 báichī (buy chih), or “idiot.”

SL

Stands for 色狼 sèláng (suh lahng), or “pervert.”

永久性脑残 yǒngjǐu xìng nǎocán (yohng joe sheeng now tsahn)

Literally means something like “permanent brain damage” and used to comment on someone or something you find weird or crazy.

小白 xiǎobái (shaow buy)

Layman, novice, someone with little knowledge about something (such as computers). Literally “little white.” Refers to 白痴 báichī (buy chih), which means “idiot.”

菜鸟 caìniǎo (tsie nyow-caì rhymes with “pie”)

Newbie. Literally “food bird.” Pigeons raised for food are of a lower class than homing pigeons, and thus the phrase is used to describe junior-level people in various fields.

国猪 guózhū (gwuh joo)

Literally “country’s pigs” or “national pigs.” An insulting pun on 国足 guózú (gwuh dzoo) (zhū and zú sound similar), which is the term for China ’s national soccer team-a target of much abuse among soccer fans due to its poor performance and frequently scandalous or embarrassing behavior. Speaking of which…

我是洗澡来的 wǒ shì xǐzǎo laí dè (wuh shih she dzow lie duh)

Literally, “I just came here to take a shower.” Refers to a 2008 scandal when members of the Chinese national soccer team got caught checking into a hotel with a bunch of women who may or may not have been hookers. One of them protested by saying, “I just came here to take a shower.” Now the phrase is often used as a euphemism for any feeble excuse.

恐龙 kǒnglóng (kohng lohng-like “Kong” and “long” but pronounced with a long o, or oh, sound)

Online slang for an ugly girl. Literally “dinosaur.”

青蛙 qīngwā (ching wah)

Online slang for an ugly guy. The counterpart to “dinosaur” (above). Literally means “frog.”

拍砖 paīzhuān (pie jwahn)

Literally means “smack with a brick.” Used online when strongly criticizing someone or something. For example, you might say 请拍砖 qǐng pāizhuān (ching pie jwahn), literally “please smack with a brick,” to mean “prove it”; or 我拍砖 wǒ pāizhuān (wuh pie jwahn), literally “I smack with a brick,” to mean “here’s what I think.”