Modern Chinese Slang Words // BRAND NEW for 2024

24 New Words for 2024! Get Up to Date with the Latest Chinese Internet Slang

Language is always evolving and Mandarin is no exception.

In 2024, Chinese netizens came up with some truly innovative and quirky new slang.

Which is exactly what we’ll be diving into today with our favourite new Chinese slang, phrases and words.

The inspiration for today’s article comes from a superb newsletter we receive every Saturday called Slow Chinese, aimed at long time learners.

Slow Chinese is run by Andrew Methven who collates some of the wackiest and weirdest words, phrases and chengyu from the week, and sends them up to his loyal band of subscribers.

If you wish to become one of those subscribers you can sign up here.

You should know all the Chinese slang, words and phrases come directly from his newsletter.

DON’T WORRY – you’ve missed nothing because you can access all previous newsletters on their website archive here.

Chinese Slang & Phrases | 1 Character Words

Chinese Slang & Phrases | 2 Character Words

Chinese Slang & Phrases | 3 Character Words

Chinese Slang & Phrases | Phrases, Idioms & Chengyu

Chinese Slang & Phrases | FAQ’s

Chinese Slang & Phrases | 1 Character Words

惹 (rě)

惹 can mean to provoke, irritate, vex, stir up or anger.

Either way, the connotation is a negative one, so if you see this character, chances are the context isn’t great!

EXAMPLE

那些天生的视力不好惹到你了？

Have some naturally short-sighted people pissed you off?

刷 (shuā)

Some of you may already know the word 刷, for example 刷牙 is to clean/brush one’s teeth.

The meaning of 刷 is to brush/paint.

However it also has an alternate meaning which means to watch or look at a screen.

Therefore using your mobile phone, rather than use the word 看, we can use 刷 instead to level up!

EXAMPLE

我在刷评论，看看大家对我的反馈如何

I was looking at the comments to see what people were saying about me

货 (huò)

Interesting Chinese slang alert here.

Typically 货 means goods, money or commodity, but it’s also become a slang word with a rather negative meaning.

If you refer to someone as a 货, you’re essentially telling them they’re very dumb 😂

EXAMPLE

这货为什么这么逗 

How come this idiot is so ridiculous?

How To Use A Mobile Phone in Chinese📱Your Pocket Guide

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Chinese Slang & Phrases | 2 Character Words

特黑 (tè hēi)

This Chinese slang certainly doesn’t bode well for the brand Tesla!

特黑 is a new word that refers to Tesla haters!

That’s right, Chinese has a word for people who hate on a brand!

Elon should be taking note of this one!

EXAMPLE

被指张女士是职业“特黑” 

Ms Zhang has been accused of being a professional “Tesla Hater”

火了 (huǒ le)

Not such a difficult one to decode here.

You probably already know 火 means fire.

So quite simply, 火了 means to be on fire!

EXAMPLE

聊斋火了，语音社交是下一个风口?

Clubhouse has become extremely popular, could this mean that voice messaging social media is the next big thing in the sector?

刷屏 (shuā píng)

Another entry using the character 刷 and it’s another online based word also.

屏 means screen (or to screen/shield) whilst 刷 means to brush or paint as we just learned above.

Paint the screen? Hmm what is this referring to?

刷屏 actually means to flood the screen, or as it’s better known, going viral.

Interestingly, 刷屏 was originally used in online chat rooms to describe an overload of messages, or spam messages. The meaning of the word has now evolved to mean viral.

EXAMPLES

我朋友圈都被刷屏了，你竟然不知道？

This has gone viral in my (online) network, how can you not have heard about it?!

炫富 xuàn fù

Cost of living crisis? Inflation? Can’t relate.

At least, that’s what someone who is guilty of 炫富 xuàn fù would say.

炫富 xuàn fù means to flaunt one’s wealth, especially through posting about it online.

This word blew up following the scandal of 北极鲶鱼, aka Arctic Catfish, an internet user (and granddaughter of a party official no less!) who posted about her extravagant lifestyle in Australia.

EXAMPLE

她在澳大利亚读书，但她很少晒读书的画面，大部分时间在炫富

She is studying in Australia, but she rarely posts pictures of her studying. Most of the time she shows off her wealth.

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抢盐 qiǎng yán

You probably heard about the scandal surrounding the Fukushima nuclear power plant earlier this year.

Japanese officials, much to the objection of many neighbouring countries, were planning to release waste water from the nuclear power plant into the ocean.

This led to a wave of 抢盐 qiǎng yán, or panic buying salt!

Consumers were worried about the impact of releasing the contaminated water and so flocked to local shops to stock up on salt and other ocean-sourced product.

EXAMPLE

在这些反应中，“抢盐”成为最受关注的话题，霸占了多条热搜

Among these reactions, “panic buying salt” has become the most discussed topic, occupying multiple trending searches.

网瘾 (wǎng yǐn)

This is a little easier to guess if you know the two characters 网 and 瘾.

It simply means an internet addition. A very 21st century word for sure!

EXAMPLE

游戏控制是一个必然趋势，尤其是未成年人网瘾问题

The controlling of gaming is an inevitable trend, especially in considering the challenges of under-age internet addictions

学霸 (xué bà)

One for the clever clogs out there.

This Chinese slang refers to students of a smart nature, who always nail their exams and get “straight A’s”.

The kind of student all parents wish to raise!

On that note, here’s a similar example…

EXAMPLE

父母竭力将孩子培养成一个超级学霸

Parents do all they can to train their kids into a super straight A student

BONUS – check this this excellent podcast for Mandarin learners which has an episode dedicated specifically to 学霸.

Have a listen and see how much you understand!

The podcast is run by Nana who has over 40 episodes with more to come. They all follow a simple 2-5 minute format and is a great chance to learn about hot topics, culture and all things China – in super fast time!

新宠 (xīn chǒng)

This refers to a new favourite, or a new darling.

Something that has come from nowhere to become a firm favourite with a large number of people.

EXAMPLE

女性向的手游成为了近年来的市场新宠

Mobile games designed towards female user needs have become the new darling of the markets

人设 (rén shè)

Nice easy one to decode here.

• 人 means person
• 设 means design

Therefore 人设 together means a character or public persona.

EXAMPLE

将自己的虚假人设高高立起

Established a high public persona based on lies

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Chinese Slang & Phrases | 3 Character Words

万梗节 wàn gěng jié

You’ve probably heard of 万圣节 Wàn shèng jié, which means Halloween in Chinese.

But 万梗节 wàn gěng jié is a whole new type of Halloween.

2024’s Halloween costumes were taken to a whole new level by Chinese cosplayers this year, as they poked fun at everything from toxic work culture to celebrities.

Have you ever spent Halloween in China? Let us know about your experiences in the comments section!

EXAMPLE

创意之丰富、网络梗之密集，直接让这个万圣节被称为了“万梗节

With rich creativity and a dense display of internet memes, this Halloween has directly earned the name “All Memes Festival”.

一刀切 (yīdāo qiē)

On the face of it this would appear to mean a single knife cut.

It’s actual meaning should therefore probably not come as a major surprise…

一刀切 is used for something that is “one size fits all”

However, it doesn’t end there. In fact 一刀切 has both positive and negative interpretations!

NEGATIVE – Complain about a government policy that is out of touch with reality.

POSITIVE – Used in business when a simple solution is found to cut through the complexity.

So you can use 一刀切 in both good and bad ways when talking about these kinds of topics!

EXAMPLE

一刀切，不就是懒政么？有些有慢性病的是没法打得

A one size fits all [approach], is this not lazy government? Those with chronic illnesses cannot have the vaccine

白人饭 bái rén fàn

This literally translated into “white people food” and it’s pretty much exactly what you think it is.

This refers to those particularly sad, mild looking lunches that consist of dry sandwiches, plain vegetables or a few slices of deli meet.

The trend took off after a Xiaohongshu user living in Denmark posted a picture of her coworkers lunch (plain carrots and lettuce) with the caption: Can they generate their own energy without eating?

Some have gone as far as to christen it: The Lunch of Suffering.

EXAMPLE

我觉得白人饭完全没有什么味道。

I think white people food really has no taste at all!

撤热搜 (chè rè sōu) 

撤热搜 is quite a new word that is related to search rankings and algorithms.

撤 means to remove, 热 means hot and 搜 means search.

Managed to decode this one yet?

It means to be removed from the social media rankings, or suffer at the hands of an algorithm.

Maybe your Instagram account was flying with new views, likes and shares – but then out of nowhere, it stops! You are forgotten, in the abyss.

Such is the cruel way things can work online!

EXAMPLE

过去还能低调 “撤热搜”的阿里

Recently Ali has maintained a low profile, being removed from social media rankings

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人上人 (rén shàng rén)

Literally this means people on people.

But that makes no sense, right?

人上人 actually means someone is super-human. This isn’t to be confused with the word for superhero which is 超级英雄 (chāo jí yīng xióng).

EXAMPLE

不戴眼镜就是人上人了

So people without glasses are now superhuman?

打卡点 (dǎkǎ diǎn)

打卡点 is Social media related once again.

Most people like a selfie these days right? Chinese people in particular very much enjoy heading to a famous spot, whipping out the selfie stick, and snapping a few 自拍 (selfie).

Well, that’s exactly what 打卡点 is.

It’s a social media hotspot, or must visit Instagram spot. You know the ones…!

EXAMPLE

全红婵在湛江的老家就成为广东乃至外地主播蜂拥而至的“打卡点”

Quan Hongchan’s hometown in Zhanjiang has become a selfie hot spot that vloggers are flocking to from across Guangdong and the rest of the country

口水战 (kǒushuǐ zhàn)

This is quite a funny one to break down.

• 口水 is saliva or spit
• 战 is a war

A saliva war… how about a war of words! That’s exactly what 口水战 is, a war of words between people or rivals.

EXAMPLE

这场日益升级的舆论“口水战”中

This ever escalating war of words

Chinese Slang & Phrases | Phrases, Idioms & Chengyu

Time to take a look at some Chinese slang, phrases and words that contain four or more Chinese characters.

It’s getting a little more complex now!

不胫而走 (bù jìng ér zǒu)

• 胫 is a part of the leg, typically the shin
• 走 is to walk

That doesn’t really give us many clues as to what this Chinese slang/idiom might mean but it’s a really handy one to learn which includes characters many Chinese learners would know.

不胫而走 means something that “spreads like wildfire” – typically a rumour

People sometimes say “wow, that news spread fast” or “his affair spread like wildfire” – that’s exactly the content we use for 不胫而走.

Very useful and easy to remember!

EXAMPLE

有关蔚来是特斯拉车主维权事件“幕后推手”的“阴谋论”不胫而走

Conspiracy theories about Nio being behind the Tesla owner consumer rights issues have spread like wildfire

沽名钓誉 (gūmíng diàoyù)

There are two clues in here that might help you decode this Chinese slang/phrase.

• 名 can mean famous
• 钓 means “to fish for”

Can you tell what it is yet?!

沽名钓誉 means to fish for fame! Someone who is looking for fame through avenues he/she maybe should not.

EXAMPLE

不应该利用公众的同情心沽名钓誉

He shouldn’t use people’s sympathies towards him in order to win fame

浴火重生 (yù huǒ chóng shēng)

This four letter phrase literally broken down is:

• 浴 bath
• 火 fire
• 重 again
• 生 born

This phrase actually emerged from business news, in particular because of Luckin Coffee.

The Xiamen based chain, which nearly went bankrupt in 2020, make a miraculous recovery in 2024 to become the number 1 coffee chain in China, overtaking Starbucks!

This is a great phrase to use to describe an incredible comeback!

EXAMPLE

2022年11月，就连曾经做空瑞幸的幕后推手雪湖资本，也成了这家公司的股东，其创始人马自铭称，“瑞幸咖啡的浴火重生是中国商业史上的一个奇迹”

Snowlake Finance, who even shorted Luckin Coffee in November 2022, has become a shareholder in the business again. Its founder, Ma Ziming said: “Luckin Coffee’s rising from the flames is a miracle in the history of Chinese companies.”

Chinese Proverbs: 9 of the Best Chinese Sayings // PLUS Bonus Quiz

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早C晚A (zǎo C wǎn A)

This is our hands-down favourite new slang term for 2024.

Helping Luckin Coffee make it’s amazing comeback is it’s Baijiu – infused latte.

This contributed to the spread of the tongue-in-cheek lifestyle choice: coffee in the morning, alcohol in the evening.

Definitely pretty relatable!

EXAMPLE

咖啡经济与微醺经济迅猛发展的当下，“早C晚A”成为一种生活方式代名词

With the rapid development of the coffee economy and the drinking economy, “taking C in the morning and A at night” has become a lifestyle choice.

冷嘲热讽 (lěngcháo rèfěng)

Have you ever heard of the phrase in English “to take a dig at someone”?

Funnily enough, that is exactly what 冷嘲热讽 (lěngcháo rèfěng) means!

For those of you not familiar with the phrase in English, it means to mock or take the p!ss out of someone.

With 冷嘲热讽 phrase though, at least a hint of irony or satire is involved.

So if someone is being sarcastic towards you, quite obviously, you can say 别冷嘲热讽的 – don’t be so sarcastic!

EXAMPLE

他的朋友也都不忘冷嘲热讽一番

Even his friends took a dig at him

That is some of our favourite Chinese slang, idioms, phrases and words from the excellent Slow Chinese Newsletter.

Please do subscribe to them if you enjoyed this content as they send it every Saturday to their subscribers.

Likewise, you could also drop our newsletter a subscribe as well whilst you’re at it (just below) 😉

WANT MORE – How about checking out the most used slang in Italian, Japans top slang words, the best slang in Vietnamese and also the most common slang in Korean!

See how it differs from slang in Chinese and your native language.

Chinese Slang & Phrases | FAQ’s

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