|
（Buzzwords in 2016）
1."Prehistoric powers"(洪荒之力）
China’s national swimmer Fu Yuanhui, who won a bronze medal at the semifinal of women's 100-meter backstroke in Rio Olympics, scored numerous viewers in China in a TV show.
When told by the reporter that she had qualified for the final and asked whether she had preserved her strength, Fu made a super exaggerated facial expression and blurted out “I have used all my prehistoric powers.” “'Prehistoric powers', or "honghuangzhili" in Chinese, soon became internet meme and was swiftly adopted as a term for an unstoppable force. The other English versions include “Primeval Power”, “Premordial Power”.
2. "Skinny blue mushroom"(蓝瘦香菇）
A man from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region uploaded a video of himself talking about his misfortune experience in love, particularly his loneliness after his girlfriend was away. He moaned in his heavy accent,”Unbearable, I want to cry”, which in Chinese is “Nanshou xiangku”, and these four Chinese characters sound much like “Lanshouxianggu”, which in English is "skinny blue mushroom". "Lanshouxianggu" soon went viral on the internet and took off as a meme, mostly as a way to mock the southern Guangxi accent. The other English version of “Lanshouxianggu” is “Blue thin mushroom”
3."Melon-eating masses"（吃瓜群众）
Reports show that the one possible origin of the term is from an elderly uncle. In an interview with the reporter, the elderly uncle said “I know nothing about it. I am just eating watermelon on the roadside.” From then on, internet users often use it, sometimes derogatorily, to describe a massive group of passive onlookers at a major incident or event. The other English versions include “Watermelon eaters.”, “Watermelon-eating spectators”,”Onlookers”, “melon-eating masses”.
4. "A small target" (小目标)
Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin suggested young men to be not "too ambitious" and "set a small target first, like earning 100 million yuan ($14 million)" during a television show in August. What followed was an avalanche of sarcasm online as people pointed out the impossibility of earning the equivalent of $14.3m in their entire lifetimes, let alone as a first step. The term has been used sarcastically to refer to an impossible goal. The other English versions include “A small goal”, “A small plan”,“A tiny goal”.
5."Ge You repose"(葛优瘫)
Two decades after a television show named I Love My Family was broadcast, the comfortable but inelegant inclining of Chinese comedian Ge You turned into an emoji icon and created a wave of good humored interpretations and imitations. As the representative sitting position of Beijingers, it is also dubbed the Beijing Slouch. The other English version includes “Ge You slouch”.
6."Friendship sinks only too quick"(友谊的小船说翻就翻)
What kind of a ship never sinks? Friendship! A group of cartoons starring cute penguins that went viral on social media tells you how friendship sinks. The phrase mocks how easy it is for a cyber friendship to fall out. Any tiny trigger can lead to a broken friendship, from taking a bad selfie of your friend to losing weight when they cannot.
(Source: Agencies)
