三隐女人 sān yǐn nǚrén (sahn een nee ren)
Literally “woman with three secrets.” Refers to married women who, for whatever reasons, keep their marital status, age, and child a secret, leading everyone to think they’re single.
一见钟情 yí jiàn zhōng qíng (ee jinn johng cheeng)
Love at first sight. Literally “see once and love.” 锺情 Zhōng qíng (johng ching) means love or like.
爱屋及乌 ài wū jí wū (aye ooh gee ooh)
Literally “love house and bird.” An expression meaning that when you love someone, you also love everything belonging to or associated with them. An equivalent English expression might be “Love me, love my dog.”
空窗期 kōngchuāngqī (kohng chwahng chee)
Literally “open-window period,” referring to the window of time after a breakup when a person is up for grabs. Used especially in reference to someone that everyone wants.
黄昏恋 huánghūnliàn (hwahng hwen lyinn) or 夕阳恋 xīyángliàn (she yahng lyinn)
Literally “love at dusk” or “sunset love.” A romance between two elderly people. The rising sun is an oft-used metaphor for youth, and conversely the elderly are associated with the setting sun.
跨国恋 kuàguóliàn (kwah gwuh lyinn)
Literally “transnational love.” Refers to a relationship between a Chinese person and a foreigner, or any intercultural relationship.
扛洋枪 kángyángqiāng (kahng yahng chyahng-the ah in all three syllables indicates a short a, as in “ma” or “la”)
Literally “shoulder foreign rifles.” Used in the late nineteenth century to refer to Chinese people using items from overseas (pens, clothes, etc.) and now refers to Chinese women who date and/or sleep with foreigners.
网恋 wǎngliàn (wahng lyinn)
Internet dating, falling in love via the Internet.
师生恋 shī shēng liàn (shih shung lyinn)
Literally “teacher-student love.” A romantic relationship between a teacher and a student. Such relationships are extremely common in China, where it can be difficult for diligent students to meet romantic prospects.
老牛吃嫩草 lǎoniú chī nèncǎo (low new chih nun tsow)
A relationship between two people with a large age difference. Literally, “The old cow eats fresh grass.”
姐弟恋 jiědìliàn (jyih dee lyinn)
A relationship between an older woman and a much younger man. Literally “older sister, younger brother love.”
老少恋 lǎoshàoliàn (laow shaow lyinn)
Love between people with a big age difference. Literally “old-young love.”
忘年恋 wàngniánliàn (wahng nyinn lyinn)
Being in love despite age differences. Literally “forgetting-age love.”
两地恋 liǎngdìliàn (lyahng dee lyinn)
Long-distance relationship.
Miscellaneous types
傍大款 bàngdàkuǎn (bahng dah kwahn)
Literally “depend on a rich man” or “live off a rich man.” Negatively describes a woman having an intimate relationship with a wealthy man who supports her (and who may or may not be already married).
味道美女 wèidào mĕinǚ (way dow may nee)
Hot waitress. Literally “delectable beauty.”
骨头轻 gǔtóu qīng (goo toe ching)
Bimbo, airhead. Literally “light bones.”
浪 làng (lahng)
Northern Chinese slang for “shallow,” “airheaded,” or “flighty” (describing women). Can also mean “to stroll” or “to wander.”
绣花枕头 xìuhuā zhěntou (show hwa jen toe)
Literally “embroidered pillow,” meaning something or someone that is beautiful but useless.
老来俏 lǎo lái qiào (laow laow tsie)
An older person who dresses young. Literally “[from] old to pretty.”
装嫩 zhuāng nèn (jwahng nun)
Literally “pretending to be tender” or “faking softness” and describing someone who speaks girlishly, dresses young, and/or otherwise behaves much younger than he or she is.
校花 xiàohuā (shyaow hwa)
Literally “school flower.” Equivalent to the head of the cheerleading team-the most popular and desired girl in school.
校草 xiàocǎo (shaow tsow-both syllables rhyme with “pow”)
Literally “school grass.” Equivalent to the high school quarterback-the school hunk.
后生 hòushēng (ho shung)
Young man. Literally “born later.” Used in southern China.
滥情 lànqíng (lahn cheeng)
Something along the lines of a “romantic” crossed with a “player”-someone who loves everyone he or she sees. Said of both men and women. Literally “excessive feelings.” Can be used as an adjective too, as in 他这人挺滥情的 tā zhè rén tǐng lànqíng de (tah juh ren ting lahn ching duh): literally “this person really has a lot of excessive feelings” but meaning something more like “this person’s always falling in love with everyone he meets.”
小白脸 xiǎobáiliǎn (shyow buy lyinn)
Literally “little white face.” Refers to a young, slightly effeminate or somewhat “soft”-looking man (hence the white face, which is considered an effeminate feature). May also connote that the young man depends on an older woman for money instead of working for a living.
吃软饭 chī ruǎnfàn (chih rwun fun)
Literally “eat soft rice.” A negative expression for a man (of any age) who depends on his girlfriend or wife for a living. Mainly used in southern China.
花 huā (hwah)
An adjective used to describe a “player.” Literally “flower.”
花花公子 huāhuāgōngzǐ (hwa hwa gong dz-the gong sound has a long o, like “oh”)
A playboy (and also the Chinese name for Playboy magazine). Literally “flower prince.”
钻石王老五 zuànshí wáng lǎo wǔ (dzwun shih wahng low ooh)
Literally “diamond bachelor.” A wealthy, older, eligible man. Used mainly in Hong Kong and Taiwan (where it’s written 鑽石王老五).
单身贵族 dānshēn guì zú (dan shen gway dzoo)
Literally “unmarried nobility.” 单身 Dānshēn (dan shen) means “single” and many people now use this term with “nobility” added to convey the idea that there’s nothing wrong with being single and it’s something to be proud of, like something that noble people enjoy.
歪瓜劣枣 wāi guā lìe zǎo (why gwah lyih dzow)
Literally “crooked melons and split-open dates,” referring to a group of unattractive people. For example, 他们学校的男生都是些歪瓜劣枣 Tā men xué xiào de nán shēng dōu shì xiē wāi guā liè zǎo (tah men shreh shaow duh nahn shung doe shih shih why gwah lyih dzow) means “The boys at that school are all ugly.”
娘娘腔 niángniangqiāng (nyahng nyahng chyahng)
Sissy, pansy, an effeminate man with a girly voice. Can imply that the person is gay, though can also be used teasingly with a close friend. Literally “girly tone.”