迪斯科 dīsīkē (dee suh kuh)
Disco. A transliteration of the English.
轰趴 hōngpā (hohng pah)
A transliteration based on the English phrase “house party” but with the additional connotation of having so much fun that you collapse: 轰 hōng (hohng) means “an explosion” and 趴 pā (pah) means “lie on your stomach,” so the words together suggest something along the lines of being struck dead. Used in Taiwan.
蹦迪 bèngdī (bung dee)
Disco dance.
卡拉 OK kǎ lā OK (kah lah OK) or KTV
Both terms mean “karaoke.” The first is a transliteration of the English word, but most Chinese simply say KTV, pronouncing the letters as you would in English.
麦霸 màibà (my bah)
Microphone monopolist. 麦 Mài (my) refers to a mike and 霸 bà (bah) means “tyrant.” A term popular among young people to describe someone who hogs the mike at karaoke.
刷夜 shuā yè (shwah yeh)
To stay out all night, hang out with shady people, run with a bad crowd. Literally “swap night.”
Alcohol
喝酒 hē jǐu (huh joe)
To drink alcohol.
喝多 hēduō (huh dwuh)
Drunk, hung over. Literally “drink much.”
喝醉 hēzuì (huh dzway)
Wasted. Literally “drink tipsy.”
喝大了 hē dà le (huh dah luh)
A northern Chinese way to say “very drunk” or “wasted.” Literally “drank big.”
干 gān (gahn) or 干了 gān le (gahn luh)
Drain one’s glass, shoot it, suck down a drink really fast. Literally “dry [the glass].”
酒滥用 jǐu lànyòng (joe lahn yohng)
Alcohol abuse. Literally “alcohol excessive use.”
酒鬼 jǐuguǐ (joe gway)
Alcoholic. Literally “alcohol ghost.”
白酒 báijǐu (buy joe)
Chinese liquor. Literally “white alcohol.” Báijǐu is notoriously strong (about the same proof as vodka) and even more notoriously foul tasting. It is drunk only in shots, accompanied by an elaborate set of rituals and social mores that, in a nutshell, enable Chinese men to bully each other into puking oblivion beneath a veneer of politeness.
醉酒驾驶 zuì jǐu jià shǐ (dzway joe jah shih)
Drink and drive.
Mild vices
撒谎 sāhuăng (sah hwahng)
Tell a lie. Literally “release yellow.”
荤的 hūn de (hwen duh)
Dirty, obscene, pornographic. Literally “meat or fish,” referring to Buddhism, which considers such foods unclean or dirty. One term that uses this is 荤段子 hūn duànzǐ (hwen swun dz), meaning “dirty joke.”
吃枪药 chī qiāng yào (chih chyahng yow)
To speak rudely or insolently. Literally “to swallow gunpowder.” As in: “Why are you being such an asshole-did you swallow gunpowder?”
喷粪 pēn fèn (pen fen)
To swear, curse, say dirty words. Literally “spurt manure” or “puff out dung.”
毛腔 máoqiāng (maow chyahng)
Swear, curse, lose one’s temper. Literally “hairy chests.”
嘴臭 zuǐ chòu (dzway choe)
Literally “stinky mouth.” Refers to someone who is vulgar or rude or swears a lot.
裸奔 luǒ bēn (lwuh ben)
Streaking.
玩心跳 wán xīntiào (wahn sheen tyow)
Thrill seeking. Literally “play with your heartbeat.” That is, to engage in activities that will quicken your heartbeat.
飙车 biāo chē (byow chuh)
Drag racing. Literally “whirlwind car.”
钢管舞 gāng guǎn wǔ (gahng gwahn oo)
Pole dancing. This activity has become popular among some urban Chinese women as a form of exercise, with at least a few of them unaware that westerners associate it with stripping.
脱衣女郎 tuōyī nǚláng (twuh ee duh nee lahng)
Stripper. Literally “taking-off-clothes girl.”
路怒 lù nù (loo noo)
Road rage. Traffic in Beijing, and China ’s other major cities, is notoriously bad.
欺骗 qīpiàn (chee pyinn)
Cheat (any kind of cheating). A cheater is a 骗子 piànzi (pyinn dz).
小混混 xiǎo húnhún (shyaow hwen hwen) or 混子 hunzǐ (hwen dz)
Small-time crook.
假活儿 jiǎ huór (jah hwurr)
Beijing slang for a swindler or con man. Literally “fake work.”
小报告 xiǎobào gào (shaow baow gaow-all three syllables rhyme with “cow”)
Snitching. Literally “file little secret reports.”
踩 cǎi (tsigh)
To slander, libel, insult. Literally “step on.”
暴打 bào dǎ (baow dah)
Beat up.
满地找牙 mǎn dì zhǎo yá (mahn dee jaow yah)
Get beaten up. Literally “find [one’s] teeth on the ground.” Used in northern China.
掐 qiā (chyah) or 掐架 qiājià (chyah jah)
Fight.
干 gān (gahn) or 干架 gānjià (gahn jah)
Fight. Also slang for “kill.”
废 fèi (fay)
To injure or maim. Can also mean “to break” or “amputate.”
给他个颜色看看 gěi tā ge yánsè kànkan (gay tah guh yen suh kahn kahn)
Beat him up. Literally “give him a color to see” (that color being red).
找不着北 zhǎobùzháoběi (jow boo jow bay)
Knock out, beat up. Can also mean “to get confused.” Literally “unable to find where north is.”
五指山红 wǔ zhǐ shān hóng (ooh jih shahn hohng)
Literally “five fingers turning red.” That is, a slap so hard it leaves five red finger marks on your face.
全武行 quán wǔ xíng (chren oo sheeng)
Fighting in public. The term originally referred to acrobatic fighting in Chinese opera performances. Now it also refers to fighting in the streets or other public places.
铁头功 tiě tóu gōng (tyih toe gohng)
Head butt.
打一拳 dǎ yī quán (dah ee chren)
Punch. Literally “hit (with) a fist.” Or you can specify the person being punched by saying 给他一拳 gěi tā yī quán (gay tah ee chren), literally “give him a fist,” meaning “punch him.”
顺出去 shùn chūqù (shwen choo chee)
Means “to carry something out vertically,” for example, turning a dresser on its side and moving it out of the bedroom, but can also mean carrying a person out after beating them up, as when someone is being kicked out of a bar. Used in northern China only.
脚底摸油 jiǎo dǐ mō yóu (jyow dee mwuh yo)
Cut and run, leave the scene of the crime, remove oneself from an awkward situation. Literally “apply oil to the soles of your feet”; that is, to speed your retreat.
Pornography
黄 huáng (hwahng) or 黄色 huángsè (hwahng suh)