🤔 Ever wondered what catchphrases Chinese young people use to communicate with their peers, especially what they would use online or send in their text messages? Let’s learn the popular ones below first! 👇
God/unusual 神 (shén)
Originally, this character depicted a bolt of lightning. Ancient Chinese people couldn’t explain what caused lightning. They thought its power came from “God” or a “spiritual being.” When used as an adjective, 神 can mean “mysterious” or “unusual.”
Very good 好神 (hǎo shén)
好 (Good) + 神 (God) = 好神 (Very good) [literally] (Good god)
This phrase is rarely used literally; instead, it is often meant to pay compliments to the person who just did something unbelievable or predict something very accurate. For example: 你好神！(You’re very good!).
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Goddess/ideal woman 女神 (nǚ shén)
女 (Woman/female) + 神 (God) = 女神 (Goddess)
Besides “goddess,” a modern take on 女神 refers to an ideal or good-looking woman. So, 她是我的女神 (she + is + my + goddess) means “she is my ideal woman.”
Ideal man 男神 (nán shén)
Like 女神, 男神 (man/male + god) can be used to refer to “Prince Charming,” an “ideal” or a “good-looking” man.
他是我的男神 means “he is my ideal man.”
Mythical horse/what 神馬 (shén mǎ)
神 (God/mysterious) + 馬 (Horse) = 神馬 (Mythical horse)
The simplified form = 神马. 神馬/神马 has become a popular internet slang meaning “what” because its pronunciation is similar to the standard Chinese word for “what” (什麼/什么; shén me).
