Mild Chinese insults and teasing words
The mild insults that Chinese friends use with each other, with how rude each one is and the closest English word.
Chinese friends tease each other with a small set of mild insults. You hear them in chats, in TV dramas and between couples. This page lists those words only. It has no swear words and no slurs.
The column “How rude” has two values. Teasing words are fine with close friends if you say them with a smile. Rude words criticize a person, so do not use them about someone you know. With a stranger, a colleague or an older person, every word on this page is rude.
Three of the words end in 精. In folk stories, a 精 is a spirit, an animal or a thing that became a demon. In slang, 精 makes a type of person: someone who has done one thing so much that it is now their nature.
| Word | Pinyin | Literal meaning | What it means | How rude | Closest English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 笨蛋 | bèndàn | stupid egg | A person who did something silly. Friends, couples and parents say it with a smile. | Teasing | dummy, silly |
| 二百五 | èrbǎiwǔ | two hundred and fifty | A fool who acts without thinking. Stronger than 笨蛋, and an insult to a stranger. | Teasing | fool, idiot |
| 杠精 | gàngjīng | a spirit of 抬杠 (arguing) | A person who argues with everything you say, only to argue. | Teasing | contrarian |
| 戏精 | xìjīng | a spirit of drama | A person who overacts and makes a show of every feeling. | Teasing | drama queen |
| 柠檬精 | níngméngjīng | a lemon spirit | A person who is openly jealous. People often call themselves 柠檬精 when a friend has good news. | Teasing | jealous, salty |
| 巨婴 | jùyīng | giant baby | An adult who acts like a spoiled child and expects others to take care of everything. | Rude | man-child, adult baby |
杠精 and 巨婴 were on the magazine 咬文嚼字's list of the ten top expressions of 2018. Its note says that a 杠精 is a person who argues so much that it has become their nature, who does not ask what is true and argues for the sake of it. It defines 巨婴 as an adult who has stayed at the stage of a baby in their mind.
柠檬精 was on the same magazine's list for 2019. Its literal meaning is a lemon that became a spirit: the sour taste of a lemon stands for jealousy. 戏精 first meant a person who is good at acting. A 2017 article on PingWest describes how people now use it for anyone who makes a show of their feelings, most of all in fan quarrels online.
For the slang in everyday chat, see the Chinese internet slang guide.
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