1. 1 囧 (jiǒng)

    Yes, this is an actual Chinese character, not an emoticon. It was little known and meant a “patterned window”. But since 2008, the character has become an internet phenomenon. Now it is commonly used in awkward or shocking situations. The character even made its way into mainstream culture. The comedy filmLost in Thailand (泰囧) was the best-sold movie of all time in China when it was released in 2012.

    e.g. Five awkward moments of Golden State Warriors!

  2. 2 兲 (tiān)

    This character has been used on the internet as an abbreviation for “王八”, or a softshell turtle, which is an insult in Chinese. It is often used between close friends or when you want to make fun of someone. The character is originally a variant form of 天, or sky.

    e.g. It’s god’s will! Don’t ask! You’re a turtle if you ask!!!

  3. 3 烎 (yín)

    If you read from top to bottom like you normally would when reading Chinese characters, it says开火, or literally “open fire”. The character originally meant “sunlight”. Since it was adopted by gamers on the internet, it is commonly used to describe someone having a good run. It sometimes also means as it looks: simply “Open fire!”

    e.g. Open fire! New Navy frigates fully prepared.

  4. 4 嫑 (biao)

    This character is two characters, 不要(Don’t!),squeezed into one. It has been used in many dialects in China. For example, it is pronounced as “biao” in the Henan dialect and “bao” in Sha’anxi dialect. And the character has won popularity since it was discovered by the gamers. People sometimes use it together with 烎: 嫑烎(Hold your fire!)

    e.g. Fat Sen: Don’t bother me when I’m trying to sleep.

  5. 5 巭 (gū)

    This character was actually a Korean Hanja meaning “hard work” or “efforts”. From top to bottom, it reads as 功夫, which not only means “Kung Fu” but also “hard work” in modern Chinese. Nowadays on the internet, it has adopted the meaning of “someone who knows Kung Fu” or “someone who can fight”.

    e.g. Does not translate.

  6. 6 槑 (méi)

    槑is a variant of the character 梅, or “plum tree”(I know. They look nothing alike!). It is made of two identical parts and each is a 呆(dāi), meaning “dumb” or “foolish”. And since “love makes people become silly”, this character has been used on the internet to describe two people deeply in love with each other. How sweet!

    e.g. Are you s..st..stu…stupiiiiid?


What's Your Reaction?

confused confused
4
confused
fail fail
5
fail
fun fun
5
fun
geeky geeky
2
geeky
hate hate
2
hate
lol lol
17
lol
love love
3
love
omg omg
2
omg
win win
10
win

0 Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Phoenix Hou

Choose A Format
Personality quiz
Series of questions that intends to reveal something about the personality
Trivia quiz
Series of questions with right and wrong answers that intends to check knowledge
Poll
Voting to make decisions or determine opinions
Story
Formatted Text with Embeds and Visuals
List
The Classic Internet Listicles
Countdown
The Classic Internet Countdowns
Open List
Submit your own item and vote up for the best submission
Ranked List
Upvote or downvote to decide the best list item
Meme
Upload your own images to make custom memes
Video
Youtube, Vimeo or Vine Embeds
Audio
Soundcloud or Mixcloud Embeds
Image
Photo or GIF
Gif
GIF format