"Wannabe" in Chinese.

[yakeyglee]

How would one say the informal English word "wannabe" in Chinese. Google Translate has given me 崇拜者(chóngbài zhě), but searching that on yellowbridge.com tells me that's "worshipper," which I think would imply a slightly different meaning.

[gato]

Maybe "装逼", as in "他丫装逼".

[creamyhorror]

I really like 假厉害姐姐's nick here, so I'm going to suggest 假厉害 (= pretending to be 厉害) as a possible alternative, even if it isn't really equivalent.

edit: Hmm, on Google it seems to mainly/only appear on Singaporean and Malaysian sites...? Possibly a non-mainland expression?

[Kenny同志]

Probably someone who is 眼高手低. Again, the context counts.

Maybe "装逼", as in "他丫装逼".

This word, IMHO, is offensive and dirty; It is suggested one should exercise caution when using it.

Personally, I would never use it.

[Don_Horhe]

What about something like 叶公好龙? Of course, it would be veeeery context-specific.

[gato]

"Wannabe" is at about the same level of offensiveness as "装逼" to my ear. You should also use caution when you use "wannabe". ;-) Well, maybe the latter is a tad stronger.

"Wannabe" is a slang word. Its equivalent shouldn't be a chengyu.

[Kenny同志]

Thank you Gato for explaining that. Didn’t know it was a slang word and offensive. 

[Kenny同志]

What about something like 叶公好龙? Of course, it would be veeeery context-specific

I don’t think it is a possible option. That way, the Chinese reader would be bewildered by the obviously false fact that there was 叶公 in the West, let alone the great points Gato made in his last post.

[rezaf]

I don't know how to say wannabe in Chinese but 裝逼 is a very offensive word. If you use it on someone expect him to beat u up.

[tooironic]

In my experience, Northerners won't be offended, but some Southerners will, but it depends on their personal preferences.

 

By the way, in Australia we often use the term "try-hard" (as a noun), e.g. "He is such a try-hard" to express 裝逼.

[Lu]

 

I don't know how to say wannabe in Chinese but 裝逼 is a very offensive word. If you use it on someone expect him to beat u up.

Pretty sure I've seen it used in a commercial. Want to 装逼 to impress a lady, rent an expensive car from our company, something along that line. Perhaps it's a north/south thing, but it's not too offensive to be on a poster in the Beijing metro.