Looking for Chinese words composed with roman letters

December 27, 2013 at 12:29 PM

Chinese is usually written with Chinese characters as many of you will recall. However, I have seen a few Chinese words which use Roman characters and I'm curious about this rare category of vocabulary. To give you an idea what I'm talking about I'll give a few examples that I can remember:

AA制 - Splitting the bill or "going dutch"
B - I've seen this as a variant of 傻逼 ("dumb-ass"), I think
T - reffering to an outwardly masculine lesbian woman
P - reffering to the feminine and girly lesbian woman

Concerning the last two, I'm not so clear about them. The folks I heard using these words seemed to have a dramatically different ideas about sexuality than I do, not surprising considering our different cultures (I'm American, they're Chinese). "P" and "T" seemed to refer to different roles in a totally heteronormative ideal lesbian couple, one who is manly and another who is girly. "H" may also be word simply for lesbian, but I'm not sure how common it is or if that is even what it really means.

Some of these are more informal than others, that doesn't matter. I'm just looking for words which are part of the common lexicon. That is to say not, unique coinages that hardly anyone is repeating. Can you guys give some more examples? Bonus points if you can explain the origin of the roman character used. AA is not hard to figure out, but what does the letter "T" represent that makes it more suitable than say "F" for feminine, or is it totally arbitrary? Bonus, bonus points for extra usage info especially if the word is exclusive to Taiwan or Mainland.

December 27, 2013 at 02:12 PM

I can't find my Chinese slang dictionary just now, but I have some explanations.

傻B is easy, try looking it up on here. It is the Chinese equivalent of writing "f*@k" in English[*].

It is probably a little bit harsher than "dumb ass".

"T" looks like the character "丁" .

And according to my dictionary :

丁 = male adult; robust, vigorous; 4th heavenly stem.

"丁" also sounds like "钉", nail, as in hammer and nail. You figure it out.

I have seen an explanation of "P", but I can't remember it right now.

[*] I should really check the forum's acceptable use policy before writing this.

December 27, 2013 at 02:24 PM

Coincidentally, today I downloaded the CEDICT database. After I opened it, I saw some of those words at the top of the file, because it is sorted in a way so it has Latin letters on top. Here are the entries.

3C 3C [san1 C] /abbr. for computers, communications, and consumer electronics/China Compulsory Certificate (CCC)/
AA制 AA制 [A A zhi4] /to split the bill/to go Dutch/
A咖 A咖 [A ka1] /class "A"/top grade/
A片 A片 [A pian4] /adult movie/pornography/
B型超聲 B型超声 [b xing2 chao1 sheng1] /type-B ultrasound/
B超 B超 [b chao1] /type-B ultrasound/abbr. for B型超聲|B型超声[b xing2 chao1 sheng1]/
C盤 C盘 [C pan2] /C drive or default startup drive (computing)/
DNA鑒定 DNA鉴定 [D N A jian4 ding4] /DNA test/DNA testing/
E仔 E仔 [e zai3] /MDMA (C11H15NO2)/
G弦褲 G弦裤 [G xian2 ku4] /G-string/
G點 G点 [G dian3] /Gräfenberg Spot/G-Spot/
K仔 K仔 [K zai3] /ketamine (slang)/
K他命 K他命 [k ta1 ming4] /ketamine (C13H16ClNO) (slang)/
K房 K房 [K fang2] /(slang) KTV/KTV room/
K書 K书 [K shu1] /to cram (Taiwan, from Taiwanese khè su 齧書, lit. to gnaw a book)/to study/see also 啃書|啃书[ken3 shu1]/
K歌 K歌 [K ge1] /karaoke (slang)/
K粉 K粉 [K fen3] /ketamine (slang)/
M巾 M巾 [M jin1] /(coll.) menstrual pad/
N檔 N档 [N dang4] /neutral (gear)/
O型腿 O型腿 [O xing2 tui3] /bow legs/bow-leggedness/
P圖 P图 [P tu2] /(Internet slang) to photoshop a picture/photoshopped picture/
P檔 P档 [P dang4] /park (gear)/program mode (on a digital camera)/
Q Q [Q] /cute (loanword)/(of food) having a pleasant chewiness (like mochi, tapioca pearls, taro balls etc - foods with a springy or gel-like mouthfeel)/
T字帳 T字帐 [T zi4 zhang4] /T-account (accounting)/
T字褲 T字裤 [T zi4 ku4] /thong (underwear)/
T恤 T恤 [T xu4] /T-shirt/
T裇 T裇 [T xu1] /T-shirt/
USB手指 USB手指 [u S B shou3 zhi3] /USB flash drive/see also 閃存盤|闪存盘[shan3 cun2 pan2]/
USB記憶棒 USB记忆棒 [u S B ji4 yi4 bang4] /USB flash drive/see also 閃存盤|闪存盘[shan3 cun2 pan2]/
U形轉彎 U形转弯 [u xing2 zhuan3 wan1] /U-turn/
U盤 U盘 [u pan2] /USB flash drive/see also 閃存盤|闪存盘[shan3 cun2 pan2]/
V溝 V沟 [V gou1] /low neckline that reveals the cleavage/décolleté/gully/
X光 X光 [X guang1] /X-ray/

Now these are only the entries that have a Latin letter as the first character. If you have some knowledge of scripting or programming (or at least regular expressions), you can write a tool that finds the other entries which contain a Latin letter in some other position. You can find a link for the database here.

Good luck.

December 27, 2013 at 04:51 PM

Thank Koxinga, I think that's a pretty helpful list, but I wonder about how common those are. Some are establish members of the common lexicon and some may be obscure. I can testify that U盘 is a daily usage word and that B型超声 might seem super-specific if you read that english translation "type-B ultrasound", but in a lot of contexts I think a better translation is simply "ultrasound". I never even knew there was "type-B" until I came to China. walk through a hospital and you'll see a room which would be called "ultrasound room" or something similar in english and you'll see that B型超声. The rest of the list one can probably guess how obscure a word is from the English definition. Many of these I've never seen before, but that doesn't mean much. 3C is cheating because it is just referring to the letter C three times. Any more?

December 27, 2013 at 04:56 PM

@johnk: thanks for the link from T to 丁. I would have never thought of that despite its simplicity. As for vulgar language rules, its a forum about vocabulary. If someone is so sensitive that they are offended by the mere unemotional (and self-censored) reference to the word "f*@k" then they should probably stop using the internet. Rules should reflect this fact.

December 28, 2013 at 08:52 AM

"T" looks like the character "丁" .
And according to my dictionary :

丁 = male adult; robust, vigorous; 4th heavenly stem.

"丁" also sounds like "钉", nail, as in hammer and nail. You figure it out.

I have seen an explanation of "P", but I can't remember it right now.

"T" and "P" can also be used for gay men. I always assumed that the usage was roughly analogous to the gay slang usage of "top" and "bottom" in English, and as such I imagined they stood for 头 and 屁股.

Other words using Latin alphabet letters:

Obvious ones:

T恤

MP3

CD

3D

Less obvious:

3P ("3-person", i.e. threesome)

BP机 (pager)

K or 老K (king in card games)

Latin-alphabet English loanwords with different meanings in Chinese:

HIGH (means "high-spirited" rather than high on drugs)

POGO (I believe this means "mosh pit")

December 28, 2013 at 11:33 AM

Almost all of them, we can see, has an English origin. I am curious where AA制 came from though. Is there a similar saying in English?

Haven't heard T or P used like that, but I've heard TB used as an abbreviation for "Tomboy".

BP机 probably comes from "Beeper", descriptive name for pagers...

December 28, 2013 at 02:44 PM

Yep, I assumed that was the case (for pagers/"beepers").

As for AA制, I have a feeling that it's one of those words/phrases whose real etymology is lost to obscurity. I seem to remember a Chinese colleague looked it up recently and found Chinese websites saying it was of unknown origin.

EDIT:

Just thought of another one.

OK! (also: OK了 or simply O了)

December 28, 2013 at 03:44 PM

I reckon AA制 is not related to English. Maybe just a figurative use of the use of the letters as stand-ins for the two equal portions of the bill the parties will pay. A=A, even and fair. maybe. As long as we are talking about loanwords from English, like OK, the "WC" deserves a mention. Are there native English speakers that use this word? It's not been commonly used in the US for maybe a hundred years. I've also seen "HIGH" (the Chinese word) written as 嗨, which in a different context is a transliteration of "Hi" (the English word) with the same meaning.

December 28, 2013 at 04:12 PM

"WC" is certainly commonly seen written on signs, at least in England. It's rarer in spoken language, but still used sometimes.

December 28, 2013 at 05:08 PM

following Koxinga's advice, I used computer magic to find the rest of the entries in CC-Cedict with latin characters:

Sorry about the formatting

December 29, 2013 at 12:01 PM

DM - flyer, brochure

EQ - interpersonal skills

FU (pronounced "few", from English "feel") - feeling (describes a property of external events or entities, not internal emotions)

LP (from Hokkien "lan pah") - testicles

K - to hit, punch

A菜 - a leafy vegetable (Lactuca indica)

MV - music video (supplanted the once-common "MTV" meaning the same thing)

December 29, 2013 at 12:54 PM

KTV and VIP are common here (Kunming.)

December 29, 2013 at 01:23 PM

A菜 - a leafy vegetable

I was about to post that one :-) Commonly seen in Taiwan, I don't think it's used in China. In the same category: G肉 (鸡肉).

December 29, 2013 at 02:20 PM

"T" and "P" can also be used for gay men. I always assumed that the usage was roughly analogous to the gay slang usage of "top" and "bottom" in English, and as such I imagined they stood for 头 and 屁股.

What I've heard from my friends and co-workers here in Taiwan is that T stands for "tom" as in "tomboy", and P stands for 婆 "po".

Also, in Thailand, a butch lesbian is called a ทอม (tom).

December 29, 2013 at 08:04 PM

Here's a search through CC-CEDICT for roman letters in the hanzi headword: http://hskhsk.pythonanywhere.com/search?hanzi=*%5BA-Za-z%5D*&def=full&sort=hanzi

The results found for the latest version of CC-CEDICT (released 2013-12-29) are:

3 C         Word: sānC, abbr. for computers, communications, and consumer electronics/China Compulsory Certificate (CCC)
A A 制         Word: ÀÀzhi, to split the bill/to go Dutch
A 咖         Word: Āka, class "A"/top grade
A 片         Word: Àpian, adult movie/pornography
B 型超声         Word: Bxíngchāoshēng, [b型超聲], type-B ultrasound
B 超         Word: Bchāo, type-B ultrasound/abbr. for B型超聲|B型超声[b xíng chāo shēng]
C 盘         Word: Cpán, [C盤], C drive or default startup drive (computing)
D N A 鉴定         Word: DNÀjiandìng, [DNA鑒定], DNA test/DNA testing
E 仔         Word: ezăi, MDMA (C1H5NÓ)
G 弦裤         Word: Gxiánkù, [G弦褲], G-string
G 点         Word: Gdiăn, [G點], Gräfenberg Spot/G-Spot
K 书         Word: Kshū, [K書], to cram (Taiwan, from Taiwanese khè su 齧書, lit. to gnaw a book)/to study/see also 啃書|啃书[kĕn shū]
K 仔         Word: Kzăi, ketamine (slang)
K 他命         Word: ktāmìng, ketamine (C3H6ClNO) (slang)
K 房         Word: Kfáng, (slang) KTV/KTV room
K 歌         Word: Kgē, karaoke (slang)
K 粉         Word: Kfĕn, ketamine (slang)
M 巾         Word: Mjīn, (coll.) menstrual pad
N 档         Word: Ndàng, [N檔], neutral (gear)
O 型腿         Word: Óxingtuĭ, bow legs/bow-leggedness
P 图         Word: Ptú, [P圖], (Internet slang) to photoshop a picture/photoshopped picture
P 档         Word: Pdàng, [P檔], park (gear)/program mode (on a digital camera)
Q         Word: Q, cute (loanword)/(of food) having a pleasant chewiness (like mochi, tapioca pearls, taro balls etc - foods with a springy or gel-like mouthfeel)
T 字帐         Word: Tzìzhàng, [T字帳], T-account (accounting)
T 字裤         Word: Tzìkù, [T字褲], thong (underwear)
T 恤         Word: Txù, T-shirt
T 裇         Word: Txū, T-shirt
U S B 手指         Word: USBshŏuzhĭ, USB flash drive/see also 閃存盤|闪存盘[shăn cún pán]
U S B 记忆棒         Word: USBjìyìbàng, [uSB記憶棒], USB flash drive/see also 閃存盤|闪存盘[shăn cún pán]
U 形转弯         Word: Uxíngzhuănwān, [u形轉彎], U-turn
U 盘         Word: Upán, [u盤], USB flash drive/see also 閃存盤|闪存盘[shăn cún pán]
V 沟         Word: Ügōu, [V溝], low neckline that reveals the cleavage/décolleté/gully
X 光         Word: Xguāng, X-ray
三 C         Word: sānC, see 3C[sān C]
三 K 党         Word: SānKdăng, [三K黨], Ku Klux Klan/KKK
傻 B         Word: shăbī, variant of 傻屄[shă bī]
动 L         Word: dòngL, [動L], flowing/flexible/lively (Internet slang)
卡拉 O K         Word: kălāOK, karaoke (loanword)
哆啦 A 梦         Word: DuōlāÀmeng, [哆啦A夢], Doraemon, Japanese manga and anime series character
大 V         Word: dàV, celebrity microblogger/influential microblogger
来 M         Word: láiM, [來M], (coll.) (of women) to get one's period
牛 B         Word: niúbī, variant of 牛屄[niú bī]
装 B         Word: zhuāngbī, [裝B], variant of 裝屄|装屄[zhuāng bī]
阿 Q         Word: ĀQ, Ah Q, antihero of Lu Xun's influential 1921 novella The True Story of Ah Q 阿Q正傳|阿Q正传[Ā Q Zhèng zhuàn]
阿 Q 正传         Word: ĀQZhèngzhuàn, [阿Q正傳], The True Story of Ah Q, influential 1921 novella by Lu Xun 魯迅|鲁迅[Lŭ Xùn]
齐 B 小短裙         Word: qíBxiăoduănqún, [齊B小短裙], (slang) micro-miniskirt
齐 B 短裙         Word: qíBduănqún, [齊B短裙], (slang) micro-miniskirt

I think the entries are the same as those found above, but the formatting is (at least slightly) cleaner, and there are links from each headword in case you want to explore the characters more. The pinyin looks a bit odd though, perhaps I should have left the spaces in the CC-CEDICT pinyin...

December 31, 2013 at 10:09 PM

bb - baby

Might be Cantonese only. Hong Kong Cantonese?

https://www.google.com/search?q=佢+bb A Google search with a Cantonese only character to weed out non-Chinese entries such as bb guns, etc.

http://hk.knowledge.yahoo.com/question/question?qid=7013090800020 Funny query about how long after a "bb" dog's birth is it okay to bathe it. It's been a month and the puppy is smelling kind of stinky.

http://eastweek.my-magazine.me/index.php?aid=25489 When the first words out of a babe's lips are "Oh, shate!" I used the Scottish pronunciation for sh*t, which rhymes with "ate", because of how they pronounced it in the film Trainspotting. ;-)

December 31, 2013 at 10:45 PM

BB isn't just Cantonese, common in Mandarin too. Lots of results show babies for BB on Baidu: http://image.baidu.com/i?word=BB

In Trainspotting they pronounce that word to rhyme with "height", not "hate". The scene where Ewan McGregor talks about being Scottish (as well as swearing a lot) is on YouTube.

January 1, 2014 at 11:13 PM

In Trainspotting they pronounce that word to rhyme with "height", not "hate". The scene where Ewan McGregor talks about being Scottish (as well as swearing a lot) is on YouTube.

I could have sworn it was "shate". Oh, well.

I only ever saw the movie once before a catastrophic hard disk failure.

I was recently reading the Wikipedia bio entry for Jonny Lee Miller, who was Sick Boy in the film. He's currently starring in the CBS TV series Elementary co-starring Lucy Liu as a Chinese-American Dr. Watson. I didn't recognize him at all. The two looks were so unalike.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonny_Lee_Miller

They speak of his Scottish accent for the film.

Shortly after Hackers, Miller was cast as Sick Boy in Trainspotting. He was suggested for the role by Ewan McGregor.[7] The accent he used in the film was so convincing that it led many people to incorrectly believe that he was Scottish.[7] Miller has stated: "I had to do a lot of work. I read and re-read the book and I pretended to be Scottish all the time I was in Glasgow, hanging around with Scots, picking up bits and pieces on the street and in bars. Everyone's been very encouraging and Danny thinks that I've got it about right. Of course, the others are from all over Scotland and have different accents themselves, so I've tried to just pick up a general, composite accent."[citation needed]

I didn't know they had different accents of Scottish.

It reminds me of when Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon played in China and people complaining about Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh's Mandarin.

One of the defense was that people even back then would also have had their own regional speech and so wouldn't have a uniform accent as well.

Or complaints of Tony Curtis when he played a slave in Spartacus with a Bronx accent.

It's okay to do a Roman period piece in an English accent, but, not a New York one.

Kobo.

January 1, 2014 at 11:41 PM

That's quite interesting about his accent, I would have assumed Jonny Lee Miller was Scottish after seeing Trainspotting. He was also quite good in Byzantium.

Yes there are many different Scottish accents- I can tell the difference between people with strong accents from Edinburgh, Glasgow, and a few other regions, but there are many that I can't pick up. There are quite a few examples of accents on YouTube (Glasgow, Mid-West Scotland, ...). In the UK for even places as close as Liverpool and Manchester (about 25 miles apart) can have very different and distinctive accents.

I agree that the snobbery about accents in movies where people are supposed to be talking another language is ridiculous, however any strong accent can be a bit grating- best to go more neutral. Nothing wrong mixing accents around- Highlander had a Scottish actor who was supposed to be Spanish and a French actor (who spoke almost no English) who was supposed to be Scottish!

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Looking for Chinese words composed with roman letters

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