Buzzword: 夺笋 mean or sarcastic
夺笋 duósǔn
mean or sarcastic
To describe someone being extremely mean or bitterly sarcastic, you can say he/she is “fighting against pandas for bamboo shoots (和国宝夺笋)” as bamboo shoots are known as the staple food of pandas.
Literally, “夺笋” means fighting for bamboo shoots. Today, in China’s social media platforms, it stands for “多损,” referring to someone being mean or sarcastic, as the two words share similar pronunciation in Chinese. It went viral online when a celebrity livestreamer said the word in local dialect. People then replaced “多损” with “夺笋” for fun. A post featuring a selection of sarcasm is called “挖笋贴,” or in English “a bamboo shoots-digging post.” To describe someone being extremely mean or bitterly sarcastic, you can say he/she is “fighting against pandas for bamboo shoots (和国宝夺笋)” as bamboo shoots are known as the staple food of pandas.
拿别人的照片做表情包，夺笋啊！
Ná biérén de zhàopiān zuò biǎoqíngbāo, duósǔn a!
How mean it is to make emojis with someone else’s photos.
做题家 zuòtíjiā
Book smart
Some Chinese college students mock themselves as “小镇做题家,” or in English “book smarts from small towns,” which literally meaning academic superstars from small towns or villages who fail to blend into the urban campus life.
The word first popped up from a club on China’s leading social media platform Douban.com. Entitled “985 Loser Recruitment Project,” the club comprises college students from China’s top-level universities, who deem themselves as “losers” or “failures.” The number “985” here stands for Project 985, an initiation named after its launch date of May 1985 that aims to establish a selected number of world-class universities in China. Today, a total of 39 academic institutions in the country meet the criteria of Project 985. Since setting up on May 10, 2020, the club has now recruited more than 110,000 Douban users. The club members mock themselves as “小镇做题家,” or in English “book smarts from small towns,” which literally meaning academic superstars from small towns or villages who fail to blend into the urban campus life. Later, the word “做题家” has been widely used by Chinese college students who fail to find fat-pay jobs, or consider themselves nothing special but only excel in academic performances.
北京一名大学生坠楼自杀，引发了社会对“做题家”群体困境的讨论。
Bēijīng yìmíng dàxuéshēng zhuìlóu zìshā, yǐnfā le shèhuì duì “zuòtíjiā” qúntǐ kùnjìng de tǎolùn.
A college student committed suicide by jumping from atop of a building in Beijing, which leads to a public discussion of those book smarts in difficulties.
