Niubi! (18 page)

Beyond these seven official tiers, here are other words related to prostitution:

 

妓女
jìnǚ
(
gee knee
)

The most neutral, formal word for prostitute.

 

娼妓
chāngjì
(
chahng gee
)

Another formal term for prostitute.

 

鸡
jī
(
gee
) and 野鸡
yějī
(
yeh gee
)

Whore, prostitute, hooker. Literally “chicken” or “wild chicken/pheasant.” Probably came about in Shanghai during the late 1800s and early 1900s because the city saw a sudden influx of streetwalkers, which was a relatively new sight (as opposed to women who hosted men in teahouses and brothels), and the women were said to look like chickens walking around on the street. Also a play on words because the 鸡
jī
, meaning “chicken,” sounds nearly the same as 妓
jì
in the formal term for “prostitute” (above). A
yějī
can also be an illegal business.

站街的
zhàn jiē de
(
jahn jyih duh
)

Streetwalker. Literally “one who stands on the street.”

 

鸡院
jīyuàn
(
gee yren
)

Slang term for a brothel. Literally “chicken yard.”

 

鸭
yā
(
yah
) or 鸭子
yāzi
(
yah dz
)

Male prostitute. Literally “duck.”

 

卖豆腐
mài dòufu
(
my doe foo
)

Literally “sell tofu” and a euphemism for prostitution.

 

女士酒吧
nǚshì jǐubā
(
nee shih joe bah
)

Lady bar.

 

皮条
pítiáo
(
pee tyow
)

Pimp.

 

拉皮条
lāpítiáo
(
lah pee tyow
)

Pimp. Literally “pull/drag prostitutes.”

 

婊子
biăozi
(
byow dz
)

Whore, prostitute, hooker. Also an insult similar to “bitch.”

 

应召女郎
yìng zhào nǚláng
(
yeeng dzow nee lahng
)

Prostitute. Literally “call girl.”

 

嫖
piáo
(
pyow
) or 嫖娼
piáochāng
(
pyow chahng
)

Visit prostitutes, whore around, pay for sex.

 

陪客
péikè
(
pay kuh
)

To entertain clients—either in a legitimate business sense or in the euphemistic sense.

 

嫖客
piáokè
(
pyow kuh
)

Whoremonger, john, brothel customer. Literally “whoring guest.”

 

 

红灯区
hóngdēngqū
(
hohng dung chee
)

“Red-light district.” Used only in southern China and Taiwan.

 

 

出台
chūtái
(
choo tie
)

To take home (a prostitute). A verb used when a john takes a prostitute away from the establishment and to a home or hotel instead. Literally “leave the counter.”

 

 

打包
dǎbāo
(
da baow
)

Literally the term used for a doggie bag or wrapping up leftover food to take home from a restaurant, but it can also be jokingly used to indicate that you want to take a prostitute off premises.

 

 

性病
xìngbìng
(
sheeng bing
)

STD (sexually transmitted disease). Literally “sex disease.”

 

 

花柳
huāliǔ
(
hwah lew—lew
rhymes with “pew”) / 花柳病
huāliŭbìng
(
hwah lyew bing
)

STD. Literally “flower willow” or “flower willow disease.” Flowers and willows have been used as metaphors for women since ancient times, and STDs are generally considered a disease that men get from prostitutes.

 

脏病
zāngbìng
(
jahng bing
)

STD. Literally “dirty disease.”

色鬼
sèguĭ
(
suh gway
)

Sex maniac. Literally “sex ghost.”

 

 

色情狂
sèqíngkuáng
(
suh cheeng kwahng
)

Sex maniac. Literally “sex crazy person.”

 

 

流氓
liúmáng
(
lyew mahng
)

A derogatory term for a man that may mean he is just generally “bad” or “rowdy” or a “hooligan” but may also indicate sexual perversion involving women. Women frequently use this word in reference to a man who is aggressively hitting on them.

 

 

狼
láng
(
lahng
)

Dirty guy. Literally “wolf.”

 

 

色狼
sèláng
(
suh lahng
)

Literally “colored wolf.” A lecherous man. Like
liúmáng
(above), women often use this to describe men who are aggressively hitting on them. Originally it referred exclusively to older men who prey on younger women, but now it refers to men of any age.

 

色迷迷的
sèmīmīdè
(
suh me me duh
)

Lecherous. Literally “colored fantasy.” A lecherous man, synonymous with
liúmáng
or
sèláng
(above), is a 色迷迷的男人
sèmīmīdè nánrén
(
suh me me duh nahn ren
), and you would say that he has 色迷迷的眼神
sèmīmīdè yǎnshén
(
suh me me duh yen shen
), or “sex in his eyes,” literally “colored eyes.”

下流
xiàliú
(
shah lew
)

Perverted. Literally “below flowing.”

 

调戏
tiáoxì
(
tyow she
)

To take advantage of or harass a woman. Most often used to refer to a man verbally assaulting a woman with obscene words.

 

花老头
huā lǎotóu
(
hwa laow toe
)

Dirty old man.

 

 

咸猪手
xiánzhūshǒu
(
shin joo show
)

Groping. Used in Taiwan and Guangdong Province. Literally “salty pig hands.” In Taiwan and Guangdong, a man who pays unwanted sexual attention to a woman (groping, etc.) is called a 猪哥
zhūgē
(
joo guh
), literally “pig brother.”

 

暴露狂
bàolù kuáng
(
baow loo kwahng
)

Flash, flashing. Literally “showing crazy person.”

 

 

恶趣味
è qùwèi
(
uh chee way
)

Literally “repulsive interests.” Originating in Japan, the term refers to five types of sexual perversion: (1) interest in young girls, (2) homosexuality, (3) bondage and sadomasochism, (4) Freudian issues—for example an Oedipus complex—and (5) incest.

 

 

乱伦
luànlún
(
lwun lwen
)

Incest. Literally “messy logical sequence.”

 

 

希腊剧
xīlàjù
(
she la jee
)

Incest. Literally “Greek play.”

 

 

性骚扰
xìngsāorǎo
(
sheeng saow raow
)

Sexual assault, molestation. Literally “sex interrupts.”

 

怪叔叔
guài shūshu
(
gwhy shoo shoo
)

Pedophile. Literally “weird uncle.” Used in Taiwan.

 

强奸
qiángjiān
(
chyahng gin
)

Rape. Literally “forced sex.”

罪犯
zuìfàn
(
dzway fahn
)

Criminal.

 

拎包党
līn bāo dǎng
(
leen baow dahng
)

Purse snatcher.

 

三只手
sān zhī shǒu
(
sahn jih show
)

Pickpocket. Literally “three hands.”

 

小偷
xiǎotōu
(
shyaow toe
)

Thief. Literally “little steal.”

 

顺
shùn
(
shwen
) or 顺走
shùn zǒu
(
shwen dzoe
)

Beijing slang for “steal.” Literally “smooth” and “smoothly walk away,” respectively.

 

纵火
zònghuǒ
(
dzohng hwuh
)

Arson. Literally “start fire.”

 

走私
zǒusī
(
dzoe sih
)

Smuggling. Literally “go private.”

 

黄牛
huángníu
(
hwahng nyoo
)

Literally “yellow ox.” A ticket scalper or someone who buys and sells foreign currency on the black market—the sight of a mob of people trying to get tickets resembles a herd of cows. Can also mean a person who doesn’t repay debts. Originated in Shanghai but now used everywhere.

 

 

洗钱
xǐqián
(
she chin
)

Money laundering.

 

 

敲诈
qiāozhà
(
chyow jah
)

Blackmail. Literally “knock cheat.”

 

 

行贿
xínghuì
(
sheeng hway
)

Bribery.

 

 

封口费
fēng kǒu fèi
(
fung koe fay
)

Hush money.

 

 

非法集资
fēifǎ jízī
(
fay fah gee dz
)

Ponzi scheme.

 

 

盗车贼
dào chē zéi
(
daow chuh dzay
)

Motor vehicle theft. Literally “car stealer.”

 

 

贩毒
fàndú
(
fahn do
)

Trafficking/smuggling drugs. Literally “selling drugs.”

 

毒枭
dúxiāo
(
doo shaow
)

Drug lord.

 

 

黑
hēi
(
hay
)

In Chinese anything illegal is called “black,” or
hēi
. Thus the black market is the 黑市
hēishì
(
hay shih
) (the literal meaning is the same as the English); an illegal cab is a 黑车
hēichē
(
hay chuh
), literally “black car”; cooking the books results in a 黑单
hēidān
(
hay dahn
), literally “black accounting”; a bad call in sports or an unfair decision by a judge, who may or may not have been bribed, is a 黑哨
hēishào
(
hay shaow
), literally “black whistle”; and any sort of misdeed is a 黑点
hēidiǎn
(
hay dyinn
), literally “black spot.”

 

黑道
hēidào
(
hay dow
)

Criminal gang. Literally “black path.”

 

 

黑社会
hēishèhuì
(
hay shuh hway
)

Mafia. Literally “black society.”

 

 

三合会
sān hé huì
(
sahn hay hway
)

Triad, the largest organized crime network in China. The Triads originally started out in the 1760s as a resistance movement to overthrow the Manchu emperor and restore Han Chinese rule. Their name,
sān hé huì
, literally means “three harmonies society,” referring to the unity between heaven, earth, and man. After the Qing dynasty finally collapsed in 1911, these former outlaws and rebels, no longer enjoying the benefit of public support and funding, turned to crime and extortion to support themselves. Today there are thought to be as many as sixty separate Triad groups in Hong Kong alone, with membership of each one ranging anywhere from fifty to thirty thousand people, and more groups throughout Taiwan, Macao, mainland China, and around the world in cities with large overseas-Chinese communities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Seattle, Boston, Miami, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Calgary, Vancouver, São Paulo, Melbourne, and Sydney.