Mandarin Monday: COVID Slang - What’s With All the Sheep Memes?
More than three years since Covid first emerged, it seems like the virus is changing the way people speak. As Covid restrictions have eased in China, Chinese netizens have recently invented a new form of “corona talk” to describe how it feels to deal with Covid. In case you are one of those browsing the Chinese internet and struggling to figure out what Chinese netizens are saying, you might find this guide helpful to understand some trendy Covid slang.
First up, it's worth mentioning that Covid's Chinese name, 新型冠状病毒肺炎 xīnxíng guānzhuàng bìngdú fèiyán, which identifies it as a peumonia-causing disease, has been changed to 新型冠状病毒感染 xīnxíng guānzhuàng bìngdú gǎnrǎn, which is simply an infectious virus, to reflect the mutation. So the next time someone is trying to say, “我得了新冠肺炎 wǒ déle xīnguān fèiyán (I have Covid),” remember to correct them and say, “No, it should be 新冠病毒 xīnguān bìngdú in Chinese.”
Another interesting note is that the pronunciation of the Chinese character 阳 yáng, which means “positive,” has the same pronunciation as 羊 yáng, which means “sheep” in Chinese. This has led to Chinese netizens substituting “positive” 阳 yáng for “sheep” 羊 yáng, or sometimes just replacing it with a sheep emoji. So if you've been confused about why people have been sharing posts about sheep recently, that's why!
avertisement
Now, what is some Chinese Covid slang that has gone viral recently?
阳过yángguò – This term refers to people who have already had Covid.
阳康yángkāng – People who have recovered from Covid.
王重阳wángchóngyáng – People who have been infected with Covid two or more times.
阳不悔yángbùhuǐ – People who have had Covid but have no regrets about getting it.
阳铁心yángtiěxīn – People who are determined to keep their Covid test results positive.
阳顶天yángdǐngtiān – People who caught Covid on a flight.
阳继业yángjìyè – A person who caught Covid from their father.
欧阳锋ōuyángfēng – People who suffered a mental breakdown due to testing positive for Covid.
九阳真经jiǔyáng zhēnjīng – The ability to no longer fear any virus after the nucleic acid test results have been positive for nine days in a row.
九阴阴经jiǔyīn yīnjīng – The ability to be able to test negative even if the people around you have all gotten Covid.
牧羊人mùyángrén – The only person in a family who is not infected with Covid. Usually they will be responsible for cooking and taking care of the other family members who are sick with Covid.
喜羊羊xǐyángyáng – People who have Covid but are asymptomatic.
暖羊羊nuǎnyángyáng – People who have a persistent slight fever after being infected with Covid.
沸羊羊fèiyángyáng – People who have a high fever after getting Covid.
慢羊羊mànyángyáng – People whose Covid test results have not turned negative after many days of getting Covid.
READ MORE
Mandarin Monday: the Sun, the Moon, and Your Covid Test Result
Images: Unsplash
Update: This Poll Sheds Light on Covid in BJ |
2022 Year-in-Review: Places We Bade Farewell to, Pt. 2 |