New Terms about Cats and Dogs 猫猫狗狗新“术语”

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Language changes. It’s especially true for pop Chinese. With the new words and expressions springing out continuously on the Internet, people have to keep learning and get used to learning something new every a few weeks. Without knowing the buzzwords, one may have problem understanding and joining the conversation.

Cats and dogs are increasingly popular in China and some of them have become . Millions of fans are ready to watch them eat, sleep, take a shower or do nothing at any minute. Here is a photo of China’s two super stars on Weibo: Niuniu (a samoyed) and Duanwu (a scottish fold).

Let’s learn some new “terms” about cats and dogs today.

1.萌宠 (méng chǒng, cute pets)

“萌” (méng, cute, lovely) is a buzzword that has been popular for quite some time. It’s a must-know for every Chinese speaker. “好可爱” (So cute!) seems even less commonly used than “好萌啊” (So cute!).

“宠” is short for “宠物” (chǒng wù, pet). So “萌宠” is “cute pets”. Nowadays no matter on websites or in daily life “萌宠” are one of people’s focuses.

2.铲屎官 (chǎn shǐ guān, literally: shoveling shit offical)

“铲屎官” is the new nickname for the owner of the pet. People need to deal with the excrement of a pet. “铲” means “to shovel”, “屎” means “shit”, then why “官” (offical)? Well, it’s because a pet can be the emperor and the owner is just his official. I think dogs are always friendly to people while cats are quite aloof and arrogant sometimes. Yes! Cats are the emperor of the family!

3.喵星人(miāo xīng rén, literally: meow planet person), 汪星人(wāng xīng rén, literally: woof planet person)

“喵星人” or “汪星人” is not a person.  Because cats and dogs are such special animals, people imagine them as creatures that come from outer space. After they land on the earth, these magical animals gain trust of humans with their super cute appearance and become two of the few friends with whom humans get along equally.

So “喵星” is the homeplanet of cats and “喵星人” is a nickname for cats. Likewise, “汪星” is the homeplanet of dogs and “汪星人” is a nickname for dogs. I guess we humans should cherish the cute and precious “gifts” form the galaxy while they are still on this planet.

4.雪橇三傻(xuě qiāo sān shǎ, literally: sled three silly)

“雪橇三傻” is the general name for three “less intelligent” dogs which are alaskan malamutes, and Samoyed.

Alaskan Malamutes is the “first silly” due to its size while is the second and samoyed is the third. is definitely a super star among the three thanks to its astonishing behavior. And that’s why “二哈” (èr hā, literally: second silly ) became a well-known phrase in China. Actually it’s a quite ingenious because “二” carries a meaning as “silly” in spoken Chinese.

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