SLANG FOR NOOBS

孙佳慧

The chatter of the online gaming community has become part of popular Chinese culture

人生猶如一场游戏，稳住，

别浪，我们能赢！

C

hina is already one of the worlds largest and most rapidly growing online gaming markets. According to Statista， a market research and business intelligence portal， the countrys online gaming sector was worth 216 billion RMB in 2017 and is estimated to reach 324 billion RMB by 2020.

Whether PC or mobile games， people are increasingly turning on fantasy role-playing hits such as Honor of Kings or South Koreas gory “battle royale” phenomenon Playerunknowns Battlegrounds， currently known as the “worlds hottest video game” （the latter has also been given a “socialist makeover” in China， AP reported）.

In the process， many gaming terms and jargon have begun to embed themselves into Chinese popular culture and language （much like “Easter egg，” “pwn，” “noob，” “frag，” and other terms have in English）. For example， during this years Black Friday， phrases like the following were repeated ad nauseum on online banner ads：

Black Friday promotion： all products seckilling for 50 percent off！

H8iw^ cξ`o： Su6y6u sh`ngp@n w^ zh9 mi2osh`！

黑五促销：所有商品五折秒杀！

The word “秒杀 （mi2osh`， second kill） is a common term in online gaming， meaning “to kill an enemy in a very short time.” In this context， its intended to stimulate the consumer to “click” or buy quickly， lest the discounted goods sell out. But miaosha can also be used to mean “outclass” in different areas. For example， when reviewing a film， one can comment on the actors performance by saying：

That veteran actor totally ‘seckilled those ‘little fresh meat [young， handsome idols].

Zh- w-i l2ox#g^ w1nqu1n mi2osh` n3xi8 xi2oxi`nr7u.

这位老戏骨完全秒杀那些小

鲜肉。

A similar phrase is 碾压 （ni2ny`）， literally meaning to “roll over.” In World of Warcraft， if an enemy monster is three or more levels higher than the player， the damage it wreaks will increase by 50 percent. Such an overwhelming advantage means its easy for high-level characters to kill low-level ones， or “steamroll” them. In daily conversation， nianya thus refers to a wide gap in performance， ability， or talent.

Since I entered this top university， I feel my intelligence has been steamrolled by my classmates everywhere.

Z#c5ng w6 j#n le zh- su6 d@ngj！ d3xu9， ji& g2nju9 zh#sh`ng ch&ch;& b-i t5ngxu9 ni2ny`.

自从我进了这所顶级大学，就感觉智商处处被同学碾压。

In online gaming， miaosha and nianya often happen in the process of “PK.” Short for “player killing，” PK refers to the act of two or more players fighting against each other （“PvP” in English gaming slang）. But it has been used so widely that these origins have been largely forgotten. In 2004， the hit American Idol-style singing contest Super Girls had a weekly knockout round， in which the two weakest contestants would face off in front of the judges and audience in a round named “PK.” Almost overnight， the term went viral， and individuals and even mainstream media began using it as a general expression for “compete with” or “fight against.”

In order to win this election， you need to PK against two other candidates.

Y3o xi2ng y！ngd9 zh- c# xu2nj^， n@ b#x$ h9 q！t` li2ng w-i h7uxu2nr9n j#nx！ng PK.

要想赢得这次选举， 你必须和其他两位候选人进行PK。

In multiplayer gaming， sometimes you win， sometimes you lose. Its human nature for those defeated to shift blame. Teammates are always the first to take the brunt， known as 豬队友 （zh$du#y6u， pig teammate）， especially anyone whose performance dragged down the whole team. A “pig” is stupid， inefficient， and useless. In the real world， when ones progress is seriously hindered by a coworker or partner， they may lament：

Its not a godlike opponent Im afraid of， but a pig-like teammate.

B% p3 sh9n y！y3ng de du#sh6u， ji& p3 zh$ y！y3ng de du@y6u.

不怕神一样的对手，就怕猪一样的队友。

But when you are the pig， you cant shift the blame onto your teammates any more. In which case， the strength of ones rivals serves as another excuse—you cant compete against their 神操作 （sh9nc`ozu7）， literally， “godlike move.” In daily conversation， though， this phrase doesnt always indicate admiration but instead refers to unreasonable or ridiculous behavior. For example：

This firm declined my job application just because I am a Virgo. What a godlike move！

Zh- ji` g4ngs～ j&ju9; le w6 de qi%zh！ sh8nq@ng， ji& y～nw-i w6 sh# ch^n）zu7. Zh8nshi sh9nc`ozu7！

这家公司拒绝了我的求职申请，就因为我是处女座。真是神操作！

Not everyone has the grace to admire their rivals. Some accuse their opponents of cheating. In Chinese， using “cheats” （mods or codes used to illicitly boost your own powers） is called 开挂 （k`igu3）， with 挂 （gu3） meaning “cheating programs.” Such an accusation can serve as a compliment in real life. For example， when people saw Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt break the 100-meters world record， many applauded， while some wondered：

He is so fast！ He must be using cheating programs！

T` p2o de t3i ku3i le！ K`igu3 le ba！

他跑得太快了！开挂了吧！

They didnt mean to suggest he was doping； merely that Bolts athleticism was like hed received a “power-up.” Of course， luck can also determine the result of a game. Here， the expression “RP，” short for “Random Point，” is useful. Its used in the game Ever Quest. When a team slays a monster， the system will assign a random number to each member of the team—the one who gets the biggest “Random Point” can be rewarded with special equipment. Later， some Ever Quest players， noting that RP happens to be the initials of Chinese word 人品（r9np@n， personality， moral quality）， started using 人品 as a byword for luck， （though there are other accounts of how this word came about）.

In conversation， 人品好 （r9np@n h2o， good personality） means lucky， and 人品不好 （r9np@n b& h2o， bad personality） means unlucky. A frequently seen term is 人品问题 （r9np@n w-nt！， a personality issue）， which is used by young people to explain everything： Lost your purse？ Got ill？ Failed an exam？ Theyre all personality issues！

You missed the last bus？ Thats totally a personality issue.

N@ cu7guo le m7b`nch8？ N3 ch%ncu# sh# r9np@n w-nt！.

你錯过了末班车？那纯粹是人品

问题。

If this expression can teach us anything， it is that “better” people will naturally have better “luck.” Actually， everyone can learn lessons from games. Honor of Kings generated two popular lines which were jokingly put together as a couplet. The first line is：

Develop humbly， dont act rashly！

W0isu6 f`y&， bi9 l3ng！

猥琐发育， 别浪！

During the game， the line is used to warn teammates to keep a cool head， not put themselves in danger or challenge an enemy too strong for them. In daily life， its used to remind people not to make a rash decision； it even has a famous historical antecedent in the chengyu 韬光养晦 （t`ogu`ng y2nghu#）， often translated as “hide your brightness.” The second line of the couplet is：

Hold on！ We can win！

W0nzh&， w6men n9ng y！ng！

稳住， 我们能赢！

This is usually used to boost morale—though in most cases， its just a white lie—when your team is in critical condition. But it can be used to cheer people up in many situations. For example， if your friend has been chasing a girl for a long time without any “random points，” one can encourage him by saying：

Hold on， dude！ We can win！

Xi4ngdi， w0nzh&！ W6men n9ng y！ng！

兄弟，稳住！我们能赢！

Or maybe he just has “personality issues？” Either way， life is a game： either it seckills you or you roll over it. Just hold on—you can win！