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Do the following modern English words have Chinese equivelants that are understood by most young people:

  • selfie
  • troll / trolled
  • spam
  • phishing scam
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    In mainland China: selfie = 自拍, troll = 喷子, spam = 垃圾邮件. And for phishing scam, it is often specifically called 钓鱼网站 (phishing website). – Stan Sep 19 '13 at 11:40
  • @Stan thanks for these, very helpful. You may want to post as an answer? – user3871 Sep 19 '13 at 15:30
  • @Growler No. I am waiting for a better answer, because it seems the words using in Taiwan are different. (And today is Mid-Autumn festival in China, I just want some relaxation :D) – Stan Sep 19 '13 at 15:58
  • @Stan Understood. Well I lived in Taiwan for 4 months and often heard similar translations there. But let's see what others post. And... 中秋节愉快 :D – user3871 Sep 19 '13 at 16:03
  • @Stan I doubt if there will ever be an authentic answer that cover all (major) regional variations. If you feel shy on the length of the answer, don't be. – NS.X. Sep 19 '13 at 18:40
  • @NS.X. OK. Let me have a try. – Stan Sep 20 '13 at 04:42
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    How about photo bomb, meme, phablet, bitcoin? – Steve Sep 20 '13 at 20:30
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    @Steve very interesting. You should have put them in a new question. So far as I know: photo bomb there's no acknowledged corresponding Chinese word yet. Some literally translate it into 照片炸弹 (but I've seldom seen); some describe it with more details by pointing out what or who ruins the photo using 乱入 or 亮了. Meme, no acknowledged corresponding Chinese word either, now using transliteration 媒母/米姆/谜米/弥母/迷因. And for phablet, "平板手机"; for bitcoin, "比特币". – Stan Sep 21 '13 at 06:59

1 Answers1

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selfie n. (also selfy, pl. selfies)

自拍 n./vi. (adj. 自拍的. Also specifically 自拍照片 (selfie photo) or 自拍视频 (selfie video))

  • n. 这是他的自拍。

  • vi. 他正在自拍。

troll n.

(Mainland China) 喷子 n.

(Taiwan) 白目 / 白爛 / 小白 n.

Note: As the Internet slang is widespread, 喷子/白目/白爛/小白 are all acceptable in Chinese regions. However, the term 小白 in mainland China now can mean 菜鸟 (newbie, green hand), for example

新来的小白，请大侠指教。

Then it's an almost neutral word.

spam n.

垃圾 + 邮件/短信/信息 n.

The spam in English includes unsolicited bulk messages in all kinds of media. However in Chinese it's more specifically said 垃圾邮件 (and something else like that).

phishing scam n.

钓鱼骗局 n.

I checked some websites and found 钓鱼骗局 is used both in mainland and Taiwan for "phishing scam". However personally I don't meet the word 钓鱼骗局 much. More specific words like 钓鱼网站, 网络钓鱼 (Taiwanese 網路釣魚) appear more common. Anyway, the core word is phishing (钓鱼), the derivatives are based on it.

Stan
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    From my experience, in mainland China, 小白 does not have the connotation of 'troll' at all. It means 'newbie' in a neutral tone or 'idiot' in a derogatory tone. – NS.X. Sep 20 '13 at 05:10
  • @NS.X. You're right, now it's seldom used in that way. But those from the old BBS age in mainland China might use it as "troll". – Stan Sep 20 '13 at 05:43