BUZZ WORDS
Editor’s Note:
In this biweekly column we try to improve the English rendering of new Chinese phrases or terms popping up frequently in the local press or daily conversations. shěnměi jiāo lǜ anxiety for meeting beauty standards This term refers to the phenomenon of feeling anxious for having to meet the society’s beauty standards. Some of the most distinctive trends on beauty standards that have taken over the Internet
ಈ੍ఱ
are “A4ᇨ,” which means the width of a woman’s waist is that of an A4 paper; “ྰࣣࠥቚ,” which means the ability of holding coins in the indent above one’s collarbone; “౨অြ,” which refers to legs that look like a manga character’s; and “ࠔ༰ೆ߉,” which means the ability of being skinny enough to wrap one’s arm around one’s own waist and reach the bellybutton. These trends often start from celebrities or on TikTok and Douyin, and the feeling of anxiety emerges when aspects of one’s own appearance do not meet the beauty standards that are trending at the moment. Moreover, this feeling of anxiety is more common among adolescents and young adults. According to a medical report in 2020, there has been an increase in the number of women below the age of 20 who seek plastic surgeries, and an increase in the number of primary and middle school students who have eating disorders.
ě nduō yīnwéi ě ě ā ǜ ॖߢሼၼಈ੍ఱᅹᇴዟ ປ ُူ ംࠂ
ū ā
൷ቹไȣ
ǒ ā
H rén sh nmPi ji ol bìx yào zàis n P tú cáinéng f péngy uqu n.
A lot of people can only post their pictures on WeChat Moments after photoshopping them for a million times because they have anxieties for meeting the beauty standards.
īng yé q huí
Here it comes back, my youth.
This three-character buzzword, to echo a previous buzzword “ᇹภੵ” or “Here it comes, the end of my youth,” is also an
ᇹภর
abbreviation of a sentence, “ᇹݨ ภ܀রୢ ௗ,” which, on a more literal level, means that grandpa’s youth has come back. This buzzword, moreover, is used when something that ended or disappeared a long time ago, or something that used to be popular when one was younger, has now come back. It can also be used to describe something that one hasn’t seen for some time — a year or even a few months, not particularly from when one was younger. However, the latter use can often seem exaggerated.
ǎ ǒ nǐ qīng
“ቹ৽˶્ৣ ” ഉௗౚ˻ᇹภরկȣ “L oy ujì: chóngjù tèjí” kànle ma? Yé
huí a.
Having you seen “Friends: The Reunion?” Aye, here it comes back, my youth!
(Peng Xinyu)