新词新译：虚拟经济/道德扶贫/乐触族/润物女/封口费/正太控/碟托/净水

虚拟经济
fictitious economy
This term refers to transactions involving securities, futures and financial derivatives. Due to the current global financial crisis, this term appears frequently in newspapers and daily conservation. It is the opposite of the “real economy” or “substantial economy.”

道德扶贫
moral poverty relief
In reporting the recent melamine-laced milk scandal in China, some media point out that the government and all social sectors in the country should not only pay attention to the material poverty in rural areas, but also their moral poverty.

乐触族
LOTAF
The term stands for “lifestyle of touch and fun.” It refers to people who are interested in and enjoy using touch screen digital devices, such as iTouch and iPhone.

润物女
woman of active life
This is a phrase coined by Chinese and used as the opposite to the Japanese term “himono onna” or “dried-fish woman.” The Japanese term refers to a female who has little activity other than staying home and spending time online. They pursue a simple lifestyle and shy away from complicated social networking. The Chinese term refers to women who love going out, keep fit and enjoy life.

封口费
hush money
The term can be used formally or informally. People sometimes jokingly demand hush money from their friends for keeping a secret between them. But this word attracted nationwide attention recently as dozens of journalists from various Chinese media organizations were found to take hush money for not reporting a fatal coal mine accident.

正太控
shota complex
The word “shota,” derived from Japanese cartoons, refers to those thin and weak Asian boys aged between 3 to 13 years old usually in shorts. Some people, mostly females, take a fancy to comics and stories featuring such characters and pay extra attention to them. They are known to have a shota complex.

碟托
album shill
These shills usually post their opinions or comments on online bulletin boards about a newly-released album to earn money from the record company. They will either be hired to boast about a certain record or attack records issued by rival firms.

纯净水
post without content
The term translates verbatim to “purified water,” but it is often used to describe those online posts that contain little substantial content. It is related to another Chinese term “guanshui,?or 搃rrigation,?in its literal sense, referring to Web bloggers uploading tons of nonsense to earn more online credits.

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