新词新译:水货/枪手/色友/纸黄金/包机/八卦

水货
grey import
It is also know as a parallel import, which is made available in the local “grey market” by retailers who order the trademark goods directly from overseas wholesales at a lower price and without going through official import channels. Most such imports are shipped to the local market by water, hence the Chinese term, shuihuo(water goods).

枪手
ghost test-taker, ghost writer
Gunman is the direct translation for this Chinese term, but it is now used metonymically to describe anyone who sits in examinations for others for a fee. The government has been trying very hard to stamp out ghost test-taking, which has become widespread around the country.

色友
shutterbug
Enthusiastic amateur photographers in China call themselves seyou or “colorful friends”. They claim they are a bunch of people who love anything that’s colorful. Don’t try to translate this Chinese term without a real understanding of it, because the first character in the term can also mean “lascivious” .

纸黄金
paper gold
A general term to describe gold contrasts, which do not necessarily involve the delivery of physical gold. The International Monetary Fund invented “paper gold” in 1971. The Bank of China Shanghai branch now sells paper gold 24 hours a day.

包机
charter flight
The flights are specially arranged for travelers. Both sides across the Taiwan Strait have designed six carriers to make 36 roundtrip charter flights for the upcoming Spring Festival, which falls on January 29.

八卦
gossip, gossipy
Originally the name of an eight-side diagram derived from the famous Chinese classic “1 Ching”(Book of Changes), it is now often used to describe gossip or gossipy people. Some believe this term first came into use in Hong Kong where the “ying-yang” diagram was frequently used to cover the crucial points of nude models on gossip or porn magazine covers.

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