How To Talk Like a Chinese Investor

Sun Jiahui (孙佳慧)

Speaking Chinese and speaking the language of Chinese investors can be two very different things

Like thrill-seekers at an amusement park , China’s investors are used to sudden ups and downs. Nowadays, even young Chinese born in the 2000s (known as “post-00s”) are boarding the stock market roller coaster, and they’re bringing a host of new slang terms to complement the existing jargon of the financial industry.

To understand when the 过山车 (guòshānchē, roller coaster) of China’s stock market is heading for disaster, one needs to be well-versed in not only specialized stock market terminology but also the language of internet memes.

For example, basic operations like buying or selling a stock or fund are often expressed with metaphors related to vehicles. To buy a fund is to 上车 (shàngchē, board the car); to close out a trade is 下车 (xiàchē, get off the car); and selling out a fund to buy a new one with the proceeds is 换车 (huànchē, change car). Investors have to be careful though, as any wrong move can lead to 翻车 (fānchē, rolling a car), signifying substantial losses after investing in an underperforming stock.

Some investors believe that frequent “car changing” is more likely to lead to a rollover, so they stick to the “buy and hold” strategy. Their motto is 做时间的朋友 (zuò shíjiān de péngyou, be the friend of time). No matter how the market changes, they tend not to sell their shares in the hope that this loyalty will pay off with gains in the long term. On the internet, this strategy is often dubbed as 卧倒 (wòdǎo, lie down) or, perhaps disparagingly, 躺平(tǎngpíng, lie flat) .

No matter what, I will buy and lie flat.
Mǎiwán tǎngpíng, ài zǎ zǎ dì.
买完躺平，爱咋咋地。

Riding the roller coaster

Clearly, investing can be a bumpy ride. Funds that fluctuate dramatically in value are referred to as roller coasters, not just because of investors’ fluctuating earnings, but also the emotional ups and downs that follow.

Look at my roller coaster earnings!
Kànkan wǒ zhèxiē guòshānchē shōuyì!
看看我这些过山车收益！

Extreme adrenaline junkies may choose to 梭哈 (suōhā), or “go all in.” 梭哈 is the transliteration of the English “show hand,” a term often used in stud poker.

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