In my time at Georgia Tech, I’ve participated in a wide variety of clubs. From rock music to origami, archery to anime, and video games to political activism, one of the most impactful clubs I’ve participated in is the Chinese Conversation Hour club, a part of the Chinese Student Association here at GT. The Convos club meets weekly, for around an hour, and typically comprises some short lecture about whatever aspect of Chinese culture the presenter wanted to talk about, followed by ~30 minutes of Chinese conversation practice, hence the name. After attending semi-regularly for around 2 years (and frankly not improving my Chinese enough in that time…), I’ve somehow been nominated for the position of club president. This is a small club and so the role doesn’t entail very much, but it’s still been a lot of fun being able to run the events and grow the club in, not entirety, but at least in the direction I wanted to see the club go in. We’ve been able to bring in many talented tutors in and develop a sense of community amongst the regulars.

I’ve had some really memorable Convos sessions, but by and large, the ones on slang tend to be my favorite. Don’t get me wrong, learning about Chinese food and historical culture has been interesting and a lot of fun (especially when snacks are involved!), but something about slang really gives you that sense of connection to the culture, wherein, if you can’t hold a conversation like a native, you can at least reference slang like a native!

The first one I’d heard, even before Chinese Convos, was 6 (六) as a reference to the hand sign for the number 🤙, referencing the modern surfer sign for ‘cool’. While the Chinese hand signs have a long and murky history, the modern meaning is, undoubtedly, modern, with many people responding to things with ‘666’ as shorthand for ‘cool’.

This example is, for many, common and easily memorable, which is just the right combination for slang to take off!

Which brings us back to the Convos sessions! Another term that stuck in my head the moment I heard it at the sessions is ‘3Q’, as a substitute for ‘thank you’, making use of the Chinese pronunciation for 3 (san1). I believe this term, along with many others, has its origins in Taiwan, but it finds use all over the internet now. Another counterpart to ‘3Q’ is ‘no Q’, for ‘no thank you’, playing along with the established pattern.

Another term that I first encountered at Convos: 懂的都懂 or dddd. This translates to “I understand everything“, or to its English equivalent, “say less”. It seems to have come from a TV program and a misunderstanding between a host and a fan, but has since come to be widely used online, representing a strong agreement, where more doesn’t need to be said. It’s also fun to type! dddd

Throughout all the internet slang I’ve seen, the most prominent feature seems to be its parallels to western slang, along with slang throughout the world: as an expression of youth culture, of individual and shared experiences, appreciating and highlighting the absurdities of daily life, no matter who or where they are.