No Ticket? Better Find a “黄牛党 (huángniúdǎng )”

When British singer Adele announced her 2016 concert tour, more than 10 million fans swarmed the Ticketmaster.com website to buy tickets to see the megastar performer. Many of those 10 million ticket buyers were "scalpers," or "黄牛党 (huángniúdǎng)." "黄牛党 (huángniúdǎng) ticket scalpers" are people who...Read more

Let's break down "黄牛党 (huángniúdǎng) ticket scalpers":

黄牛 (huángniú): noun. means "ox/cattle"
党 (dǎng): noun. means "party" or can describe a group of people in China
黄牛党 (huángniúdǎng): noun. means "scalper/ticket monger"

So, why the reference to "cattle" if the scalper is selling "tickets?" There is a history to that:

"黄牛 (huángniú)" is the kind of cattle that are rich in fur, and they will shed twice a year. In China, gross profit can also be called "毛利 (máolì)." "毛 (máo)" literally means hair and "利 (lì)" means profit. Therefore, earning gross profit is earning "毛利 (máolì)," just as this kind of cattle are rich in fur, then they are also good at earning a gross profit, just as touts and scalpers are good at earning a gross profit by reselling tickets that are in demand.

Example of "黄牛党 (huángniúdǎng)" in a sentence:

Huángniúdǎng zhèngzài fēngkuáng dǎomài Adele de yǎnchànghuì ménpiào.
黄牛党 正在 疯狂 倒卖 Adele 的 演唱会 门票。
Ticket mongers are reselling tickets for Adele's concert.

Have you heard of the expression "打气 (dǎ qì)?" The word "打 (dǎì)" means "hit/strike," and "气 (qì)" means "air/gas." As you might guess, this is the literal way of saying "pump up, inflate with air." You might use it when speaking about inflating a bicycle tire.

Example:

However, what is this word's non-literal meaning? You probably already are familiar with the term "加油 (jiāyóu)", literally meaning "add oil," but Chinese people also use it to mean "come on" as a common way to cheer someone on. The word "打气 (dǎ qì)" is quite similar. And friends can use this word to...Read more

You might think that this seems like a funny way to express encouragement to someone.

Chinese people also use this word to express "to bolster up morale/to encourage." For example, if my friends or students will take the HSK exam, I will say:

Wǒ gěi nǐ dǎ qì, nǐ huì kǎo guò de!
我 给 你 打 气，你 会 考 过 的！
will cheer for you. You will pass the exam.

Quiz: