---
title: "Chinese Swear Words and Insults: From 笨蛋 to 他妈的, With Pinyin, Meaning and How Strong Each Is"
description: "67 Chinese insults and swear words you hear in dramas, games and comments, from playful 笨蛋 and 讨厌 to 混蛋, 他妈的 and 卧槽, each with pinyin, its meaning, its sound and how strong it is."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-swear-words"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

Free · 67 words

# Chinese swear words and insults

[Print as flashcards](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-flashcards?level=mine&words=%E7%AC%A8%E8%9B%8B%20%E5%82%BB%E7%93%9C%20%E8%AE%A8%E5%8E%8C%20%E5%9D%8F%E8%9B%8B%20%E7%8C%AA%E5%A4%B4%20%E4%BA%8C%E8%B4%A7%20%E9%80%97%E6%AF%94%20%E8%87%AD%E7%BE%8E%20%E5%B0%8F%E6%B0%94%E9%AC%BC%20%E8%83%86%E5%B0%8F%E9%AC%BC%20%E8%AE%A8%E5%8E%8C%E9%AC%BC%20%E5%90%83%E8%B4%A7%20%E5%B0%8F%E5%B1%81%E5%AD%A9%20%E5%8E%BB%E4%BD%A0%E7%9A%84%20%E5%A4%A9%E5%93%AA%20%E7%B3%9F%E7%B3%95%20%E5%80%92%E9%9C%89%20%E6%88%91%E5%8E%BB%20%E8%A7%81%E9%AC%BC%20%E4%BB%80%E4%B9%88%E9%AC%BC%20%E6%88%91%E9%9D%A0%20%E8%AF%A5%E6%AD%BB%20%E5%B0%BC%E7%8E%9B%20%E7%99%BD%E7%97%B4%20%E4%BA%8C%E7%99%BE%E4%BA%94%20%E7%A5%9E%E7%BB%8F%E7%97%85%20%E6%9C%89%E7%97%85%20%E8%A0%A2%E8%B4%A7%20%E5%BA%9F%E7%89%A9%20%E8%84%91%E6%AE%8B%20%E6%99%BA%E9%9A%9C%20%E6%B2%A1%E5%87%BA%E6%81%AF%20%E4%B8%8D%E8%A6%81%E8%84%B8%20%E4%B8%A2%E4%BA%BA%20%E7%99%BD%E7%9C%BC%E7%8B%BC%20%E9%A9%AC%E5%B1%81%E7%B2%BE%20%E5%8A%BF%E5%88%A9%E7%9C%BC%20%E5%8F%98%E6%80%81%20%E9%97%AD%E5%98%B4%20%E6%BB%9A%20%E6%BB%9A%E5%BC%80%20%E6%BB%9A%E8%9B%8B%20%E8%B5%B0%E5%BC%80%20%E5%8E%BB%E6%AD%BB%20%E5%BA%9F%E8%AF%9D%20%E5%B1%81%E8%AF%9D%20%E6%B7%B7%E8%9B%8B%20%E6%B7%B7%E8%B4%A6%20%E7%8E%8B%E5%85%AB%E8%9B%8B%20%E7%8E%8B%E5%85%AB%20%E7%8B%97%E4%B8%9C%E8%A5%BF%20%E4%BB%96%E5%A6%88%E7%9A%84%20%E5%A6%88%E7%9A%84%20%E4%BB%96%E5%A8%98%E7%9A%84%20%E5%A5%B6%E5%A5%B6%E7%9A%84%20%E5%8D%A7%E6%A7%BD%20%E6%94%BE%E5%B1%81%20%E7%8B%97%E5%B1%8E%20%E5%82%BB%E9%80%BC%20%E9%BE%9F%E5%84%BF%E5%AD%90%20%E8%B4%B1%E4%BA%BA%20%E7%89%9B%E9%80%BC%20%E8%A3%85%E9%80%BC%20%E5%B1%8C%E4%B8%9D%20%E5%9D%91%E7%88%B9%20%E8%8D%89%E6%B3%A5%E9%A9%AC%20%E6%88%B4%E7%BB%BF%E5%B8%BD%E5%AD%90)

Speed

## Playful teasing between friends

bèn笨dàn蛋

fool; idiot

shǎ傻guā瓜

fool; idiot

tǎo讨yàn厌

you're awful (playful, between close people)

huài坏dàn蛋

bad guy; scoundrel

zhū猪tóu头

idiot; fool

èr二huò货

idiot; goofball

dòu逗bǐ比

goofball; clown

chòu臭měi美

to show off one's looks; vain

xiǎo小qì气guǐ鬼

miser; cheapskate

dǎn胆xiǎo小guǐ鬼

coward; scaredy-cat

tǎo讨yàn厌guǐ鬼

pest; nuisance (person)

chī吃huò货

foodie; glutton

xiǎo小pì屁hái孩

brat; little kid

qù去nǐ你de的

get lost; go on with you

## When something goes wrong

tiān天na哪

oh my God; good heavens

zāo糟gāo糕

terrible; bad

dǎo倒méi霉

unlucky; out of luck

wǒ我qù去

whoa; damn (exclamation of surprise)

jiàn见guǐ鬼

damn it; what the hell

shén什me么guǐ鬼

what the heck; WTF

wǒ我kào靠

damn; holy crap

gāi该sǐ死

damn; damned (expressing anger)

ní尼mǎ玛

damn; what the hell (euphemism for a swear word)

## Rude: real insults

bái白chī痴

idiot; moron

èr二bǎi百wǔ五

idiot; dimwit

shén神jīng经bìng病

madman; crazy

yǒu有bìng病

crazy; out of one's mind

chǔn蠢huò货

idiot; blockhead

fèi废wù物

(derog.) good-for-nothing

nǎo脑cán残

moron; brain-dead

zhì智zhàng障

idiot; moron

méi没chū出xi息

good-for-nothing; lacking ambition

bù不yào要liǎn脸

shameless; to have no shame

diū丢rén人

to lose face; embarrassing

bái白yǎn眼láng狼

ingrate; ungrateful wretch

mǎ马pì屁jīng精

bootlicker; flatterer

shì势lì利yǎn眼

snob; snobbish

biàn变tài态

pervert; perverted

## Telling someone to go away

bì闭zuǐ嘴

to shut up

gǔn滚

get lost; beat it

gǔn滚kāi开

get lost; beat it

gǔn滚dàn蛋

get lost; scram

zǒu走kāi开

to go away; to get out of the way

qù去sǐ死

go to hell; drop dead

fèi废huà话

nonsense; superfluous words

pì屁huà话

bullshit; nonsense

## Strong: understand them, don’t say them

hún混dàn蛋

bastard; jerk

hùn混zhàng账

scoundrel; bastard

wáng王bā八dàn蛋

(vulgar) bastard; son of a bitch

wáng王ba八

(vulgar) bastard; cuckold

gǒu狗dōng东xi西

(derog.) bastard; son of a bitch

tā他mā妈de的

(vulgar) damn; fucking

mā妈de的

(vulgar) damn; fuck (short for 他妈的)

tā他niáng娘de的

(vulgar) damn it; damn

nǎi奶nai奶de的

(vulgar) damn it

wò卧cáo槽

(vulgar) holy shit; WTF

fàng放pì屁

(vulgar) to talk nonsense; bullshit

gǒu狗shǐ屎

(vulgar) crap; garbage

shǎ傻bī逼

(vulgar) idiot; stupid jerk

guī龟ér儿zi子

(vulgar) bastard; son of a bitch (Sichuan insult)

jiàn贱rén人

(derog.) slut; bitch

## Vulgar words used as slang and praise

niú牛bī逼

(vulgar) awesome; badass

zhuāng装bī逼

(vulgar) to show off; to act cool

diǎo屌sī丝

loser; nobody (often self-mocking)

kēng坑diē爹

to cheat; to let down

cǎo草ní泥mǎ马

Grass Mud Horse (internet meme, pun on a vulgar curse)

dài戴lǜ绿mào帽zi子

to be cuckolded; to be cheated on by one's partner

## What does cao ni ma mean?

草泥马 (cǎonímǎ, Grass Mud Horse) is a pun: written as grass, mud and horse, it sounds like a curse about someone’s mother. It became a meme because the cute alpaca name slips past filters, so people use it as a joke rather than a real insult.

## What is the worst Chinese insult?

Insults about someone’s family, above all their mother, as in 他妈的 (tāmāde, damn), and 王八蛋 (wángbādàn, bastard), which calls someone the child of a turtle (a cuckold). 傻逼 (shǎbī, idiot) is the strongest common word for an idiot. Understand them when you hear them, and don’t say them.

## Is 牛逼 a bad word?

牛逼 (niúbī, awesome) is vulgar by its second character, yet it is everyday praise among friends: “that’s awesome”. In writing and polite company people use 牛 (niú) alone or 厉害 (lìhai, impressive).

## Why is 二百五 an insult?

二百五 (èrbǎiwǔ, idiot) is 250, and calling someone that means a fool. One story is that in old money 500 made a full string of coins, so 250 was half a string, someone not all there.

## How do you say “shut up” in Chinese?

闭嘴 (bìzuǐ, to shut up) is shut up, blunt but not a swear word. Harsher are 滚 (gǔn, get lost) and 滚蛋 (gǔndàn, get lost), get lost; between friends a playful 去你的 (qùnǐde, get lost) is “oh, stop it”.

## Which insults are fine to use with friends?

The playful ones: 笨蛋 (bèndàn, fool), 傻瓜 (shǎguā, fool), 猪头 (zhūtóu, idiot) and a teasing 讨厌 (tǎoyàn, you're awful), said with a smile, are how couples and close friends joke. Said coldly to a stranger, even these sting.

## Can’t hear it?

Play uses your device’s Mandarin voice. Edge, Chrome and Safari have one; a browser with none plays each character in our recorded voice instead.

## More real Chinese

- [Chinese internet slang decoder](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-slang)
- [What Chinese emoji mean](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-emoji)
- [Common Chinese phrases](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-phrases)
- [Chinese idioms by theme](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-idioms)

Words, pinyin and meanings from our own dictionary; the grouping by how strong each is, ours.