Prostitution

Chinese police use seven classifications for prostitution. From highest to lowest, they are:

1. 包二奶 bāoèrnăi (bow er nigh-bāo rhymes with “cow”)

Long ago, when Chinese men had multiple wives, 奶 èrnăi (er nigh) referred to the second wife. Today it refers to mistresses of wealthy men and government officials, an extremely common fact of life in China: literally “packaged second-wife.” A related term is:

二奶专家 èrnăi zhuānjiā (er nigh jwahn jah) Rich Chinese businessmen and government officials who collect “second wives.” Literally “mistress expert.”

2. 包婆 bāopó (baow pwuh-bāo rhymes with “cow”)

Literally “packaged wife.” Women who receive payment for accompanying wealthy men or government officials on business trips or for some other fixed period of time.

3. 三厅 sāntīng (sahn ting)

Literally “three halls.” Refers to prostitution in specific venues, such as bars, clubs, karaoke parlors, teahouses, bathhouses, etc. They generally make money from tips and from a cut of the venue’s “service charges.” Some related terms are:

三陪小姐 sānpéi xiǎojiě (sahn pay shaow jyih)

Literally “young ladies of the three accompaniments.” A common euphemism for sāntīng sex workers. The three accompaniments are supposedly drinking, dancing, and chatting or singing with their clients (often while being groped). Of course, the unspoken fourth accompaniment costs extra.

小姐 xiǎojiě (shaow jyih)

Whore, prostitute. Literally “little miss.” Xiǎojiě is also an everyday form of address for waitresses, shop-girls, and any service staff in Taiwan and southern China, but due to the association with prostitution, northern Chinese instead address such personnel by the impersonal term 服务员 fúwùyuán (foo oo yren), literally “service person.”

KTV 小姐 KTV xiăojiě (“KTV” shaow jyih)

Prostitute in a karaoke parlor. Literally “karaoke miss.”

吧女 bānǚ (bah nee)

Bar girl.

洗浴中心 xǐyù zhōngxīn (she yee johng sheen) Bathhouse.

4. 叮咚小姐 dīngdōng xiăojie (deeng dohng shaow jyih) Literally “ding-dong girls” or “doorbell ladies.”

Prostitutes who solicit clients by phone in hotel rooms. If you ever stay in a Chinese hotel and get a mysterious call in the middle of the night, chances are it’s a ding-dong girl.

5. 发廊妹 fàláng mèi (fah lahng may)

Prostitutes who work under the guise of a hair salon, beauty parlor, bathhouse, or massage parlor. Literally “hair salon sister.” The most common services offered are hand jobs and oral sex. If you’re ever looking for an actual haircut in China, look for a salon that has female customers and where the hairdressers actually appear to know how to use a pair of scissors-and even then you might very well still wind up getting a whispered proposition. A related term is:

按摩女 ànmó nǚ (ahn mwuh nee)

Literally “massage girl.” Includes both actual masseuses who do a little extra for an additional fee and full-on prostitutes who work under the guise of being masseuses but have no idea how to give a massage.

6. 街女 jiēnǚ (jyih nee)

Literally “street girls.” Prostitutes who solicit clients on the street.

7. 下工棚 xiàgōngpéng (shah gohng pung)

Literally “lower work shack.” Prostitutes whose clients are migrant workers-usually men from the countryside who have found temporary work doing manual labor in the big city.

Beyond these seven official tiers, here are other words related to prostitution:

妓女 jìnǚ (gee knee)

The most neutral, formal word for prostitute.

娼妓 chāngjì (chahng gee)

Another formal term for prostitute.

鸡 jī (gee) and 野鸡 yějī (yeh gee)

Whore, prostitute, hooker. Literally “chicken” or “wild chicken/pheasant.” Probably came about in Shanghai during the late 1800s and early 1900s because the city saw a sudden influx of streetwalkers, which was a relatively new sight (as opposed to women who hosted men in teahouses and brothels), and the women were said to look like chickens walking around on the street. Also a play on words because the 鸡 jī, meaning “chicken,” sounds nearly the same as 妓 jì in the formal term for “prostitute” (above). A yějī can also be an illegal business.

站街的 zhàn jiē de (jahn jyih duh)

Streetwalker. Literally “one who stands on the street.”

鸡院 jīyuàn (gee yren)

Slang term for a brothel. Literally “chicken yard.”

鸭 yā (yah) or 鸭子 yāzi (yah dz)

Male prostitute. Literally “duck.”

卖豆腐 mài dòufu (my doe foo)

Literally “sell tofu” and a euphemism for prostitution.

女士酒吧 nǚshì jǐubā (nee shih joe bah)

Lady bar.

皮条 pítiáo (pee tyow)

Pimp.

拉皮条 lāpítiáo (lah pee tyow)

Pimp. Literally “pull/drag prostitutes.”

婊子 biăozi (byow dz)

Whore, prostitute, hooker. Also an insult similar to “bitch.”

应召女郎 yìng zhào nǚláng (yeeng dzow nee lahng)

Prostitute. Literally “call girl.”

嫖 piáo (pyow) or 嫖娼 piáochāng (pyow chahng)

Visit prostitutes, whore around, pay for sex.

陪客 péikè (pay kuh)

To entertain clients-either in a legitimate business sense or in the euphemistic sense.

嫖客 piáokè (pyow kuh)

Whoremonger, john, brothel customer. Literally “whoring guest.”

红灯区 hóngdēngqū (hohng dung chee)

“Red-light district.” Used only in southern China and Taiwan.

出台 chūtái (choo tie)

To take home (a prostitute). A verb used when a john takes a prostitute away from the establishment and to a home or hotel instead. Literally “leave the counter.”

打包 dǎbāo (da baow)

Literally the term used for a doggie bag or wrapping up leftover food to take home from a restaurant, but it can also be jokingly used to indicate that you want to take a prostitute off premises.

性病 xìngbìng (sheeng bing)

STD (sexually transmitted disease). Literally “sex disease.”

花柳 huāliǔ (hwah lew-lew rhymes with “pew”) / 花柳病 huāliŭbìng (hwah lyew bing)

STD. Literally “flower willow” or “flower willow disease.” Flowers and willows have been used as metaphors for women since ancient times, and STDs are generally considered a disease that men get from prostitutes.

脏病 zāngbìng (jahng bing)

STD. Literally “dirty disease.”

Sexual perversion

色鬼 sèguĭ (suh gway)

Sex maniac. Literally “sex ghost.”

色情狂 sèqíngkuáng (suh cheeng kwahng)

Sex maniac. Literally “sex crazy person.”

流氓 liúmáng (lyew mahng)

A derogatory term for a man that may mean he is just generally “bad” or “rowdy” or a “hooligan” but may also indicate sexual perversion involving women. Women frequently use this word in reference to a man who is aggressively hitting on them.

狼 láng (lahng)

Dirty guy. Literally “wolf.”