Friday, May 4, 2012

Chinese Terminology

I've been offline so much recently. It is quite nice to unplug every once in a while, but at the same time I feel like I am missing out on so much! Today I decided to check EGL to see if I'd missed anything. I saw a fun post asking about Lolita terminology in other languages.

Here are some terms in Chinese, which can be useful for searching Taobao:

Skirt: SK or 群子
Dress: OP or 洋裝
Jumperskirt: JSK or 無袖洋裝 (often it can be referred to as "dress")
Shoes: 鞋
Platform Shoes: 厚底鞋,松糕鞋
Wig: 假髮 (假毛 for slang, meaning false fur)
Hair: 頭髮
Curls: 卷髮
Bangs:劉海
Brand Name: 名牌
Purse: 包包
Bow: 蝴蝶結 (lit. butterfly knot)
Lace: 雷絲 (loan sound)
Headdress: 頭飾
Bloomers: 南瓜庫,燈籠褲 (lit. pumpkin pants, lantern pants)
Corset: 馬甲
Shopping: 購物,逛街
Store: 店,店面
Reservation: 預定 (I think? Inever reserve)
Lucky Pack: 福袋
Socks: 襪子
Knee-Socks: 長襪
Tights: 褲襪,絲襪
Over The Knee Socks: 過膝襪,OTK
Head-Eating Bow: KC
Heels: 高跟鞋
Sweet: 甜though we usually just say "sweet"
Gothic: 哥德 (loan sound)
Classic: 古典
Petticoat: 襯裙,澎群 (lit. supporting skirt, puffy skirt)
Necklace: 項鍊
Bracelet: 手環
Earings: 耳環
Make-Up: 化妝品
False Eyelashes: 假睫毛
Scam: 詐騙
Japanese Fashion: 和風 (Japanese style) 日式服裝 (lit. Japanese fashion)
Shirring: 鬆緊 (elastic)
Cute: 可愛
Sleeves: 袖
Cardigan: 小外套 (lit. little jacket)
Bolero: 短外套 (lit. short jacket)
Jacket: 夾克,外套 (lit. jacket loan sound, and coat)
Prince: 王子
Princess: 公主,姬
Victorian: 維多利亞 (loan sound)
Rococo: 洛可可 (loan sound)
Cake: 蛋糕
Tea Party: 茶會
Macarons (because.): 馬卡龍 (loan sound)
Fan: 扇子
Handkerchief: 手帕
Parasol: 洋傘
Wrist cuffs: 手袖
Wallet: 錢包,皮夾
Apron: 圍裙
Caplet: 披肩
Waist Ties: 腰帶 (actually means belt, but it's what we call it)
Meet-Up: 聚會 (lit. together party/gathering)
Photo Shoot: 外拍 (lit. outside photography)

*Taobao automatically changes traditional characters to simplified, so you can directly copy and paste :)
*If there are any other terms you would like to know, feel free to comment and I will add them to the list!
*Some of the terms we use when speaking/typing (e.g., SK, KC, etc.) but not for keywords.

There was also the question of whether Lolita fit in or not in our respective countries, and here is my reply:

Lolita doesn't really fit in, I think... I wear it every day that I don't teach class, but very casual lolita. People still think it is formal, though (because I wear a petticoat)
Originally I wore Lolita because that was the only clothing I had, but for some reason I get less stares, points, laughs, and ninja photos when I wear rocker or punk styles than Lolita O_o;;

Lolita is super different from traditional Chinese clothing, I guess! Han-fu (they look like giant, baggy kimonos. It later evolved into kimonos in Japan, Han-bok in Korea, and Qi-Pao in China, AFAIK... I forgot most things I learned in my class, haha!) were quite unstylish. Qi-pao is actually a lot of Western influence, which is what people think of when they think of Chinese clothing. I like Qi-pao, though :) But you have to have a good figure to wear one!

Here are some images of hanfu:

A later style of hanfu. In class my teacher showed us very old versions which really looked like potato sacks!

I don't know how these people didn't die of heatstroke.

How does Lolita fit into (or not fit into) your country? How about your country's traditional dress?