# Taiwan Slang

> Taiwan internet slang, PTT terms, youth expressions, and Taiwanese Mandarin peculiarities.

- Skill: `mcltyl/taiwan-slang` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add mcltyl/taiwan-slang`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/mcltyl/taiwan-slang/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: mcltyl (https://skillmd.com/u/mcltyl)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/mcltyl/taiwan-slang

---


# Taiwan Slang Skill

## Purpose

Help users understand Taiwan-specific slang, internet expressions, and Taiwanese Mandarin — essential for reading forums, understanding memes, and talking like a local.

## When to Activate

- User encounters unfamiliar Taiwan slang
- User wants to understand PTT discussions
- User asks about Taiwanese expressions
- User wants to sound more local

---

# PTT CULTURE

## Basic PTT Terms

| Term | Meaning | Context |
|------|---------|---------|
| **推** | Upvote / "push" | Agree, support |
| **噓** | Downvote / "boo" | Disagree, dislike |
| **→** | Neutral comment | Just commenting |
| **爆** | Explosive / hot thread | 100+ pushes = 爆 |
| **XX** | Censored / meme marking | "噓 XX" = getting booed |
| **原po / 原PO** | Original poster | OP |
| **肥宅** | Fat otaku | Self-deprecating, usually ironic |
| **魯蛇** | Loser | From English "loser" |
| **溫拿** | Winner | From English "winner" |
| **鄉民** | PTT users | "Villagers" |

## PTT Board Abbreviations

| Board | Topic |
|-------|-------|
| **八卦 Gossiping** | General discussion, news |
| **股票 Stock** | Stock market |
| **科技工作 Tech_Job** | Tech industry jobs |
| **軟工 Soft_Job** | Software engineering |
| **薪資 Salary** | Salary discussions |
| **C_Chat** | ACG chat |
| **棒球 Baseball** | Baseball |

## PTT Phrases

| Phrase | Meaning |
|--------|---------|
| **蓋牌** | Thread buried by new posts |
| **被水桶** | Got banned (put in bucket) |
| **發錢** | OP gives out P幣 (PTT currency) |
| **錢** | Begging for P幣 in comments |
| **幫高調** | Help boost visibility |
| **高調** | Boosting signal |
| **低調** | Keeping low profile |
| **上車** | Getting in (on investment, etc.) |
| **下車** | Getting out |
| **套牢** | Stuck (in bad investment) |
| **畢業** | "Graduated" = sold at loss |
| **可撥** | Pitiful (sounds like 可悲) |
| **不意外** | Not surprised |
| **4** | 是 (yes, phonetic) |
| **87** | 白痴 (idiot, phonetic) |
| **94狂** | 就是狂 (so crazy/wild) |

---

# INTERNET SLANG

## Common Expressions

| Slang | Meaning | Origin |
|-------|---------|--------|
| **ㄏㄏ** | Haha (sarcastic laugh) | Bopomofo |
| **XD** | Laughing face | International |
| **QQ** | Crying / sad | Emoticon |
| **囧** | Awkward / embarrassed | Character looks like face |
| **Orz** | Kneeling in despair | Person on ground |
| **+1** | Agree | |
| **-1** | Disagree | |
| **777** | Applause | Twitch/gaming origin |
| **666** | Skilled / awesome | Gaming origin |
| **484** | 是不是 (is it?) | Phonetic |
| **2486** | Asshole | Taiwanese curse phonetic |
| **gg** | Game over / screwed | Gaming |
| **母湯** | 不要 / don't | Taiwanese pronunciation |
| **歪腰** | 偶爾 / occasionally | Pronunciation joke |

## Bopomofo (注音) Slang

Many slang terms use Bopomofo initials:

| Code | Full | Meaning |
|------|------|---------|
| **ㄅㄅ** | 掰掰 | Bye bye |
| **ㄇㄉ** | 媽的 | F*** (vulgar) |
| **ㄏㄏ** | 呵呵 | Haha (often sarcastic) |
| **ㄎㄎ** | 科科 | Hehe |
| **ㄉㄉ** | 哥哥/弟弟 | Brother (context-dependent) |
| **ㄈㄓ** | 肥宅 | Fat otaku |
| **ㄐㄐ** | 雞雞 | Penis (crude) |

---

# TAIWANESE MANDARIN

## Pronunciation Differences

Taiwan Mandarin differs from China Mandarin:

| Feature | Taiwan | China |
|---------|--------|-------|
| **Retroflex** | Softer (sh→s) | Strong |
| **R sound** | Often dropped | Standard |
| **Tone** | More melodic | Flatter |
| **和** | hàn | hé |
| **什麼** | shé me | shén me |

## Taiwan-Specific Words

| Taiwan | China | Meaning |
|--------|-------|---------|
| **計程車** | 出租车 | Taxi |
| **捷運** | 地铁 | Metro/MRT |
| **軟體** | 软件 | Software |
| **網路** | 网络 | Internet |
| **資訊** | 信息 | Information |
| **品質** | 质量 | Quality |
| **影印** | 复印 | Photocopy |
| **公車** | 公交车 | Bus |
| **腳踏車** | 自行车 | Bicycle |
| **機車** | 摩托车 | Scooter |
| **窩心** | 暖心 | Heartwarming (⚠️ means "frustrated" in China!) |

## Minnan (Taiwanese) Loan Words

Many Taiwanese Hokkien words are used in daily Mandarin:

| Term | Meaning | Context |
|------|---------|---------|
| **歹勢** | Sorry / excuse me | Very common |
| **阿嬤** | Grandma | Maternal |
| **阿公** | Grandpa | Maternal |
| **阿伯** | Uncle / older man | |
| **阿姨** | Auntie | |
| **頭家** | Boss | Business |
| **五告** | Very / super | Like 非常 |
| **幹** | F*** | Common expletive |
| **靠北/靠杯** | WTF / complaining | Very common |
| **機車** | Annoying / troublesome | Not just scooter |
| **白目** | Clueless / oblivious | |
| **龜毛** | Picky / fussy | |
| **牽拖** | Making excuses | |
| **衰** | Unlucky | |
| **俗辣** | Coward | |
| **撿角** | Useless person | |

---

# YOUTH SLANG (Current)

**⚠️ Slang evolves fast. These are examples, not exhaustive.**

| Term | Meaning | Era |
|------|---------|-----|
| **躺平** | Lie flat / give up trying | 2021+ |
| **社畜** | Corporate slave | Japanese origin |
| **韭菜** | Retail investor (getting cut) | Stock market |
| **內捲** | Involution / rat race | 2020s |
| **割韭菜** | Getting exploited | Finance |
| **玻璃心** | Easily offended | |
| **塑膠** | Fake (friendship) | "Are you plastic?" |
| **綠茶婊** | Two-faced woman | Internet drama |
| **斯斯** | Passive-aggressive | |
| **嗆** | To call out / roast | |
| **拖延症** | Procrastination | Common self-diagnosis |
| **社恐** | Social anxiety | |
| **emo** | Emotional / moody | |

---

# MEME REFERENCES

## Famous Phrases

| Phrase | Origin | Meaning |
|--------|--------|---------|
| **發大財** | 2018 election | "Get rich" (now ironic) |
| **高雄發大財** | Han Kuo-yu slogan | Political meme |
| **芒果乾** | 亡國感 | "Sense of national doom" |
| **塔綠班** | Green Taliban | Political insult to DPP |
| **4%仔** | TPP voter | Political insult |
| **1450** | DPP internet army (alleged) | Political insult |
| **韓粉** | Han Kuo-yu supporters | |
| **柯粉** | Ko Wen-je supporters | |
| **覺青** | "Awakened youth" | Can be sincere or sarcastic |
| **小粉紅** | Chinese nationalists | Pink = CCP youth league |

---

# TYPING CONVENTIONS

## Common Substitutions

| Written | Meaning | Why |
|---------|---------|-----|
| **偶** | 我 (I) | Cutesy |
| **尼** | 你 (you) | Cutesy |
| **醬** | 這樣 (like this) | Pronunciation |
| **捏** | 呢 (particle) | Cutesy |
| **惹** | 了 (particle) | Cutesy |
| **降** | 這樣 (like this) | Pronunciation |
| **粗乃玩** | 出來玩 | Playful spelling |

## Emphasis

| Style | Example | Effect |
|-------|---------|--------|
| **Fullwidth** | ＷＴＦＦＦ | Emphasis |
| **Repeated chars** | 好煩煩煩煩 | Emphasis |
| **Alternating** | 好ㄉ | Casual |
| **Symbols** | 超～讚～ | Excited |

---

# CAUTIONS

## Don't Use Casually

| Term | Why |
|------|-----|
| **幹** | Very vulgar |
| **靠北** | Vulgar |
| **87** | Calling someone stupid |
| **2486** | Strong insult |
| **Political terms** | Can start arguments |

## Generational

- Older people may not understand internet slang
- Young people may cringe at outdated terms
- PTT culture ≠ Instagram culture

---

# HOW TO LEARN MORE

## Methods

1. **Lurk on PTT** — Read, don't post until you understand
2. **Follow Taiwan Twitter/Threads** — Current slang
3. **Ask locals** — But be careful with vulgar terms
4. **Watch Taiwan YouTube** — Hear natural speech

## Search Pattern

```
"[unknown term]" 意思
"[unknown term]" PTT
"[unknown term]" 解釋
```

---

*Understanding slang = understanding culture 🇹🇼*