If you have a passion for online shopping, you must know that feeling of intently and thoroughly browsing a site, glued to the computer screen, until you find that perfect item at the best price.
It can certainly be satisfying to finally get what you wanted.
Well, it is well known that China has some great online shopping sites, but to use them and talk about the experience in Chinese, you’ll first want to know some special words.
miǎoshā
秒杀
“秒(miǎo)” means “second,” as in the unit of time, and “杀(shā)” is a verb which means “to kill.” Combining them, “秒杀(miǎoshā)” is translated literally as “one-second kill.”
The term originated from online, multi-player videogames, in which the term refers to a situation in which a player who doesn’t have any other option is killed or kills his opponent in an instantaneous attack.
When it comes to shopping, “秒杀(miǎoshā)” means “seckill,” a new term that refers to a sales method with which online vendors sell an expensive product at an exorbitantly low price far below market value for a given time period.
For example, they may sell an iPad for just one Yuan. With such a low price, a lot of Chinese netizens will flock to the website at the designated time, constantly refreshing their screen until the given moment arrives.
For just one second, the price will plummet and the shopper whose index finger clicks the fastest will walk away with an incredible bargain.
Example
Zhè shì wǒ zài wǎngshàng miǎoshā de xiàngjī, jiàgé hěn piányi.
这 是 我 在 网上 秒杀 的 相机，价格 很 便宜。
This is the camera I got from seckilling. It was very cheap.
Lily: Wǒ xiǎng mǎi yíbù shǒujī.
Lily：我 想 买 一部 手机。
Lily: I want to buy a phone.
Ann: Wǎngshàng yǒu miǎoshā de huódòng, nǐ kéyǐ qù kànkàn.
Ann：网上 有 秒杀 的 活动， 你 可以 去 看看。
Ann: There are seckill sales online. You can check them out.
In addition, “秒杀(miǎoshā)” has another meaning, which is “out-sanding” or “to be better than someone in terms of a given aspect.”
Tā de měilì miǎoshā le zàichǎng de qítā nǚháir.
她 的 美丽 秒杀 了 在场 的 其他 女孩儿。
Her beauty trumped that of the other girls at the party.
shuǎi
甩
“甩(shuǎi)” is a verb meaning “to throw.” When used in regard to online shopping, it represents a type of promotion during which shop owners sell off their products for a very low price. It is used in phrases like “甩卖(shuǎi mài)” and “甩货(shuǎi huò).”
Examples
Zhè jiā fúzhuāngdiàn yào zhuānɡ xiū, láobǎn zhèngzài shuǎimài suǒyǒu de yīfu.
这 家 服装店 要 装修， 老板 正在 甩卖 所有 的 衣服。
The boss is going to decorate his clothing shop. He is selling all of the clothes at a very low price.