Chinese dictionary's 100 new entries offer words for 'pollution' and nation's 'uncouth, newly rich'
Standard Dictionary of Modern Chinese's third edition features definitions for 'particulate', 'wealth management' and new take on 'tuhao' for 'rich who are lacking in correct values'
A new Chinese dictionary backed by the national language regulator offers a glimpse into the social and environmental concerns of the Chinese people, adding nearly 100 phrases to the lexicon, a report said today.
The additions to the third edition of the Standard Dictionary of Modern Chinese “underscore characteristics of the time”, publishing house Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press said in a statement.
They include a new definition of tuhao, a combination of “earth” or “uncouth” and “powerful” that used to refer to rich but despotic landlords in the countryside.
The word has now been adopted by web users for newly rich people who are “lacking in education or correct values”, the statement said.
China has enjoyed a decades-long economic boom, but at the same time inequality has widened, and a small elite have become extremely wealthy.
The dictionary was compiled in the 1990s and first published in 2004 “to implement the national standard for Chinese language and characters and to guide teachers and students”, the state-run China Daily said today.
