The Most Common Ways to Say “Popular”, “Trending”, “Viral” in Chinese

If you would like to gain a deeper understanding of the youth culture in China, it would be a good idea to learn some popular slang words that are often used by young people in China. Nevertheless, words used in written language always play an important role in Chinese learning. Today let’s take a look at five commonly-used words that are related to “popularity”.

1. 受欢迎 (Shòu Huānyíng)

受欢迎
shòu huānyíng
popular / welcome

This is a formal way to say “popular”, which means it can often be seen in written language. “欢迎 huān yíng” means “welcome”, and “受 shòu” means “subject to”. Hence, the literal meaning of this word can be treated as “subject to popularity”.

EXAMPLE:

今年苹果手机非常受欢迎。
Jīnnián píngguǒ shǒujī fēicháng shòu huānyíng.
Iphones are very popular this year.

VOCABULARY:

今年
jīnnián
this year

苹果
píngguǒ
apple

手机
shǒujī
cell phone

2. 流行 (Liúxíng)

流行
liúxíng
popular / prevalent

This is the standard Chinese word for “popular”, and sometimes it can also be translated as “prevalent”. That’s why the Chinese word for “pop music” is 流行音乐 (liúxíng yīnyuè).

EXAMPLE:

目前，学中文很流行。
Mùqián, xué Zhōngwén hěn liúxíng.
Nowadays learning Chinese is very popular.

VOCABULARY:

目前
mùqián
nowadays / currently

3. 红 (Hóng)

红
hóng
trending / red

The original meaning of ”红” (hóng) is red. A possible reason why it’s now associated with the meaning of popularity is that red is considered an auspicious color in Chinese culture. That’s probably also where the word “网红” (wǎnghóng) – “internet influencer” came from.

EXAMPLE:

这个歌手现在很红。
Zhè gè gēshǒu xiànzài hěn hóng.
This singer has now gone viral.

VOCABULARY:

歌手
gēshǒu
singer

4. 火 (Huǒ)

火
huǒ
popular / fire

This word means “fire”, and the hidden logic behind the connection between this word and popularity is that if something is considered popular, it is “hot”. In addition, there is a Chinese phrase called “红红火火” (hónghóng huǒhuǒ), which means “prosperous”. Interestingly, the literal meaning of this phrase is simply “red red fire fire”.

EXAMPLE:

去年这个电视剧很火。
Qùnián zhè gè diànshìjù hěn huǒ.
This TV drama was very popular last year.

VOCABULARY:

电视剧
diànshìjù
TV drama

5. 卖得非常好 (Mài de fēicháng hǎo)

卖得非常好
mài de fēicháng hǎo
popular / to-sell-well

“卖” (mài) means “to sell”, and the direct translation of this phrase is “to sell well”, which implies that something is very popular among customers. What you need to bear in mind is that this word cannot be used to describe people.

EXAMPLE:

这块手表卖得非常好。
Zhè kuài shǒubiǎo mài de fēicháng hǎo.
This watch is very popular among customers.

To find out more interesting and useful Chinese vocabulary, check out one of our blog posts 5 Ways to Eat in Chinese: Takeouts, Dine-in and More