Have you ever hear the Chinese term 爆表 (bàobiǎo)? Currently this term is extremely popular among young Chinese people and its all over the internet! This fun term originally referred to when a meter “explodes,” or the reader is higher than what the instrument can read, for example, there is an AQI over 500 but all the meter can show is 500. Nowadays, this term has become popular internet slang that describes a person who is awesome in some aspect.
爆表 (bàobiǎo): off the charts / extreme / beyond the normal range of measurement.
Word Breakdown：
爆 (bào): to explode or burst / to quick fry or quick boil.
表 (biǎo): exterior surface / family relationship via females / to show (one’s opinion) / a table (listing information) /wrist.
The term 爆表 (bàobiǎo) actually originated from the Japanese manga, Dragon Ball! When the Monkey King was fighting with the Saiyan, Vegeta, he let out a huge blast of energy when he was powering up and it actually made Vegeta’s power indicator blow up. Afterwards, many Japanese mangas started to have similar settings. From then on, the internet slang “爆表 (bàobiǎo)” was born and used to refer to when abilities rapidly increase and instantly “explode.”
Examples:
Tā de zhìshāng bàobiǎo.
他 的 智商 爆表。
His intelligence is off the charts.
Tā de yánzhí bàobiǎo, shòu dào hěnduō rén de huānyíng.
他 的 颜值 爆表， 受 到 很多 人 的 欢迎。
He is extremely attractive, and is very popular with a lot of people.
Note: When you refer to a person’s 颜值 (yánzhí) it is actually referring to how good looking a person is. 颜值 (yánzhí) could be translated as “value of a person’s face.” This term is commonly put with 爆表 (bàobiǎo) to say a person is very attractive.
Quiz:
Among the following, which kind of person is described best by “颜值爆表(yánzhí bàobiǎo)?”
A. Jack is extremely handsome, all the girls want to become his girlfriend.
B. Sunny loves looking at beautiful flowers in spring.
C. Jerry is very lazy but he still manages to pass his classes.
D. Katy is a good dancer, but I don’t think she is as good as Cindy.
See Answer
Learn More Popular Internet Slang:
What It Means to Have a “玻璃心 (bōli xīn) Glass Heart”
辣眼睛 (làyǎnjīng) Spicy Eyes—Hilarious Internet Slang
Feeling Like A Hot Mess? Use 一锅粥 (yīguōzhōu)
—Written by Jennifer Zhu—
Jennifer Zhu is a professional Chinese teacher from eChineseLearning. She has many years of Chinese language teaching experience and received her B.A. and M.A. in “Teaching Chinese as a Second Language.”
Chinese Popular Words (Fun Stuff)
