Literally, “霸(bà)” means “to dominate, lord over, tyrannize over or rule by force.”
xué bà
学 霸
“学霸(xué bà)” is a new buzzword that has recently been spread widely on the Internet, but we also use it in our daily lives. If we call someone a “学霸(xué bà),” we mean that he or she is a hard-working student, good at studying, and has extensive knowledge. Usually, a “学霸(xué bà)” gets excellent scores on exams. A “学霸(xué bà)” is approximately the equivalent to a “curve wrecker” or a “super scholar.”
Example
Mǎ Dōnɡxīn hé Mǎ Dōnɡhán shì yíduì shuānɡbāotāi, tāmen shì qīnɡhuádàxué de “xué bà
马 冬昕 和 马 冬晗 是 一对 双胞胎， 她们 是 清华大学 的 “学 霸
jiěmèihuā.”
姐妹花”。
Ma Dongxin and Ma Donghan are twins. They are “super scholar twins” at Tsinghua University.
xué zhā
学 渣
“学渣(xué zhā)” is the opposite of “学霸(xué bà).” It is a phrase that generally refers to students who do not show interest in studying and who never brush up before exams. We call them “study slackers,” but usually the word doesn’t actually contain any derogatory meaning in Chinese.
Example
Nǐ xiānɡxìn ma? Tā shànɡxué de shíhou shì ɡè “xuézhā!”
你 相信 吗？他 上学 的 时候 是 个 “学渣”！
Can you believe it? He was a study slacker when he was in school!
mài bà
麦 霸
“麦霸(mài bà)” is a word that is usually used in spoken Chinese. Basically, it has two meanings. On one hand, it refers to someone who can sing lots of songs and sings very well. It is a complimentary term in this case and can be translated as “mic queen,” “mic king,” or “karaoke master.” On the other hand, it is used as a derogatory term which refers to someone who monopolizes the microphone all the time when he sings karaoke, no matter how unpleasantly he sings. Sometimes, this can be a torment for the other listeners. In this sense, the phrase can be translated as “mic hog.”
Examples
Wáng Lì: Lǐ Tiān, nǐ huì chànɡ zhème duō ɡē, zhēnshì màibà ā!
王 丽：李 天， 你 会 唱 这么 多 歌， 真是 麦霸 啊！
Wang Li: Li Tian, you can sing so many songs. You’re really a karaoke master!
Lǐ Tiān: Xiè xie, wǒ zhǐshì xǐhuan chànggē.
李 天：谢谢， 我 只是 喜欢 唱歌。
Li Tian： Thank you, I just love singing.
Xiǎohónɡ pínɡshí bú ài shuōhuà, dànshì hěn xǐhuan chànɡ’ɡē, tā shì màibà.
小红 平时 不 爱 说话， 但是 很 喜欢 唱歌， 她 是 麦霸。
Xiaohong doesn’t usually say much, but she loves singing. She turns into a mic queen when she goes to KTV.
Quiz
1. Tā xuéxí hěn nǔlì, měicì kǎoshì dōushì dìyī.
他 学习 很 努力，每次 考试 都是 第一。
According to what we know from the sentence above, we can call him a _________.
A. 学霸(xué bà)
B. 学渣(xué zhā)
C. 麦霸(mài bà)
2. If you go to sing karaoke with some friends and one of them hogs the microphone the whole time, you can call him or her a _____________.
A. 唱霸(chàng bà)
B. 歌霸(gē bà)
C. 麦霸(mài bà)
General Chinese (Beginner Level)
General Chinese (Intermediate Level)