Firefly’s Chinese Swear Words


So if you, like me, have been watching the DVDs of Firefly lately, and have been wondering what the actual translations of the Chinese curses used by the cast are, well, wonder no more.

So if you, like me, have been watching the DVDs of Firefly lately, and have been wondering what the actual translations of the Chinese curses used by the cast are, well, wonder no more.

If you actually like this kind of stuff, well, you’re probably right up there with the people who use Klingon to swear at their mommas. But hey, I’m going to learn a couple of these, so that I can use them instead of my more mundane curses! I mean, why settle for a simple “Crap!” when you can say “Da-shiong bao-jah-shr duh la-doo-tze!” (Explosive diarrhea of an elephant) instead?

(Hey! You! Chinese Language Purist about to rip me a new one because you can’t figure out what is said above! Why not read the site — linked above as “wonder no more” — before getting on my case? I’m just the messenger, and have absolutely zero interest in learning how to do anything in Chinese other than mutter unintelligible curses.)

41 thoughts on “Firefly’s Chinese Swear Words”

  1. cursing

    I’m good with English curses. I’ve been practicing them so long, I’ve gotten really good at them.

    ——– Visit my blog, eh! The Murphy Maphia

    1. My english is poor as a

      My english is poor as a pity. It isn’t my native language, but it’s intresting!

    2. ur @%#$( stupid

      if u practice saying %@#^ bad words in english get a @#%*&%* life u @#%^&$#!! @#%&# off!! @%#&^# heads

  2. Serenity…

    Heh, with the recent release of Serenity, this page is getting hammered! And it’s just a link to the page that has the info, not the source of the info itself…

    —
    Matthew P. Barnson

  3. You can’t even [expletive deleted] use

    You can’t even [expletive deleted] use proper pinyin to write the words? [expletive deleted] idiot. People who actually have taken the [expletive deleted] time the study Chinese won’t be able to figure out what your [expletive deleted] is trying to write. …[expletive deleted].

    1. Wow, You’re Cool

      I know the topic is curse words, but you need to clean up your language. Check out the site and realize we talk like civilized folks around here.

      Dropping f-bombs isn’t a way to get your point across, nor the a-hole comment at the end. All it shows is you can’t control your temper or language.

      My $.02 Weed

      1. Commentary

        I think it’s an interesting social commentary that the person who’s castigating me for my inability to write Chinese is unable to write a coherent sentence in English himself. Really, I don’t mind getting tongue-lashings for my language skills by someone without any.

        —
        Matthew P. Barnson

        1. I’m Glad

          I’m glad you did the needful and deleted his expletives 😉

          My $.02 Weed

          2. Cool, thanks!

            Cool, thanks for the follow-up information!

            —
            Matthew P. Barnson

          3. agree that it was the

            agree that it was the coolest part, but, frankly speaking, i didn’t really like the film. few episodes were really interesting, but the rest…

    2. Testify!

      Mr/Ms Anonymous here speaks for all speakers and students of Chinese. You really need your pinyin, buddy. In Chinese, tones change the meaning of a word, not just the emphasis. Using the four tones of Mandarin, respectively, “ma” can mean “mother,” “hemp,” “horse,” and “to curse”. Also, if you believe “ma” without a designated tone to be a tone of its own, then “ma” is a particle indicating a question. In short, you need to do your research.

      Dictionary?

      1. Why are you telling me this?

        Umm, dude/dudette, why are you telling me this? I just found this nifty site which explains the meaning of the various Chinese swear phrases found in Firefly. The point is to entertain those who have watched the US show and would like to know what those phrases mean… not the other way around.

        Regardless, they’ve improved the site in the YEARS since I posted this original entry. I’ve updated this ancient blog entry to reflect the sensibilities of someone too lazy to bother clicking a link to figure out what I’m talking about.

        —
        Matthew P. Barnson

        1. Say it aint so.. .

          /start sarcasm

          Say it aint so… Things have changed in 2 years ?

          /end sarcasm

          1. I wanted to let you know of

            I wanted to let you know of a good book called _Outrageous Chinese: A Guide to Chinese Street Language_ and it’s by James J. Wang.

      2. FUNNIEST SITE ON THE PLANET!!

        Good lord, there are a lot of random people chiming in on old posts.

        I did my research.. by watching more Firefly. All hail Whedon.

        Visit the Official Justin Timpane Website Music, Acting, and More! http://www.timpane.com

        1. Mm, Firefly!

          Christy bought me the series for Christmas. Or did she buy it for her? Anyway, it’s unopened down in the basement… Time to turn on the subtitles, pop some popcorn, and do some “research”!

          —
          Matthew P. Barnson

    1. Useful!

      See, now that’s a useful comment! What could be more useful than studying Chinese so that you can swear in the language more effectively?

      Then again, if you’re involved in any manufacturing or textiles business, Chinese is rapidly becoming a lingua franca to get it done for a reasonable cost…

      —
      Matthew P. Barnson

  5. A good book to get if you’re into cursing

    Hi, Great idea to transcribe the curses! I wanted to let you know of a good book called _Outrageous Chinese: A Guide to Chinese Street Language_ and it’s by James J. Wang. It has a variety of curse words as well as warnings about homophones — how to avoid inadvertently saying something inappropriate.

    Oh — and for the person who’s irate about the pinyin — even though that’s the most modern method of transliteration, it’s not the only one, and anyone who’s studied Chinese and pinyin for any length of time would be able to figure it out. Try thinking instead of swearing.

  6. Swearing in Chinese Software

    Hey! I worked on Serenity! My friends and I got together and made a Software for Learning Chinese. Here is the Swearing One.

    Insult away! Impress your friends, surprise your enemies, get slapped, or beaten up. It’s now your choice how far to take it.

    Includes several memory games to hone your ability to recognize the Characters, and to think in Chinese, again choosing the interface you’d like.

    Plus! Our Software can be downloaded and used Instantly! No Waiting! Pay, Download, Study. It’s that easy.

  7. Chinese curse words

    So, let me get this straight, you’re comparing a fondness for the study of a language spoken by over a billion people to a fondness for the study of Klingon, a fake language spoken by 20 people? That, sir, is unbelievably capricious of you.

    1. Uhh, actually…

      I was comparing the interest in learning the obscure, fictional Chinese curses used on a short-lived television series to learning a few curses in a fictional language on another television series. So yeah, I stand by what I said as neither impulsive nor irrational. It is the interest in space-drama television minutiae which is the basis for comparison, you sophomoric boob.

      —
      Matthew P. Barnson

    2. re:klingon

      quote (Klingon, a fake language spoken by 20 people?)

      And you sir need to get your head out of your nether regions and learn the extent of the “Klingon language”. 20 people?? 20 thousand plus I dare say.

      Yes.. new comment to post almost a year old.. I’m aware.;

      1. I love it. Given people are

        I love it. Given people are still arguing about all this stuff is a tribute to the popularity of Firefly… and correct Chinese or not it sounds cool

        1. Too it is pleasant to me,

          Too it is pleasant to me, but I will not correct the Chinese language.

          1. Thanks for sharing great

            Thanks for sharing great article mate. I’ve always wondered what crap (or explosive elephant dung) comes out of these people’s mouths. So thank you…

          2. I just happened to watch

            I just happened to watch Firefly on Hulu, so I had no idea of the Chinese background in the exposition of the story. I speak Chinese, of course, and I was so surprised to hear them speaking Chinese — it was a space western! But some of the sentences I couldn’t understand, so yay for you for putting up this site! I love the show, and I love all the mixtures of cultures and traditions

  8. you guys need a Chinese dictionary

    this one, http://www.nciku.com, is excellent, even when you don’t know how to input the Chinese character, you can use its Chinese handwriting recognition feature, cool!

    1. Why do people take this seriously?

      Why on earth do people take this page seriously and solemnly intone “you guys need a Chinese dictionary”? It’s a discussion regarding someone else’s now-defunct web site that purports to translate made-up Chinese curses in an imaginary culture of space-faring cowboys on a short-lived television show…

      —
      Matthew P. Barnson

  9. But made-up ones are easier…

    It’s so much frackin’ easier to simply use all the frelling shul-va nerfherder curse words from everything else (Battlestar Galactica, Babylon 5, Stargate, Star Wars, and most importantly, Farscape) instead of some Mandarin felgercarb. At least, I abso-fraggin-lutely think so.

    1. Why it’s back…

      Wikipedia deleted their list of Firefly curse words, so this page turns up the only link that actually works, and show up near the top of Google.

  10. muchos grassyass

    Yes, I am like you…I’ve been watching firefly DVDs and have been wondering what the epxlicatives uttered are. And while being very fluent in English, Spanish and French cussing, I’ve always wondered what crap (or explosive elephant dung) comes out of these people’s mouths. So thank you…

  11. Yay! Firefly Chinese!

    I know this is a late comment, but I just happened to come across it now. I just happened to watch Firefly on Hulu, so I had no idea of the Chinese background in the exposition of the story. I speak Chinese, of course, and I was so surprised to hear them speaking Chinese — it was a space western! But some of the sentences I couldn’t understand, so yay for you for putting up this site! I love the show, and I love all the mixtures of cultures and traditions. Thank you for clearing up the confusing phrases, and I’m totally with you on the preference to talk about explosive diarrhea of an elephant! Don’t mind the people who get on your case about pinyin. There’s GR, there’s Wade-Giles, and they ARE still used sometimes, even though pinyin’s the official romanization. If you are interested in using pinyin, one way you can designate the tones is to put the number of the tone immediately after the word. For example, my name is Qiang2 (second tone) and Wu3 (third tone). But don’t worry about it. As you say, you’re just clarifying some fun swearing from a great show. Thank you for posting this! I read it with interest. ZQW

    1. Nice visitor

      Nice to have a visitor that understands the point of the blog entry: to have some fun with Firefly’s made-up Chinese swear phrases. I appreciate your note!

      —
      Matthew P. Barnson

  12. Wei!

    Wuh duh ma huh tah duh fong kwong duh wai shung, this is so *shiny*! 😀

  14. Some of the sentences I

    Some of the sentences I couldn’t understand, so thank you for putting up this site! I love the show, and I love all the mixtures of cultures and traditions. Thank you for clearing up the confusing phrases!

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