Contents
- Types of Internet People
- Famous Computer / Internet People
- Internet sites
- Things to Do and Types of Sites
- Internet “Verbs”
- Computer Hardware
- Computer Hardware Accessories
- Mobile Computer Hardware
- Mobile Devices
- Mobile Device Related
- iPhone
- Browser Interface Terms
- Technical Internet Terms
- And One More Thing...
140+ Technical Terms in Chinese to Sound Like a Tech-savvy Native Speaker
Do you know how to say “tweet,” “email” or “blogger” in Chinese? How about the Chinese counterparts of YouTube, Google and Facebook?
Once I reached a certain level of Chinese—enough to have general conversations with native speakers—I found myself unexpectedly searching for all kinds of social media and technology terms to get my point across.
Take a look at my list of over 140 technical terms in Chinese so you already have these words up your sleeve.
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
Types of Internet People
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| Blogger | 博主 | bó zhŭ |
| Male tech geek who stays home all the time | 宅男 | zhái nán |
| Female tech geek who stays home all the time | 宅女 | zhái nǚ |
| Internet friend | 网友 | wǎng yǒu |
| Netizen | 网络公民 | wăng luò gōng mín |
| Human flesh search engine (not a person but the phenomenon) | 人肉搜索 | rén ròu sōu suŏ |
| Hacker | 黑客 | hēi kè |
| Venture capital (not a person, but venture capital itself) | 风险投资 | fēng xiǎn tóu zī |
| User | 用户 | yòng hù |
| Administrator | 管理员 | guăn lĭ yuán |
| Moderator | 版主 | bǎn zhǔ |
| Programmer | 程序设计师 | chéng xù shè jì shī |
| Computer programming (the activity not the person) | 电脑编程 | diàn năo biān chéng |
| Developer | 开发人员 | kāi fā rén yuán |
Famous Computer / Internet People
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| Alibaba founder | 马云 | mă yún |
| Baidu (China’s most populous search engine) founder | 李彦红 | lĭ yàn hóng |
| Former Microsoft and Google China CEO | 李开复 | lĭ kāi fù |
| Foxconn CEO | 郭台铭 | guō tái míng |
| Lenovo founder | 柳传志 | liŭ chuán zhì |
| Tencent CEO | 马化腾 | mǎ huà téng |
Internet sites
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| The internet | 互联网 | hù lián wăng |
| Baidu (Chinese Google - most popular search engine) | 百度 | băi dù |
| Sina (Chinese Yahoo) | 新浪网 | xīn làng wǎng |
| 谷歌 | gǔ gē | |
| Kaixinwang (social networking site, mainly for professionals) | 开心网 | kāi xīn wăng |
| Renrenwang (social networking site, mainly for students) | 人人网 | rén rén wǎng |
| Weibo (means "microblogging" and is like Chinese Twitter) | 微博 | wēi bó |
| Youku (Chinese Youtube) | 优酷 | yōu kù |
| QQ (Chinese instant messaging program) | ||
| Taobao (Chinese eBay - site for online shopping) | 淘宝 | táo băo |
| Search engine | 搜索引擎 | sōu suŏ yĭn qíng |
Things to Do and Types of Sites
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| Social network | 社交网络 | shè jiāo wăng luò |
| E-commerce | 电子商务 | diàn zĭ shāng wù |
| Podcast | 播客 | bō kè |
| Blog | 博客 | bó kè |
| Webpage | 网页 | wăng yè |
| Chartroom | 聊天室 | liáo tiān shì |
| Internet cafe | 网吧 | wăng bā |
| BBS | 论坛 | lùn tán |
| Computer game | 电脑游戏 | diàn năo yóu xì |
| Video game | 电玩 | diàn wán |
| Internet game | 网游（网络游戏） | wǎng yóu |
| Internet shopping | 网购（网上购物） | wǎng gòu |
Internet “Verbs”
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| Tweet (from Weibo, China's Twitter) | 发微博 | fā wēi bó |
| A post (on a blog) | 帖子 | tiě zi |
| Online | 上线 | shàng xiàn |
| Offline | 离线 | lí xiàn |
| Comment | 评论 | píng lùn |
| Reply | 回复 | huí fù |
| Accept | 接收 | jiē shōu |
| Decline | 拒绝 | jù jué |
| Register | 注册 | zhù cè |
| Login /sign in | 登录 | dēng lù |
| Download | 下载 | xià zăi |
| Upload | 上传 | shàng chuán |
| Click | 点击 | diăn jī |
| Double-click | 双击 | shuāng jī |
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| Inbox | 邮箱 | yóu xiāng |
| An email | 邮件 | yóu jiàn |
| To send an email | 发邮件 | fā yóu jiàn |
| To forward | 转发 | zhuǎn fā |
| To CC | 抄送 | chāo sòng |
| Spam | 垃圾邮件 | lā jī yóu jiàn |
| File | 文件 | wén jiàn |
| Document | 文件 | wén jiàn |
| Access | 接入 | jiē rù |
| Attachment | 附件 | fù jiàn |
| Chart | 表格 | biăo gé |
| Virus | 病毒 | bìng dú |
Computer Hardware
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware | 硬件 | yìng jiàn |
| Computer | 电脑 | diàn năo |
| Screen | 屏幕 | píng mù |
| Keyboard | 键盘 | jiàn pán |
| Key (on a keyboard) | 键 | jiàn |
| Desktop computer | 台式机 | tái shì jī |
| Mouse | 鼠标 | shŭ biāo |
| Monitor | 显示器 | xiǎn shì qì |
| CPU | CPU | |
| Design | 设计 | shè jì |
Computer Hardware Accessories
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| Software | 软件 | ruăn jiàn |
| Speakers | 音响 | yīn xiăng |
| Microphone | 话筒 | huà tŏng |
| AC adapter | AC适配器 | AC shì pèi qì |
| Disc | 碟 | dié |
| Printer | 打印机 | dă yìn jī |
| Button | 按钮 | àn niǔ |
| Fax | 传真 | chuán zhēn |
| Scanner | 扫描仪 | săo miáo yí |
| External hard drive | 移动硬盘 | yí dòng yìng pán |
| USB drive | U盘 | U pán |
Mobile Computer Hardware
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| Laptop | 笔记本 | bǐ jì běn |
| Touchpad | 触摸板 | chù mō băn |
| USB Interfaces | USB接口 | USB jiē kǒu |
Mobile Devices
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile device | 移动设备 | yí dòng shè bèi |
| Device | 设备 | shè bèi |
| Smartphone | 智能手机 | zhì néng shŏu jī |
| Touchscreen | 触摸屏 | chù mō píng |
| Camera | 摄像头 | shè xiàng tóu |
| Earphones | 耳机 | ěr jī |
| Headphones | 头戴式耳机 | tóu dài shì ěr jī |
| Battery | 电池 | diàn chí |
| Charger | 充电器 | chōng diàn qì |
| Data cable | 数据线 | shù jù xiàn |
| Memory card | 存储卡 | cún chŭ kă |
| Slots | 插槽 | chā cáo |
Mobile Device Related
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| Text message | 短信 | duǎn xìn |
| To send a text message | 发短信 | fā duǎn xìn |
| Signal | 信号 | xìn hào |
| Power | 电源 | diàn yuán |
| Wireless | 无线 | wú xiàn |
| Data | 数据 | shù jù |
| WiFi | 无线局域网 | wú xiàn jú yù wăng |
| Bluetooth | 蓝牙 | lán yá |
iPhone
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| Swipe (on a iphone) | 滑动 | huá dòng |
| iPhone app | iPhone 应用程序 | iPhone yìng yòng chéng xù |
| iPhone app (another way to say it) | iPhone 应用软件 | iPhone yìng yòng ruǎn jiàn |
| App store | 应用商店 | yìng yòng shāng diàn |
| Apple store | 苹果零售店 | píng guŏ líng shòu diàn |
| Case | 保护壳 | băo hù ké |
| Unlock | 解锁 | jiě suǒ |
Browser Interface Terms
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| Desktop | 桌面 | zhuō miàn |
| Homepage | 主页 | zhŭ yè |
| Menu bar | 菜单栏 | cài dān lán |
| Link | 链接 | liàn jiē |
| Internet address | 网址 | wăng zhĭ |
| Address | 地址 | dì zhĭ |
| Bookmark | 书签 | shū qiān |
| Keyword | 关键字 | guān jiàn zì |
| Pixel | 像素 | xiàng sù |
| Bookmark | 收藏夹 | shōu cáng jiā |
| Backup | 备份 | bèi fèn |
| Image | 图片 | tú piàn |
| Video | 视频 | shì pín |
Technical Internet Terms
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| System | 系统 | xì tŏng |
| Network | 网络 | wăng luò |
| Firewall | 防火墙 | fáng huŏ qiáng |
| Cloud computing | 云计算 | yún jì suàn |
| Digital | 数码的 | shù mă de |
| Broadband | 宽带 | kuān dài |
| Memory | 内存 | nèi cún |
| Meg (short for megabyte) | 兆 (short for 兆字节 ) | zhào (short for zhào zì jié) |
| Gig (short for gigabyte) | 千 (short for 千兆字节 ) | qiān (short for qiān zhào zì jié) |
I hope you find these technical terms in Chinese helpful when you need vocabulary words for computers, the Internet, social media and the like!
Practice them on your own by creating sentences or journal entries, and immerse yourself in authentic Chinese media, like the videos on FluentU.
FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.
You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.
P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)
The videos on FluentU let you hover over words in the subtitles you don’t know so you can learn them in context. This is especially helpful for learning Internet slang and other niche technology terms.
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
And One More Thing...
If you want to continue learning Chinese with interactive and authentic Chinese content, then you'll love FluentU.
FluentU naturally eases you into learning Chinese language. Native Chinese content comes within reach, and you'll learn Chinese as it's spoken in real life.
FluentU has a wide range of contemporary videos—like dramas, TV shows, commercials and music videos.
FluentU brings these native Chinese videos within reach via interactive captions. You can tap on any word to instantly look it up. All words have carefully written definitions and examples that will help you understand how a word is used. Tap to add words you'd like to review to a vocab list.
FluentU's Learn Mode turns every video into a language learning lesson. You can always swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you're learning.
The best part is that FluentU always keeps track of your vocabulary. It customizes quizzes to focus on areas that need attention and reminds you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned. You have a 100% personalized experience.
Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)
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