漫改 [màn gǎi] and 國漫 [guó màn]

漫改 [màn gǎi] n. Short for 漫畫改編 [màn huà gǎi biān] “adapted from comics / manga.”

國漫 [guó màn] n. 國産漫畫 [guó chǎn màn huà] “domestic comics.”

These two words showed up a lot these days because of the domestic comics-adapted animated movie “Ne Zha” broke the box office record by pulling in over 700 million RMB within the first week of release.

上頭姐妹 [shàng tóu jiě mèi ] and 甜寵 [tián chǒng]

Go Go Squid!

上頭姐妹 [shàng tóu jiě mèi ] n. Intoxicated sisters.

上頭 [shàng tóu] means “(of alcohol) to go to one’s head.” Intoxicated sisters refer to female fans who are so psyched about the sweet romantic scenes in Internet novels, idol dramas and online photos that they simply go bananas!

This slang term is made popular by the TV drama Go Go Squid! which took the country by storm in the summer of 2019. I gave up on the drama after watching a few video clips, because Li Xian’s character Han Shangyan has an annoying poker face and is too dominant in the relationship.

Go Go Squid! is one of those popular 甜寵 [tián chǒng] “sweet and pampering” idol dramas which are replete with sweet romantic scenes where the male lead would do anything for the female lead.

追星 [zhuī xīng]

Source

追星 [zhuī xīng] v. To chase stars. To be a fan.

I’m not blindly “chasing stars”; I am bravely managing my romantic relationships. #the real reason for fangirling / fanboying# 

A tongue-in-cheek love manifesto I saw on Weibo. Some fans are so invested in fangirling / fanboying that they are no longer interested in dating IRL, hence the quip that “most star-chasing dogs are single dogs.”

As for stans who just joke about being “in love” with their idols, claiming certain celebrities as the men or women of their dreams helps them withstand the societal pressure to date or marry.