2014-11-07

Popular Chinese Word – Naked Wedding

Literally, 裸婚luo3 hun1(go to pinyin pronunciation guide) it means “naked marriage”. “Naked” as it is, it has nothing to do with porn. “裸婚” refers to marriage without houses, cars, and wedding ceremonies. This is one of the many popular Internet words that we can learn from online Chinese lessons.
As the young people face more and more economic pressure and stress more and more on the freedom and independence of marriage, wedding ceremonies are no longer regarded as important to some people. So, “naked wedding” has become a popular way of getting married.

Chinese people used to (and many still do) think that when people are going to marry, they should at least have a car and a house or apartment. But now it is becoming more and more difficult due to inflation and rising property prices in China. More young people are starting to believe the idea behind getting married should be for love, not for money. Therefore, 裸婚 has become a more popular and realistic option in China.
A good example is the huge success of a Chinese TV drama called 《裸婚时代》- the times of naked wedding. It depicts a story between a young couple, who decided to get married despite the fact they have nothing but love. Their marriage went through happiness and bitterness and finally comes to an end. The story shows the power of love and at the same time the cruelty of the reality. 

So, what does 裸婚 mean? It means you don’t have to spend much money to get married – no honey moon, no house, no cars, no rings, no ceremonies, no meals, just 9 yuan for the registration fee. It definitely need your courage and dare.


The Chinese character  (bei) is used in a passive voice to show that “something is done by something else.” In this case, we can also say “他们被结婚”, which means “They are forced to get married.” In China, people are forced to do all sorts of things. For example, young people have to listen to their parents to get married before 30 or marry to someone their parents are happy with. If it comes to you, will you accept “被结婚”?

No comments:

Post a Comment