# Nerd



## macdevster

Hi all!  I'm looking for a word that is similar to the word "nerd" in English. A word that means someone is bookish, studious, but can be used in a positive, "cool" way as well. I found this word:  书呆子

Does that work?  Unfortunately, I have no background in Mandarin. 

Thanks in advance!


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## retrogradedwithwind

书痴吧


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## macdevster

I'm so sorry for my ignorance. Is that a suggestion for a different word to use?  Or a general reply?  I have no background in Mandarin, I'm sorry.


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## retrogradedwithwind

Sorry buddy it's my mistake. I just recommended a Chinese word 书痴 to render nerd. But of course more context would help with a more appropriate translation.


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## macdevster

Not a lot of context to offer. We're designing a high school language department t-shirt with the word "nerd" on it in many different foreign languages. Thereby making it a shirt for "language nerds."  Corny, I know, but we're a corny department.


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## retrogradedwithwind

Well I know what you want. Is there a Chinese student in your department? I don't think there is a Chinese word that is identical to the English word nerd. Maybe 学霸 could be another option too.

学霸
学霸 is a new Internet slang that means the students who could get exceedingly high scores in every exams and would never be caught up with. This word is both positive and negative.


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## Ghabi

macdevster said:


> Not a lot of context to offer. We're designing a high school language department t-shirt with the word "nerd" on it in many different foreign languages. Thereby making it a shirt for "language nerds."


It's a lot. Indeed it makes a world of difference, and it's bemusing that a language department, of all departments, would attach so little importance to context. 

For "language nerd", one may say 语言控 (控 being a transliteration of Japanese コン, a shortened form of コンプレックス, which is itself a transliteration of German _Komplex_), someone obsessed with the study of languages.


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## macdevster

Thanks, although we decided to stick with just the word "nerd" (without the word for "language") so that the idea of "language nerd" comes through without having to say it directly.


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## Skatinginbc

书痴 (traditional characters: 書癡) sounds good to me.  


macdevster said:


> A word that means someone is bookish, studious, but can be used in a positive, "cool" way as well. I found this word:  书呆子





macdevster said:


> We're designing a high school language department t-shirt with the word "nerd" on it in many different foreign languages.


Don't use 书呆子.  It is never positive.  And it looks terribly stupid to wear a t-shirt that writes 书呆子 on it.  Trust me.  It looks very STUPID (呆).  Whoever wears that t-shirt would become a laughing stock of Chinese speakers because it ironically reflects the stupidity of their book learning--They found the expression 书呆子 from a book or a written source and yet failed to grasp its pragmatic functions, that is, how to apply that knowledge to the real world.  They would be seen as true 呆子, not cool at all.


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## brofeelgood

My vote also goes to 书痴. It can be understood to mean "a book junkie/addict".


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## SuperXW

Considering the variety of the modern "nerds", such as characters depicted in the drama "The Big Bang Theory", I feel 书痴"book nerd" cannot represent all the features of modern nerds. 
There isn't a Chinese word which can fully convey the comprehensive meaning of the English word, because today, many nerds spend lots of time on Internet, watch movies and comics, play video games, study new technologies, and do some other stuffs. 
书痴 in Chinese sounds more traditional. A 书痴 may not be interested in new trends at all. Therefor, we need to consider different terms to describe different types of "nerds".


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## Harden.Jiang

书痴： literary but outdated
学霸： fashion but not very qualified ( I like this)
书呆子：self-mockery（why not）


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## kareno999

书痴? Never heard anyone say it in my entire life. Might have read it once or twice.
书呆子 is closer to the connotation of "nerd" which is unfortunately negative. 学霸 is a quite positive and uniquely Chinese way of referring to the same group of people. We should all use that.


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