# 吐槽



## Chenwu

Hi Everybody

I really want to know, Chinese people like to say "吐槽" this word, Does everyone know any good translation in English? 

Cheers


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## Odriski

It means “complain”


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## SuperXW

Yes. It is that simple.
Try to remember, when you didn't have the saying of 吐槽, and when you wrote an article, you'd always use 抱怨.


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## Loafaway

Here in Taiwan, it can also mean (in decreasing seriousness) "to rebuke someone", "to give someone hard times", or "to embarrass someone in a light way".


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## xiaolijie

SuperXW said:


> Yes. It is that simple.
> Try to remember, when you didn't have the saying of 吐槽, and when you wrote an article, you'd always use 抱怨.


Do you mean the word is too informal to be use in writing? The following sentence seems ok to me even in writing:
想到这，我不得不吐槽我自己。

(My question is just a question and not for contradicting what is said, 请多多指教！)


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## SuperXW

xiaolijie said:


> Do you mean the word is too informal to be use in writing? The following sentence seems ok to me even in writing:
> 想到这，我不得不吐槽我自己。


你太前卫了。我觉得直至今日，词典们也是不会收这个词的……而且要是给我父母看，他们恐怕都不知道什么意思……


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## YangMuye

吐槽一下：难道是我“宅”得太久了吗？我至今都不知道“吐槽”原来是抱怨的意思。

百度百科


> “吐槽”一词，来源于日本漫才（类似于中国的相声）里的“ツッコミ”，是指从对方的语言或行为中找到一个漏洞或关键词作为切入点，发出带有调侃意味的感慨或疑问，普通话里相当于相声的“捧哏”，后来延伸成为御宅族次文化常用的词汇之一。
> [...]
> 在网络上，吐槽多表示揶揄，拆台,但是最重要的是，吐槽与抱怨发泄、喷人、点评、评价没有关系。网络上很多人误解了吐槽的真正含义，建议大家最好多看些吐槽教学或神作，对吐槽有所了解后再去吐槽。


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## SuperXW

YangMuye said:


> 吐槽一下：难道是我“宅”得太久了吗？我至今都不知道“吐槽”原来是抱怨的意思。
> 
> 百度百科


我也看过这个来源，但据我所见，现在最常用的是「抱怨」的意思。至于其他的含义乃至文化背景，可能由于太复杂，所以并没流行起来……


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## Loafaway

Hi YangMuye,

別忘了「以訛傳訛」也算是語言不斷「成長」的一部分。

Atom (same day)


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## jamiefkw

SuperXW said:


> 我也看过这个来源，但据我所见，现在最常用的是「抱怨」的意思。至于其他的含义乃至文化背景，可能由于太复杂，所以并没流行起来……



I'm with YangMuye here.
It's funny that I've never used 吐槽 to mean "complain", I only use it to mean "ツッコミ"。

For example on a variety show on TV,
Artist A moves his limbs in a funny way and says:  I can tell China will win the next World Cup Champions~~~ 我预测到中国会赢下届世界杯冠军～～
Artist B says: You are Paul the Octopus?! 你是章鱼保罗？！

In this example, I'd say what Artist B does is 吐槽。He's not really complaining, he's just 调侃 or 揶揄 in order to make fun.


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## SuperXW

jamiefkw said:


> I'm with YangMuye here.
> It's funny that I've never used 吐槽 to mean "complain", I only use it to mean "ツッコミ"。
> 
> For example on a variety show on TV,
> Artist A moves his limbs in a funny way and says:  I can tell China will win the next World Cup Champions~~~ 我预测到中国会赢下届世界杯冠军～～
> Artist B says: You are Paul the Octopus?! 你是章鱼保罗？！
> 
> In this example, I'd say what Artist B does is 吐槽。He's not really complaining, he's just 调侃 or 揶揄 in order to make fun.


Agreed.
The word indeed has several possible meanings in current Chinese usages, with "complain" being the major one, along with other meanings such as 調侃, 揶揄 etc.
Me, and many people never seemed to support to formalize this word, the main reason is, its meaning is not fixed. It's too vague. And its Japanese origin won't please some Chinese. And the Japanese usage is too hard to explain.


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## effixu

xiaolijie said:


> Do you mean the word is too informal to be use in writing? The following sentence seems ok to me even in writing:
> 想到这，我不得不吐槽我自己。
> 
> (My question is just a question and not for contradicting what is said, 请多多指教！)



Hi...this word is fairly new and only became popular roughly since 2006, if not later... and I don't suggest you use it in any formal way.

Plus, no one ever use it on themselves... it doesn't always have to be about something... could be general bi*ching in a humorous way...


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## miltonese

i feel like 吐槽 can also have the meaning of 贬低 ...  
so i would like to use disparage : to describe (someone or something) as unimportant, weak, bad, etc.


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## Rethliopuks

吐槽 is actually not complaining...To me it stands for a meaning of "to make comments that are sort of revealing one's thought, in some special (perhaps somehow humorous/not serious?) senses/manners/intentions, from a rather uninvolved perspective, often debunking to some extent or in some aspects", so if I say 学校的楼梯被消防局吐槽过很多回了, I am describing it like such: 
(waking past stairs that are rather narrow) 
School: How do you think of our stairs? Aren't they good? (expectative)
Station: Shouldn't they be wider? You have a thousand students./ Um, actually not, as you have a thousand students, so you should really make them  wider.
or:
Station: Woah, yeah, the stairs are really *sufficient*, aren't they? / Yes, obviously *sufficient* for any emergency cases. *Excellent*! / (silently but obviously eyes at the width of the stair, with an I-don't-think-so expression and probably rolls his/her eye)
_(*the last case is also described 默默(地)吐槽)_
but not:
Station: Dear xx School: We are very concerned that your stairs are unsatisfactory for emergency cases and you are hereby required to improve the situation in xx days or you will be fined xxxx.... (forgive me if the sentence sounds strange)
or:
-Station: (scolding) How can you make the stairs so narrow! Have you NOT realized that you have a thousands of students and awful danger may occur in emergencies? You MUST make it wider!
Even though the actual case may very likely be the latter ones...I'm just creating such feelings by using 吐槽.
PS: 吐槽 is really *not* advising(建议, 提议, etc.) though sometimes you 吐槽 by making advices/suggestions, and though it sometimes can be in the form of sarcasm, it is *not* sarcasm(嘲讽,挖苦, etc.) either. You 吐槽 in order to reveal a(n) opinion/thought/fact that concerns something and you feel you want to reveal it.


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## yuechu

I just came across this word, which was part of the title of a Youtube video.
Is it usually pronounced tùcáo or tǔcáo? (Is one considered more correct than the other?)

Thanks!


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## Jack12345

吐槽，tu3cao2,
这个是百度的解释。吐槽_百度百科
吐tu3，有表达的意思。

不过在口语中，好像没有严格划分。这两种读法都有。
有个节目叫，吐槽大会。感觉应该是tu3，但我听见有读为tu4的。
如果读为吐tu4槽，就是向食槽呕吐，可以指有大量的话或事要倾泄出来。好像也可以说得通。
比如，北京有个说单口的，有个节目就是调侃各种吐槽的，他说的就是“吐槽，吐槽，吐槽...”tu4.


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## SimonTsai

I pronounce it with the fourth tone. (Think of '吐口水', '吐痰', etc.)


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## yong321

People from Beijing, and probably other northern regions of China, often pronounce it tu4. Southerners pronounce it tu3. Not sure which one is better. Dictionaries have not caught up.


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## albert_laosong

yes, tu3 and tu4 should both be okay, I'm from the north, but I prefer tu3, I think it might be related to personal preference. 
the reason they are both ok is because, I think, that tu3 and tu4 can both mean spit, vomit etc. for example 吐痰，吐口水 can be either tu3 or tu2. 
呕吐 can only be tu4, but 吐了 where 吐 also means vomiting is either tu3 or tu4.


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## Messquito

I’m from Taiwan and as far as I’m aware, we all put 吐 here in the fourth tone.


Rethliopuks said:


> 吐槽 is actually not complaining...To me it stands for a meaning of "to make comments that are sort of revealing one's thought, in some special (perhaps somehow humorous/not serious?) senses/manners/intentions, from a rather *uninvolved perspective*,......



Uninvolved! That’s the word I’ve been looking for!
For me, the difference between 抱怨 and 吐槽 is that when you 抱怨 about a bad quality, it often means you are *personally affected* by it. When you 吐槽,  it gives an impression that you are *personally uninvolved* and that you are just *making a comment* about it.
In that spirit, “I’m not complaining, just commenting.” could possibly be translated to 「我沒在抱怨，只是吐槽。」  colloquially. (the operative word being “possibly“ and “colloquially”)

Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a  translation in English that could fit in all situations for this word. They often seem to lack certain shades of meaning that 吐槽 conveys. You are going to have to wing it as you go.

In the example above, “comment” is different from 吐槽 in that it’s not necessarily *negative*, (吐槽 is always negative, but often just slightly so), but since it’s already implied in the context, that translation is fine.
(Judge (if verbally and critically), roast (if lightheartedly and not too insulting), criticize (if not too harsh), mock, bust on, skewer, pick on, etc. are among some words that can be translations of 吐槽 if certain context is there.)

However, if zero context is given, as in “他很喜歡吐槽”, (edited) I wonder what word could be proposed as a safe bet. (Maybe “pick flaws”?)


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## Skatinginbc

「吐嘈」(黜臭) 是自主的意識動作,  還是不自主的反射動作?
吐 *tǔ* (自主、意識動作)： spit out
吐 *tù* (不自主、反射動作)： throw up


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## Messquito

黜臭 - 臺語萌典

Considering it’s originally from Taiwanese Hokkien (not sure if it exists in other varieties, though), the way most Taiwanese pronounce 吐 in the falling (fourth) tone makes sense because it goes more in line with the way it’s pronounced in Taiwanese Hokkien. (Check out the link above for the audio)

In other parts of the Chinese speaking world, where people might learn this word from reading it, that rule about 吐 might be more relevant.


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## SimonTsai

Skatinginbc said:


> 吐 *tǔ* ([...] 意識動作) ... 吐 *tù* ([...] 反射動作)


'吐 (tu4) 口水' and '吐 (tu3) 口水' are both possible and both may be intentional; the difference is that, with the fourth tone, which is pronounced more forcefully, the former refers to the act of ejecting saliva. Think of '我呸'.


xiaolijie said:


> 想到这，我不得不吐槽我自己。


Your sentence is okay, I would say, and you are right to think that it is possible not only in speech but in writing, e.g., personal blog posts and messages to friends or someone that you try getting close to.


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## Skatinginbc

Messquito said:


> the way most Taiwanese pronounce 吐 in the falling (fourth) tone makes sense because it goes more in line with the way it’s pronounced in Taiwanese Hokkien.


「吐嘈」、「吐槽」顯然不是純音譯 (如：「恰北北」), 也不是半音半義 (如：「趴趴走」), 而是音義兼譯 (如：「櫻櫻美代子」, 閒閒沒事做的意思)。音義兼譯的話, 發音根據義。

尿床： (不能自控地) 尿在床上。
吐4槽： (不能自控地) 吐4在糧槽 (類似「飯碗」的概念) 裡。
吐3嘈：吐露心嘈 (e.g., 發牢騷) or 亂吐胡嘈 (e.g.,  胡扯瞎掰)。


SimonTsai said:


> '吐 (tu4) 口水' and '吐 (tu3) 口水' are both possible and both may be intentional; the difference is that, with the fourth tone, which is pronounced more forcefully, the former refers to the act of ejecting saliva. Think of '我呸'.


沒完全看懂。你是不是說你習慣這樣讀 ：「看他不爽, 對他吐 (tu4) 口水」, 「不講衛生, 隨地吐 (tu3) 口水」? 你習慣「向他吐 (tu4) 苦水」嗎?


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## SimonTsai

「吐」字讀作四聲，給人猛然、強烈等印象。看誰不順眼，對他吐口水，口水自嘴中噴出；「噴」字隱含力道。「吐」字在「吐口水」，通常讀作四聲，但作三聲讀亦可能：寒冬嘴脣乾皺，吐出一點兒口水，用口水滋潤嘴脣。

作三聲讀時，「吐」意即「吐露」。「吐」字在「吐苦水」，作三聲或四聲讀，端視語境。下班後，一群穿西裝或襯衫的男女，到居酒屋，坐定，先是如怨如訴⁠-—-此時作三聲讀-—-說自己如何被上司刁難，如何孤獨、無助；而後幾杯黃湯下肚，越說越氣憤，罵上司不是人、是畜牲-—-此時或可作四聲讀。

「吐」字在「吐槽」-—-我從未見過「吐嘈」-—-私以為讀作四聲，蓋「吐槽」一詞雖源自於日語，或可就字面解讀為將口水或痰吐在溝槽；吐槽與吐口水或吐痰有些相像。


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## Messquito

很高興找到這個貼文串，以前從來沒想過這個問題。

我的想法是，吐嘈畢竟是娛樂文化的產物，非正式用語，所以通常是聽到什麼就說出什麼，不一定照著規則走，通常習慣會是一個很大的因素。

再者，從中文的語料中並無法看出字的讀音，學者在編纂字典的時候可能也都是根據自己的經驗及判斷來定義的，這些定義可能因人而異，也可能忽略地區差異。例如同樣是不自願，有人會被「揍到吐tù血」有人會被「揍到口吐tǔ白沫」，如果以這兩個例子來講，「強烈度」的說法也挺有說服力。


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