# 仙儿



## yuechu

大家好！

I was recently watching a 电视剧 in which someone (a man in this case) is being described as being 仙儿 ("还挺仙儿"). Does anyone know what this word means? The dictionary says "immortal", but in this case, the meaning is different. (unless they are being compared to a 仙人, which is possible!)
In this context, the co-workers are talking to each other and asking what the new client looks like, who just entered into the office.
Thanks!


----------



## Lamb67

仙字的解释---在线新华字典
At ease relaxed light

He is more into the spiritual side of things or simply smart.


----------



## yuechu

OK! Thanks, Lamb67! 
Is this expression usually only used with 儿话音 or is it commonly used without it as well?


----------



## henter

I'd say 挺仙儿 is used to describe a bonny girl in mainland China; some fans of 刘亦菲 just use it to describe her looks.  It can also be used as a female name , say, a Chinese drama "闯关东" has a female character named 仙儿.


----------



## yuechu

Thanks for your reply, Henter! In this case, it was describing a man. Could it also mean that he is handsome? (if for a girl, it means she's pretty?)


----------



## henter

yuechu said:


> Thanks for your reply, Henter! In this case, it was describing a man. Could it also mean that he is handsome? (if for a girl, it means she's pretty?)


I think they are talking about his behavior  or dressing,  not his looks. Translation:  he is a dapper person.  I don't know which Chinese drama you are talking about. Typically, 挺仙儿 is used to describe a pretty girl. You can use either 帅 or 酷 to describe a handsome man; some people also use 拉风 or 很潮 to refer to a fashionista.

  Indeed, I wouldn't be surprised to find  someone using the expression 仙风道骨 to describe an old practitioner of Chinese kungfu if he looks like 张三丰, who's the founder of 武当派.


----------



## T.D

仙 is related to the immortals of Taoism. 神仙、仙人、仙女、etc.  It is also used to describe girls who are heavenly good-looking. Note that 仙 is not sexy. In fact, 仙 cannot be sexy. 

But calling a dude 仙 is just awkward...I don't know if it's a dialectal use.


----------



## henter

T.D said:


> 仙 is related to the immortals of Taoism. 神仙、仙人、仙女、etc.  It is also used to describe girls who are heavenly good-looking. Note that 仙 is not sexy. In fact, 仙 cannot be sexy.
> 
> But calling a dude 仙 is just awkward...I don't know if it's a dialectal use.


这是网络粉丝用语. 非正式用法. 我刚才也发现一个网络新词凡尔赛. 如果不用百度我也不知道啥意思.挺仙儿-据说主要指的是神仙姐姐刘亦菲-也属于这种粉丝词语. 过几年没人用了.


----------



## Oswinw011

yuechu said:


> In this context, the co-workers are talking to each other and asking what the new client looks like, who just entered into the office.


So what does the new client wear? I can't figure out why the word is used here unless the client is wearing hanfu. Even as it's a man who wears hanfu, describing him as 仙儿 is pretty weird to me. I'd say it's a misnomer.


----------



## T.D

henter said:


> 这是网络粉丝用语. 非正式用法. 我刚才也发现一个网络新词凡尔赛. 如果不用百度我也不知道啥意思.挺仙儿-据说主要指的是神仙姐姐刘亦菲-也属于这种粉丝词语. 过几年没人用了.


Yes I can understand calling a girl 仙儿, but OP said it was used to describe a man, which I found weird.


----------



## SimonTsai

It must be a mainland thing although it seems to be gaining popularity here.

And yes, I'd have expected it to be applied to girls. '小龍女' is the first thing that comes to my head.


----------



## yuechu

Oswinw011 said:


> So what does the new client wear?


北上广依然相信爱情，第35集，5.03

It sounds like it is not a common usage for a man. Good to know! I will think of it as an adjective to normally describe girls then!
Thank you all for your replies!


----------



## SuperXW

I found the episode but could not find that sentence.
Anyway, in a drama, it can totally be a joke, a satiric saying or something. You may paste more context for us to understand it.


----------



## yuechu

Oh, sorry! Someone was asking what the guy looked like, and he's the guy at 5 minutes 03 in that episode.

I don't think I'll worry about this expression too much because it doesn't sound like it is that common, right? (especially not to describe guys)


----------



## Oswinw011

yuechu said:


> 北上广依然相信爱情，第35集，5.03
> 
> It sounds like it is not a common usage for a man. Good to know! I will think of it as an adjective to normally describe girls then!
> Thank you all for your replies!


The nosy male co-worker's first instinct is the same as mine: 他穿古装来的? When the person wears Hanfu that provokes the feeling of coming off as an immortal with impeccable, usually white, clothes, and a bearing that makes her unaccessible, 仙儿 could be used. But a fangirl would also use it on a male celebrity in starstruck awe.


----------

