山寨

shānzhài

noun HSK 7-9 #30,176

Meanings

1 mountain stronghold; fortified village
2 knockoff; counterfeit; copycat

Characters

stockade; camp; stronghold

Originally 'mountain fortress' - bandits operated outside the system, hence the modern meaning of 'knockoff' products made outside official channels.

Examples

HSK 4

山寨产品虽然便宜，但质量差。

Shānzhài chǎnpǐn suīrán piányi, dàn zhìliàng chà.

Knockoff products are cheap, but the quality is poor.

HSK 5

这个手机是山寨的，不是正品。

Zhège shǒujī shì shānzhài de, búshì zhèngpǐn.

This phone is a knockoff, not genuine.

Tips

culture

山寨文化 became a buzzword around 2008 when cheap copycat phones flooded the market. The term expanded beyond products - 山寨春晚 was an unofficial copycat of CCTV's New Year's Gala, and 山寨明星 means a celebrity lookalike.

Stroke Order

山 shān

寨 zhài