杀马特

殺馬特

shāmǎtè

noun

Meanings

1 Shamate, a Chinese youth subculture of spiky dyed hair and heavy make-up
2 tacky; over-the-top

Characters

sound of "-ar-"

Examples

HSK 6

她今天的打扮有点杀马特，头发染了五种颜色。

Tā jīntiān de dǎban yǒudiǎn shāmǎtè, tóufa rǎn le wǔ zhǒng yánsè.

Her look today is a bit Shamate: her hair is dyed five colors.

HSK 7-9

他年轻时留过杀马特发型。

Tā niánqīng shí liú guo shāmǎtè fàxíng.

When he was young he wore his hair Shamate-style.

Tips

culture

The style peaked around 2008 to 2013 among teenage migrant workers in factory towns, who shared photos of their towering dyed hair online. The name transliterates English "smart". Widely mocked at the time, today it is shorthand for anything tacky and loud.

In Pop Culture

杀马特我爱你 Shāmǎtè wǒ ài nǐ

We Were Smart

2019 documentary by Li Yifan about the factory workers behind the style, told largely through their own phone videos.

Stroke Order

杀 shā

马 mǎ

特 tè