非主流

fēizhǔliú

adjective

Meanings

1 non-mainstream
2 alternative
3 the late-2000s Chinese youth style of emo hair, heavy makeup and edited selfies
4 a young person who follows that style

Characters

current; stream

Examples

HSK 3

他喜欢听非主流音乐。

Tā xǐhuan tīng fēizhǔliú yīnyuè.

He likes listening to alternative music.

HSK 4

我上中学的时候也当过非主流。

Wǒ shàng zhōngxué de shíhou yě dāng guo fēizhǔliú.

I went through a "non-mainstream" phase myself in middle school.

Tips

usage

非主流 is the opposite of 主流 'mainstream': 非主流音乐 is 'alternative music'. Used as a noun, it means the youth style of the late 2000s or someone who followed it.

culture

Around 2008 the 非主流 look filled QQ Zone: side-swept bangs covering one eye, big eyes, heavy filters and captions in jumbled characters. Its louder cousin was 杀马特, from English 'smart'. Today calling an old photo 非主流 is gentle teasing.

Stroke Order

非 fēi

主 zhǔ

流 liú