正太

zhèngtài

noun

Meanings

1 shota; cute young boy
2 Zhengtai, the Shijiazhuang to Taiyuan railway of 1907

Characters

from the name Shōtarō; Zhengding

from the name Shōtarō; Taiyuan

Examples

HSK 4

网友们都说广告里的小男孩是个正太。

Wǎngyǒumen dōu shuō guǎnggào lǐ de xiǎo nánhái shì ge zhèngtài.

Netizens all say the little boy in the ad is a real cutie.

HSK 7-9

京汉、正太两条铁路在石家庄交会。

Jīng-Hàn, Zhèng-Tài liǎng tiáo tiělù zài Shíjiāzhuāng jiāohuì.

The Beijing-Hankou and Zhengtai railways met at Shijiazhuang.

Tips

history

The slang comes from Japanese otaku culture: shota goes back to 正太郎 (Shōtarō), the boy hero of the manga Tetsujin 28-go. The counterpart for girls is 萝莉. In some fan circles it carries a sexual undertone, so use it with care.

history

The railway is named from its two ends, 正定 and 太原. It was planned to start at 正定 but was built from 石家庄, then a village, which grew into a city at the junction.

Stroke Order

正 zhèng

太 tài