行语

行語

hángyǔ

noun

Meanings

1 jargon
2 trade slang
3 in-group lingo; argot

Characters

trade; profession

speech; language

Examples

HSK 6

古玩界有不少行语，比如“打眼”就是指看走眼买到假货。

Gǔwán jiè yǒu bùshǎo hángyǔ, bǐrú " dǎyǎn " jiùshì zhǐ kànzǒuyǎn mǎi dào jiǎhuò.

The antiques world has plenty of trade slang - for example, dǎyǎn means "to misjudge and buy a fake".

HSK 7-9

外行人听不懂他们的行语。

Wàiháng rén tīngbùdǒng tāmen de hángyǔ.

Outsiders can't understand their trade jargon.

Tips

mistakes

Pronounced háng (trade/profession), not xíng. The 行 = háng reading is the one in 行业 (industry), 银行 (bank), 内行 (insider). Same character, different sense and tone.

register

Closely related: 行话 (hánghuà, same meaning, more common today). 行语 leans literary; 黑话 (hēihuà) implies criminal underworld slang specifically.

Stroke Order

行 xíng

语 yǔ