谷子

穀子
gǔzi
noun #33,370

Meanings

  1. 1 (slang) anime / ACG character merchandise; collectible goods such as badges, acrylic stands, plushies
  2. 2 (original sense) millet; unhusked grain

Examples

Wǒ zuótiān yòu mǎi le yì duī gǔzi.
I bought another pile of anime merch yesterday.
Zhè jiā diàn shì Shànghǎi zuì dà de gǔzi diàn.
This is Shanghai's biggest anime-merch shop.
Nóngmín jīnnián qiūtiān shōu le hěn duō gǔzi.
The farmers harvested a lot of millet this autumn.

Tips

memory
The slang sense is a phonetic loan from English 'goods,' routed through Japanese otaku slang グッズ (guzzu). Chinese fans heard it and picked 谷子 as the closest-sounding characters—completely unrelated to 'millet.' Treat the two meanings as homographs: context tells you instantly which one is meant.
culture
The ACG sense exploded in 2024–2025 as Bilibili fandom malls opened in tier-one cities and 'goods stores' (谷子) popped up near universities. Derived vocab: (to buy merch), (to sell off merch), (the merch scene), (a bag pinned with many 谷子). Named a 2025 Top 10 buzzword by 《咬文嚼字》.

Stroke Order