Time for Western nicknames like Brit and JT for Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake to make way for Chinese monikers like “Queen of Starbucks” and “J Boss”.
Thanks to creative fans on social media, Western celebrities have been gifted with a number of nicknames, like Yeezy for Kanye West or T-Swizzle for Taylor Swift. That’s not even getting into all the crazy name combinations for celebrities who decide to hook up or everyone’s favorite fictional OTP (one true pairing).
Naturally, though, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that other countries have their own famous celeb nicknames, and you’d be hard pressed to find any funnier than the Chinese ones below.
This video is courtesy of Dan and Mike Chen from the YouTube channel Double Chen, and here are a few of our favorites off the list:
Nicki Minaj = Spicy Chicken
This nickname isn’t due to her hot videos or some of the heated debates she’s gotten into with other celebrities. Instead, it turns out “Minaj” just happens to sound like “numbingly spicy chicken”, or “ma la ji”, in Chinese. And as for the Nicki Minaj vs. Iggy Azalea debate, as one commenter under the video pointed out, in the eyes of Chinese netizens, it looks like Minaj comes out on top, seeing as Azalea’s nickname is just “one chicken”.
Rihanna = Queen of Shandong Province
Chinese listeners claim they can hear mention of Shangdong cities not only in the title “We Found Love” (Weifang), but in other hits by this singer as well, earning her this silly title.
Taylor Swift = Unlucky (Bus)
Apparently on top of all her busload of bad breakups, Swift initially had trouble topping the charts in China, giving her this unfortunate moniker.
One Direction = Little Broken/Crappy Team
It seems like this nickname was coined well before Zayn left 1D to persue a solo career, making it all the more hilarious. It also doubles in meaning as a “group of young teens”, according to a comment left under the video.
The Weeknd = Bonsai Bro
No doubt Abel Tesafaye, the singer who goes by the stage name The Weeknd, has gotten a lot of attention for his interesting hairstyle, which quickly became his defining quality in China, earning him just as much fame as his recent chart-topping hits.
Benedict Cumberbatch = Curly Sherlock
Although the second character in this popular celeb’s nickname literally translates as “blessing”, as pointed out in the video comments, it’s taken from the Chinese title for Sherlock Holmes (“Fuermosi”). Chinese speakers tend to denote which version of Sherlock they’re talking about by putting an adjective before Sherlock, and Cumberbatch happens to have the curliest hair of them yet.
Jennifer Lawrence = Eldest Cousin
It would seem that even Chinese people are in awe of J-Law’s cool persona, earning her the nickname of “eldest cousin”, like that cool cousin you always admired when you were little. Alternatively the pronunciation could also mean “watch sister”, as Lawrence is a popular brand of watches in China.
As an aside, although it was mentioned in comments instead of the video, fans of Beyonce will be happy to hear that her “Queen Bey” nickname appears to be same, even in Chinese.
We’d be lying if we weren’t looking forward to seeing what new celebrity names China has in store for us in the future!
Source/images: YouTube/Double Chen