Planting grass and checking in
Xiaohongshu (小红书) is where people post reviews, travel plans and shopping hauls as illustrated notes. Its vocabulary is about wanting, trying and recommending, and much of it has spread into ordinary speech.
Wanting and trying
The loop every post is part of.
The grass image is the key. A want grows in you like grass, someone plants it, and you pull it up by buying the thing or by learning it was not worth it.
Going places
The travel half of the app.
攻略 shows how words travel. It began as how to beat a level and now means how to see Chengdu in three days. Gaming slang reaching lifestyle posts is one of the most common paths.
A post, piece by piece
The formula most travel posts follow.
A number and a promise in the title, a direct greeting, then tips and warnings. Reading a few dozen of these is some of the best reading practice there is, because the photo tells you what every word must mean.
家人们, family members, is how posters and live streamers address their audience, the way an English creator says hey everyone. It came out of live selling on Douyin and is now everywhere, including in adverts.
8 questions. Get 5 right to finish the day.
种草 means…
- to make someone want something
- to be bored
- to post a photo
- to do the gardening
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to make someone want something Plant the wish.
A post titled 避雷 is…
- a recommendation
- a warning
- an advert
- a weather report
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a warning Dodge the thunder.
打卡 on Xiaohongshu is…
- clocking in at work only
- a hashtag
- paying by card
- visiting a place and posting it
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visiting a place and posting it It began as clocking in.
Type the pinyin for 攻略.
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gōnglüè First tone, then fourth, with ü.
宝藏 as praise means…
- a jewellery shop
- a hidden gem
- expensive
- closed
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a hidden gem Treasure: 宝藏小店, a little shop worth finding.
被种草了 means…
- I've been convinced to want it
- I bought it already
- I was put off
- I planted grass
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I've been convinced to want it The wish was planted in me.
网红 is…
- a red net
- internet-famous
- a delivery rider
- an old website
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internet-famous Net plus popular.
Type the Chinese or pinyin for travel.
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lǚyóu Third tone with ü, then second.
Question 1 of 8