Chinese word

黄牛

Pronunciation

Pinyinhuáng niú

Meaning

  • nounscalper

Example

上次买票时被黄牛骗了。shàng cì mǎi piào shí bèi huáng niú piàn le

The last time I bought tickets, a scalper tricked me.

Illustration for 黄牛 (scalper)

More examples

演唱会快开场时，很多人还在找黄牛买票。yǎn chàng huì kuài kāi chǎng shí hěn duō rén hái zài zhǎo huáng niú mǎi piào

As the concert is about to start, many people are still trying to buy tickets from scalpers.

Core concept

A person who captures scarce tickets or goods and turns limited supply into private profit.

Common phrases

  • 找黄牛买票zhǎo huáng niú mǎi piào

    buy tickets from a scalper

  • 打击黄牛dǎ jī huáng niú

    crack down on scalpers

  • 黄牛倒卖票huáng niú dǎo mài piào

    scalpers resell tickets

Similar words

票贩子piào fàn zi: Someone who buys large numbers of tickets and sells them again at high prices.
倒卖者dǎo mài zhě: Someone who buys goods or other items and sells them again above their original price.

Definition in Chinese

口语中指专门倒卖门票、限量商品等以牟利的人，通常带有贬义。kóu yǔ zhōng zhǐ zhuān mén dǎo mài mén piào xiàn liàng shāng pǐn děng yǐ móu lì de rén tōng cháng dài yǒu biǎn yì

Word origin

黄牛 (huángniú, "yellow cow") literally names the animal, but modern colloquial Chinese uses this fixed metaphor for people who obtain scarce items and resell them for gain.

Usage tips

  • The word is colloquial and negative, so a neutral description is safer when the resale matters more than judging the person.

Other meanings

  • resale profiteernoun

Related words

  • 黄牛票huáng niú piàoscalped ticketnoun
  • 黄牛党huáng niú dǎngscalper groupnoun

Word lists with this word