Funny Chinese Nicknames Given to Western Celebrities

From Kim Kardashian to Taylor Swift, every celebrity has a Chinese name and, most of the time, a nickname. This list is filled with 15 Chinese nicknames that will make you laugh so hard you’ll never see your favorite star the same way!

It’s amazing to see how Chinese people build relevant and cool (or sometimes brutally honest) names for foreigners. Every western celebrity has their own Chinese nickname, and trust me; they’re quite funny sometimes! We’ve built a list of the 15 funniest Chinese nicknames for Western celebrities that will make you burst into laughter.

See more: Want to have a Chinese nickname or name of your own too? Check out how easy it is to create yourself one with our step by step guide.

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#1 Avril Lavigne – 酵母 – Yeast

Avril Lavigne is probably one of the most famous Western singers in China. She has many fans there and gives several shows a year in the country. As Chinese people really love her, they gave her the nickname 酵母 jiàomǔ meaning yeast. I agree, it may seem weird, but actually, in Chinese, the word 酵母 jiàomǔ yeast and 教母 jiàomǔ godmother are pronounced the same way. So Avril Lavigne is more considered as a godmother than as yeast!

#2 Adam Levine – 骚当 – Flirty Adam

The famous American lead singer of the band Maroon 5 is seen as frivolous in China! Did you that? So much so that the Chinese people gave Adam Levigne the nickname 骚当 sāo dāng which can be translated as Flirty Adam as 骚 sāo means flirt. Wondering why? Come on, haven’t you heard his heart-melting voice? Add that to the fact he often appears shirtless on stage, and you now know why Chinese people think he’s sexy, frivolous, and deserves the nickname 骚当!

#3 Calvin Harris – 高富帅 – Mr. Perfect

Calvin Harris’ cool Chinese nickname is 高富帅 gāofù shuài which means literally:

高 gāo tall 富 fù rich 帅 shuài handsome

For the Chinese, Calvin Harris possesses all the good qualities, and that’s why they’ve nicknamed him Mr. Perfect.

In Chinese, 高富帅 is a common expression to talk about a man who seems perfect because he’s rich, handsome, and tall.

#4 J-Lo – 箩霸 – Lord of Butt

Say what? You heard it, Jennifer Lopez’s funny Chinese nickname is 箩霸 luō bà Lord of Butt. This strange and not very PC nickname comes from her last name, which is 洛佩兹 luòpèizī in Chinese. As you know, J-Lo is also very famous for her behind, so this nickname fits Mrs. Lopez perfectly, especially since her last album came out with the Booty song, don’t you think?

#5 Justin Timberlake – 贾老板 – Boss Jia

Justin Timberlake’s cool Chinese nickname is 贾老板 jiǎ lǎobǎn Boss Jia. If you think it’s only because he’s a legendary singer (alright, I’ll admit, I’m a huge fangirl), you’re mistaken. Justin Timberlake invested a lot of money into various companies in the clothing industry, record labels, others, and the Chinese view quite positively his industrious views. 贾 jiǎ also sounds like his name Justin (a little), making 贾老板 the ideal nickname for M. Timberlake. Now you know why the Chinese call him Boss Jia!

#6 Katy Perry – 水果姐 – Fruit Sister

Katy Perry’s Chinese nickname is 水果姐 shuǐguǒ jiě meaning Fruit sister. If you’re at all familiar with her music videos and style, it’s easy to guess why they call her that way. Cute fruits and food always adorn her clothes, especially in her video clips. In one of Katy Perry’s shows in 2011, she appeared wearing a fancy dress fashioned after a fruit salad, which remains memorable to this day and may be the reason behind Katy Perry’s imaginative Chinese nickname.

#7 Kim Kardashian – 金大妈 Aunty Gold

The TV reality star Kim Kardashian has become quickly famous around the world. In China, she has actually two different funny Chinese nicknames, the first one being 金大妈 jīn dàmā Aunty Gold. People think that she likes money above all and earns easy money thanks to the TV reality show she belongs to, and it’s hard to dispute their claim.

Her second nickname is even funnier: 侃大山 kǎndàshān, which sounds just like her last name Kardashian but with a clever play on words/ characters. 侃 kǎn also stands for Kanye West, who is Kim’s husband, and 大山 dàshān means big mountains… Put the three together, let your imagination roam wild, and you should definitely be able to understand why Chinese people call her that way.

The play on the words is even cleverer when you discover that in Chinese, the expression 侃大山 kǎndàshān means to talk about unimportant things. Yup, you heard it.

#8 Kristen Stewart – 面瘫女 – Stone cold face

The actress from the Twilight series is well known in China for not smiling often. Chinese people think a face is just as cold as a stone, and since hers doesn’t appear to move much, the Chinese gave her the nickname 面瘫女 miàntān nǚ stone cold face. Rock-solid?

#9 Lady Gaga – 康敏苏 – Coming soon

Lady Gaga’s Chinese nickname doesn’t mean anything in particular in Mandarin: 康敏苏 kāngmǐn sū sounds just like in the English expression “coming soon.” This nickname comes from the fact that her albums are always said to be coming soon; they’re expected but never actually released. Harsh!

#11 Mariah Carey – 牛姐 – Cow Sister

At first, you may think poor Mariah got stuck with a mean nickname, but not at all! They’re paying her a compliment! The Chinese call Mariah Carey 牛姐 niú jiě cow sister because in China, when you want to praise someone, you can say:

你好牛！ nǐ hǎo niú! You are awesome!

Being considered as 牛 is actually a compliment. So literally, her Chinese nickname indicates that Mariah Carey is an awesome sister!

Bonus: Do you know Ariana Grande? As she’s considered as the new and young version of Mariah Carey, Chinese people started to call her 小牛牛 xiǎo niúniú little cow, cute isn’t it?

#12 Angela Merkel – 默克尔 – Silent Granny

The Chancellor of Germany is also very popular worldwide, and like other famous persons, she inherited a funny Chinese name, which can be considered a nickname. Silent Granny. Her Mandarin name is 默克尔 Mò kè ěr Merkel, here 默 comes from 默默 mòmò meaning not speaking, silent.

#13 Barack Obama – 奥巴马 – The Mysterious Wishing Horse

President Obama does not really have a crazy Chinese nickname, but the literary meaning of his Chinese name is pretty funny: 奥巴马 Ào bā mǎ means mysterious wishing horse. Chinese have chosen that funny name for Obama because it sounds close to Obama, first of all, but also because they thought he was very mysterious. They don’t horse around, do they?

#14 Nicki Minaj – 麻辣鸡 – Spicy Chicken

Nicki Minaj’s nickname is definitely the funniest, in my opinion! The Chinese call her 麻辣鸡 málàjī, which actually means Spicy Chicken! If you read 麻辣鸡 out loud, you’ll notice it sounds like Nicki Minaj. That’s the reason why Chinese people gave her that nickname. Spicy Chicken all makes sense when you take a look at her hot dance moves in her video clips and her sexy appearance.

Bonus funny Chinese nicknames:

Leonardo Dicaprio – Pikachu

Leonardo Dicaprio was not going to be spared the Chinese nickname treatment, of course. In Taiwan, he is well known as… Pikachu! Nothing to do with the Chinese translation of his English name or any such explanation. No, he got the Pikachu nickname after a TV reporter misspelled his name and called Leonardo Pikachu. The misspelling went viral on the internet, and Taiwanese started to call him Pikachu! That’s actually cute.
Leo Dicaprio also has another nickname in mainland China which is 小李子 xiǎo lǐzǐ little plum. 李 lǐ stands for his name Leo; as for the whole thing, it’s a cute nickname people like to give in China.

And because I could not resist, here are two NSFW Chinese nicknames of well-known pop stars:

Miley Cyrus – 舌婊 – Tongue Bitch

Miley Cyrus is very famous for her sexy appearances and one of her specific moves: sticking her tongue out! No wonder her Chinese nickname is 舌婊 shé biǎo tongue bitch then?

Justin Bieber – 丁日 – Dick

Ouch! Justin Bieber’s nickname is certainly the worst we’ve come across in this collection of funny Chinese nicknames! Justin Bieber’s official Chinese nickname is 丁日 dīng rì. It does not mean anything. In particular, Chinese people chose to call him because the Chinese characters 丁日 look a little like his initials: J.B, can you see? So why is it translated as a dick? The word 丁丁 dīngdīng means dick, so some people decided to call him that way.

Final words about funny Chinese nicknames:

As you can see from the list, Chinese people are very good at giving funny names to Westerners. Sometimes cruel, sometimes overdoing it, the nicknames remain spot-on most of the time, don’t you think? We hope this post made you laugh as much it made us laugh writing it (especially Angela Merkel’s nickname). Let us know in the comments if you know other hilarious Chinese nicknames given to Westerners. You can also show us your Chinese name/nickname; we’ll be glad to see them!

Your turn now! Can you match the stars with their Chinese nicknames?
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The Nincha Team

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