I'm speaking about for example:
他很6
To mean: He's very pro/skilled.
I've seen this a lot, but I don't quite see what the origin of this comes from.
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3 Answers
It's homophonic of 溜, which means proficient, smooth (in doing something) in Nothern dialects. Note it doesn't imply a top degree of mastery. It's more like nice instead of pwned.
The use of number 6 first appeared in online games, then spread to internet contents.
Some examples for the original word:
他爬树很溜（儿）。He's good at climbing trees.
他说的很溜（儿）。He gave a fluent speech.
One reference I can find: http://hs.tgbus.com/wenda/201410/20141002121649.shtml
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Although I would imagine 666 (as referenced in the link) means something completely different...– Mou某 ♦Aug 21, 2015 at 12:10
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@user3306356 there are extended usages such as self-mockery or sarcasm which can be said to any word. I don't consider them 'completely different'. I didn't expand on those because the OP is asking for the origin.– NS.X.Aug 21, 2015 at 19:05
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Oh, sorry, I meant more like: 666, number of the devil, that sort of thing.– Mou某 ♦Aug 22, 2015 at 9:07
I guess it comes from the dialectal pronunciation of 牛 which has the slang meaning "awesome".
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@Ringil No idea about the source dialect of this expression, but the initial n ~ l shift exists in some regions, e.g. in Min, Yue or Xiang dialects.– imrekAug 20, 2015 at 15:45
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I also found quite a few sources saying it has originated from 牛， but also from 溜. One source even claimed that it is the Chinese "LOL", but I could not find any more references to that. Feb 22, 2016 at 15:48
In Chinese, there are many number combinations used as an abbreviation such as 666, 88 and 2333. Today I will introduce you 666. 666, in web terms, means 牛牛牛 or 溜溜溜 in Chinese. It is usually used to describe someone or something excellent or amazing.
- Origin of 666
Actually, 666 has been generated for a long time (the specific time is not clear). And it became popular and was used widely in a game named LOL (League of Legends). For example, if someone plays quite good in a game, you can say 666 to him.
- Other Common Abbreviations in China
Except for 666, there are also some other abbreviations that we use often in daily life or games.
1). 88: it means bye bye.
2). 5555: as the pronunciation of 5 is similar to the sound of crying, we usually use 555, 5555, 55555 to describe our sadness.
3). 520: it means “I love you”.
4). 5201314: it means “I love you for a whole life”.
5). 1314: it means “one’s whole life”.
6). 888: it can be used as a blessing, which shows your good wish of wealth.
7). 2333: this number combination is originated from a forum (www.mop.com). The No. 233 emoji from the MP forum is a picture of laughing, so many users like to add a “2333” when they post in the forum. Now “2333” is a popular web term used to express laughter. Resource from Sino5000
