I've learned 泡女, but does 泡男 exist?

Question

I've never heard the 泡男 version.

Is it OK to use to express girls hooking up with guys?

When researching this I came across 泡妞, some people said it is better (more colloquial) that 泡女. Any info on this is welcome.

Also, is 泡女 considered vulgar or is it just like "hooking up"?

@OttoApocalypse 泡女 absolutely exists. I can’t say I’ve never heard 泡妞, but I’ve heard 泡女 more often. — Janus Bahs Jacquet, Commented Jan 9, 2022 at 17:26

Mou某 · Accepted Answer · 2022-01-08 19:22:20Z

4

(slang) to pick up men; to hit on a man

answered Jan 8, 2022 at 19:22

Mou某♦

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Situations are somewhat different. 钓凯子 is the action of a girl seducing a man for monetary reward. 泡妞/泡馬子 is a boy pursuing a girl for friendship, either short term or long term. But I ticked up anyway.
– r13
Commented Jan 8, 2022 at 20:30
@r13 I have never heard 泡女/泡妞 used about pursuits of friendship, pursuits of the romantic and/or sexual kind.
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
Commented Jan 9, 2022 at 17:32
@JanusBahsJacquet It can be used in both ways - more sexual/pleasure leaning among the grown-up crowd, but more teasing, innocent among teenagers. "你昨天去那兒啦?", "我去泡女朋友了!". "他泡他女友泡了三年結果還是斷了."
– r13
Commented Jan 9, 2022 at 18:14
@r13 That still sounds like relationships to me. Phrases like 女朋友 and 他女友 are, in my experience at least, normally used about girlfriends, not platonic friends.
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
Commented Jan 9, 2022 at 18:25
@JanusBahsJacquet Also note: "我想泡她" 和 "我想炮(砲)她" are different. The former is "I want to pursue a friendship with her (我想追她)", or "I want to have a relationship with her (我想和她混一混); the latter is "I want to Fxx her".
– r13
Commented Jan 9, 2022 at 18:29

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Tang Ho · Accepted Answer · 2022-01-08 20:24:04Z

4

The common term for 'courting ladies/ pick up chicks' is '泡妞' (泡女 sounds like a variant).

There are no terms like 泡男 or 泡小子-- women courting men is an alien concept in traditional Chinese culture

In Cantonese, it is 溝女, and you can have 溝仔 too

The term 泡妞/ 溝女 is not vulgar, just a common slang.

The goal of 泡妞/ 溝女 is not seeking a one night stand, but to make girlfriends. (usually casual, not serious girlfriend)

There's a similar term called 把妹/ 撩妹 (hit on girls)

answered Jan 8, 2022 at 20:03

Tang Ho♦

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In Taiwan, the girls active in the gang world used to say "把信子" = "追男孩" = reverse of "把妹"/"泡妹" = "追女孩". All are new terms invented by youngsters (playboys and playgirls) in the 20th century.
– r13
Commented Jan 8, 2022 at 20:40
泡男 does exist and is used, though less commonly than 泡女/泡妞. The fact that women pursuing men is alien in traditional Chinese culture does not mean that young people in 21st-century China won’t have a colloquial term for it. The very first Google hit for the phrase is this list of 25 ways to 泡男, which starts out by stating that “对男人可以泡可以推可以逗可以勾，但是绝对不能追”. And of course 泡男 doesn’t have to involve women at all – I’ve heard it used quite commonly of guys going to clubs to pick up guys.
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
Commented Jan 9, 2022 at 17:55

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dan · Accepted Answer · 2022-01-08 23:51:29Z

3

Both 泡男 and 泡女 are rarely used in daily conversation. The common one is 泡妞.

Moreover, 泡 can be used as a verb here， like 泡某人. E.g. 他想泡她。This use can be applied to either men or women.

answered Jan 8, 2022 at 23:51

dan

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