Quick Observation: Fubai - It’s Not Just For Corrupt Government Officials Anymore
“咱们今晚去è…败，好ä¸å¥½ï¼Ÿ”
My co-worker asks me if I want to go fubai （è…败）with him tonight. I am utterly confused, because as a Chinese student I learned that the word fubai is generally used to describe corrupt government officials.
There is a new definition of the word spreading around the BBS message boards. Online, fubai (abbreviated FB) most often refers to a group of friends who go out for a big expensive meal. My colleague did not ask me to go with him to exchange red envelopes full of cash with government officials; he just wanted me to go with him to an expensive Japanese buffet restaurant for dinner.
Some examples of new age fubai:
Exhibit A: A Chinese netizen posts a picture of her afternoon tea at Pizza Hut. In the US Pizza Hut is cheap fast food, but in China it is the perfect fubai treat.
Exhibit B: A Beijing University online forum dedicated solely to documenting Beijing’s best ways to fubai:
http://bbs.pkumpacc.cn/forumdisplay.php?fid=14
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[...] Mandarin word for corruption, fubai, takes on a new meaning among Chinese youth. [The China [...]
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[...] 2.Fubai: Literally translated as ‘corruption’, fubai used to be a term in reference to corrupt officials but now means to go out with friends to enjoy an expensive meal. ‘Fubai’ can mean going out for an exotic seafood banquet or afternoon tea at Pizza Hut which in Asia is not a diminishing fast food joint (here’s an obituary by fellow offender Phil mourning Roundtable Pizza) but an overpriced, fancier chain restaurant ala Cheesecake Factory. [...]
Well, as a Chinese student, I can say that was interesting!