The Language and Branding of QQ in China
Last week Josh left the following comment on my post, “An Introduction to Virtual Currency in China”:
“Speaking of QQ, I’m pretty interested in the company behind that brand. I’ve seen the QQ logo everywhere from candy to cars. Are they really that diversified or is it just various companies using that particular popular brand association?”
This was not the first time someone has brought this to my attention so I decided to take advantage of this opportunity to clarify QQ in China.
QQ1: Tencent Holdings
Tencent uses QQ branded products in the realms of instant messaging, online media, mobile & telecom, interactive entertainment and value-added services. The two most well known QQ branded products are QQ instant messenger and QQ Zone.
(QQ Messenger and the QQ Penguin)
QQ2: Chery Automobile
Chery, a domestic car manufacturer, produces two small-sized car models both named QQ: QQ3 and QQ6. Chinese consumers can purchase the QQ for as little as 40,000 RMB (under $6,000). Thus, the QQ along with several other inexpensive car models are known to many as 二奶车 ernaiche. Translation: 二奶车 means a car that a married man buys his mistress.
(Chery QQ)
QQ3: Taiwan QQ
When I lived in Taiwan I never knew the actual word for “chewy” in Chinese. Taiwanese refer to all things chewy as “Q” especially the small tapioca balls at the bottom of bubble milk tea (the drink of choice that can be found at one of thousands of small tea stands across the island nation).
旺旺, Want Want China Holdings Limited, is a Taiwanese food and beverage manufacturer. One of Want Want’s best known products is QQ candy (also found on the mainland).
(Bubble Milke Tea & QQ Candy)
QQ4: Cartoon/Cute
“他长的很Q!” “He looks so Q!” The meaning of Q in this context is cute like a cartoon character. Q版 or “Q version” is a cute/cartoon version of something real. See below for an example:
(Original & Q Version of Jay Chou Image)
These are four different usages of QQ in China. Do you know of any other instances that were not mentioned above? Leave a comment and start the conversation…
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Comments
[...] The Language and Branding of QQ in China - its all about the context, I just knew of QQ as the dominant IM client [...]
This is an enlightening article. It refers to a lot of things about QQ which I did not know before. Previously I only regarded it as a tool for us to chat, to communicate with others but never thought about other things related to it.Thanks to author’s help, I learn a lot.
Although QQ cosists only 2 words, it represents many different areas in our daliy life. But may be in the eyes of our campus students, the most familiar use should be QQ1.
You might be interested in checking a free sample of our detailed research on QQ, “Inside QQ” published last year.
URL | http://www.plus8star.com
(the complete report has been purchased by various companies including Microsoft and DeNA, Japan’s largest and market-listed mobile SNS company)
Great article and congrats on another mention from the Wall Street Journal. Well deserved.
I’ve learned a lot here and to add to the conversation I would say that Tencent Holdings could almost be divided into two parts. One is in the virtual world (messenger, gaming, etc) and the other is in the real world (phones, telecom, etc.). I realize that you mentioned both in the article, but they reach such different demographics and operate in such different ways that sometimes it almost seems like two companies.