What does “臭虫” mean in English?
It's a contemptuous insult for someone you find disgusting or despicable. Literally, it translates to 'stink bug', but that's not how it's used in conversation.
Literally “stink bug”
You'd encounter it as a direct insult, similar to calling someone a 'piece of shit' in English. It's not as harsh as some other insults, but it still carries a good punch.
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Wear it. Stick it. Drink from it.
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Related Chinese words
傻子
2/5 · Coarseshǎzi
It means 'fool' and is used to insult someone perceived as foolish. It's more of a disparaging label than a serious accusation of stupidity.
傻帽
2/5 · Coarseshǎmào
It's an insult for someone considered an idiot. Literally, it translates to 'foolish hat.'
去你的
2/5 · Coarseqù nǐ de
It's a way of telling someone to get lost, similar to saying 'fuck off' in English. The literal translation is 'go your' but it's not commonly used literally.
吸血鬼
2/5 · Coarsexīxuèguǐ
It refers to someone who exploits others, like a leech. While it literally means 'vampire,' the figurative use is the focus here.
About this data
Swear Atlas is a source-attested, AI-curated reference — not a native-speaker-certified dictionary. Meanings and the 1–5 Burn Rating are approximate editorial assessments that vary with context, region, tone and speaker. Inclusion of a word does not constitute endorsement of its use.
The literal gloss is a short editorial translation to show word-for-word sense, not an etymological claim.
“Sounds like” is an English-friendly approximation of how the word sounds, not an authoritative pronunciation. Where shown, the romanisation is a conventional Latin-script transliteration of the original spelling.
Term attested via 4troDev/profanity.csv (MIT). Editorial content © Swear Atlas.