Eskimos have hundreds of words for “snow.”
Actually, that’s a widespread misconception.
But what about Chinese words for “fake”? Just off the top of our heads here, you have 7:
山寨 (shān zhài)
假冒 (jiǎ mào)
盗版 (dào bǎn)
高仿 (gāo fǎng)
仿制 (fǎng zhì)
仿造 (fǎng zào)
三无产品 (sān wú chǎn pǐn)
Maybe you already know these, especially the 3 most common ones: 山寨(shān zhài), 盗版(dào bǎn), 假冒(jiǎ mào). But did you know they have different meanings?
山寨 (shān zhài): Looks very similar but is actually not the same. It is generally legal so there are few options for someone who wants to seek legal remedy. They are usually made by small companies so quality is usually not as good as “real” products.
盗版 (dào bǎn): A complete imitation that tries to be identical to the real thing. They try to 以假乱真 in order to seek profits. This is illegal. This is common for products that use intellectual property, like books (盗版书), albums (盗版唱片), and software (盗版软件).
假冒 (jiǎ mào): this is something that is completely fake — from the exterior to the interior.
Still not clear how they’re different? Here are 2 more things to consider:
- 山寨 usually has its own brand, while 盗版 and 假冒 use brands owned by others.
- 假冒 is usually lower in quality than 盗版
- Because the contents inside 盗版 are from the authentic product while the contents inside 假冒 are not from the authentic product.
Anyhow, here are how these words are used in the wild:
山寨 (shān zhài):
Example 1)
“天津现山寨iPhone4 ”
“tiān jīn xiàn shān zhài iPhone4″
“Fake iPhone4 appears in Tianjin”
Example 2)
“shì mín shōu dào wǎng yì zhòng jiǎng yóu jiàn, hé shí cái zhī zāo yù shān zhài wǎng zhàn”
“Citizens receive a Netease email notifying them about winning a prize, but after checking, they realized it was from an imitator site”
假冒 (jiǎ mào):
Example 1)
“háng zhōu 80 hòu nán nǚ kāi wǎng diàn mài jiǎ mào míng pái fú zhuāng bèi pàn xíng”
“Hangzhou post-1980 (refers to year of birth) boy and girl get sentenced for starting a website to sell fake brand name clothing”
Example 2)
“gāi zuō fang zhǔ yào shì zhì shòu jiǎ mào de shí yán”
“That shop mainly makes and sells fake table salt”
盗版 (dào bǎn):
Example 1)
“zhè gè wǎng zhàn de dà duō shù yīn yuè dōu shì dào bǎn yīn yuè “
“Most of the music on this site is pirated music”
Example 2)
“quán qiú dào bǎn zuì yán zhòng shí dà diàn yǐng: <ā fán dá > jū shǒu “
“The world’s 10 most pirated movies: Avatar’s #1″
Example 3)
“wēi ruǎn cǐ qián céng cóng quán guó gè dì sōu luó le bù tóng bǎn běn de dào bǎn Win7 guāng pán”
“Previously, Microsoft found different versions of pirated Windows 7 CDs all over the country”
What’s your favorite Chinese word for fake?
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讃！I subscribe to 7 blogs about Mandarin, but no one better covers, and indeed explains in the simplest manner possible, slang, 成語, and word groups. Keep up the great work!
That’s a huge compliment and I am flattered – thanks Jake!
Excellently described the differences between the three “fakes”. Awesome! Thanks Alan.
Thanks for the compliment!
I should really credit SAM CHENG on our team for his awesome work in nailing this one. Sam helps me write these posts and credit to him is long over due.
Thanks Sam!
冒牌货!
màopái huò
Nice one!
山寨 (shān zhài): Looks very similar but is actually not the same. It is fully legal so there is no option for someone who wants to seek legal remedy.
This is wrong. If it really looks “very similar” there most probably is legal rederess, even under Chinese laws. A violation of a trademark is not necessary, an imitation of the design of a product is enough to infringe on the rights of others.
Thanks for pointing that out! We’re definitely not experts on Chinese law. Thanks!