A guide to marketing in China & marketing vocabulary in Chinese

Looking to expand your empire in the Chinese market? Get a head start with these 136 marketing terms in Chinese.

The Chinese market is as dynamic as it is vast. While expanding your brand in the world’s largest consumer market could be an incredibly rewarding opportunity, it can also be a challenging one. Before you get started, you need to craft a detailed business plan and a localized strategy for reaching Chinese consumers. Even if you already have experience launching products all over the world, the Chinese market has many unique features that require special attention.

Fortunately, connecting with Chinese consumers isn’t as difficult as it may sound, and many foreign brands have successfully implemented marketing strategies that resonate with Chinese shoppers. So, before you go all-in on your new Chinese marketing campaign, you should definitely spend some time learning about Chinese marketing terms and customs so you can crush your competition.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about the marketing sector in Chinese. From the most common marketing vocabulary words to advanced e-commerce terms, we’ll give you everything you need to craft a successful marketing campaign for the Chinese market. Who knows, by the end of this blog you might want to sign up for your first Mandarin class!

Table of contents

• Most common marketing vocabulary words in Chinese
• Digital marketing and online advertising in China
• Chinese search engines
• Chinese social media platforms
• E-Commerce in China
• What’s a KOL?
• Chinese marketing acronyms

Most common marketing vocabulary words in Chinese

Although marketing in China can be very different from marketing in the West, they’re still fundamentally very similar. At the end of the day, both are looking to convert new clients through strategies that connect with new users, so many of the things you currently do for your marketing efforts in the West will also apply in China. Here are some of the most common marketing terms in Chinese:

English	Chinese	Pinyin	Pronunciation
Marketing	营销	yíng xiāo	yng shiau
Marketing strategy	营销策略	yíng xiāo cè lüè	yng shiau tseh liueh
Online marketing activities	线上营销活动	xiàn shàng yíng xiāo huó dòng	shiann shanq yng shiau hwo donq
Offline marketing activities	线下营销活动	xiàn xià yíng xiāo huó dòng	shiann shiah yng shiau hwo donq
Market research	市场调查	shì chǎng diào chá	shyh chaang diaw char
Advertising	广告	guǎng gào	goang gaw
Stakeholders	利益相关者	lì yì xiāng guān zhě	lih yih shiang guan jee
Proposal	方案	fāng àn	fang ann
Competitor analysis	竞争对手分析	jìng zhēng duì shǒu fēn xī	jinq jeng duey shoou fen shi
Project timeline	项目时间表	xiàng mù shí jiān biǎo	shianq muh shyr jian beau
Market share	市场份额	shì chǎng fèn é	shyh chaang fenn er
Niche market	利基市场	lì jī shì chǎng	lih ji shyh chaang
Expectation	预期	yù qī	yuh chi
Assumption	假设	jiǎ shè	jea sheh
To execute	执行	zhí xíng	jyr shyng
Price	价格	jià gé	jiah ger
Promotion	促销	cù xiāo	tsuh shiau
Trade fair	商品交易会	shāng pǐn jiāo yì huì	shang piin jiau yih huey
Coupon	优惠券	yōu huì quàn	iou huey chiuann
After sales service	售后服务	shòu hòu fú wù	show how fwu wuh
To purchase	购买	gòu mǎi	gow mae

Key concepts about digital marketing in China to understand

Planning a winning marketing strategy in China can look very different from anywhere else in the world. While Mandarin Chinese is one of the top languages for business, you need to go beyond the most basic marketing terms if you hope to make an impact on Chinese consumers. Here are five unique concepts about digital marketing in China that you need to be aware of for a successful marketing campaign:

Xiachen (下沉)

This word literally means to sink, but in digital marketing, it means to go after lower-tier cities. Most big companies operating in China — especially Western ones — devote most of their resources to first and new first-tier cities, as that’s where people have the most disposable income and often the most sophisticated taste. However, this makes these cities incredibly competitive and hard to break into, often requiring companies to spend far too much money on advertising.

Deciding to “xiachen” is to go after the considerable and rapidly-developing market in lower-tier cities. While this population might not have as much money to spend, it does have a less stressful work schedule and more time off for entertainment or consumption. It’s also important to note how massive China’s population is. Even if you ignore the population of all 19 first-tier and new first-tier cities, you’re still left with about 85% of China’s population. So, if you’re expanding into the Chinese market, you can’t forget to xiachen!

Private Traffic (私域流量)

The ideal kind of traffic for any digital marketer is the kind with consumer intent and that you don’t have to pay for. This is the kind of traffic being chased after by 私域流量 (sī yù liú liàng). The Western equivalent of this would be traffic generated through a blog or an email newsletter, although people in China don’t use email or visit websites that often.

As such, the biggest driver of 私域流量 (sī yù liú liàng) traffic in China is WeChat, which almost everybody uses. Companies will use WeChat accounts, groups, and mini-programs to create private consumer communities. Here, people will shop for products from a trustworthy community — and you won’t have to spend a dime to market to them.

Live-commerce (直播电商)

One of the most impactful developments of social media recently is the surge in the popularity of live streamers. In China, however, this phenomenon has been incorporated into e-commerce platforms like Taobao and JD. Internet celebrities and influencers, commonly referred to as KOLs (more on this later!), will go on a live stream to promote a product or brand. This would be close to the equivalent of QVC or a network television shopping channel in the U.S.

The beauty of it being online, however, is that users have the opportunity to engage directly with the live streamer. This encourages interactions and viewers hope to be acknowledged by the live streamer, who is usually someone they look up to or admire. Another benefit, of course, is that viewers can click directly on the video to purchase the products being advertised. Given the prevalence of digital payment methods like WeChat Pay and Alipay, it also means that users don’t even have to look for their wallet to complete their purchases. It’s a win-win!

Because of these reasons, livestream shopping has become one of the biggest revenue drivers for e-commerce giants, with just the two top streamers making more than $9.1 million RMB in sales on Alibaba in just one day. This has turned it into the fastest-growing sales sector in China over the past few years, registering triple-digit yearly growth since 2019. This makes livestream shopping one of the most attractive options for companies looking to expand in China. However, keep in mind that it still only represents around 10% of the total e-commerce sales volume in China, so you don’t want to put all your eggs into this basket.

Guochao (国潮)

Foreign brands used to signify quality and luxury among Chinese consumers. However, with China’s economic rise and a renewed sense of nationalism, domestic brands are starting to reinvent themselves as trendy and high-quality. In recent years, the traditional has become the new modern, and Chinese brands are managing to appeal to the younger generation of shoppers by incorporating more traditional Chinese symbols and ingredients.

For example, Chinese skincare brands have been able to outcompete foreign brands by incorporating ingredients found in traditional Chinese medicine. Clothing brands have been able to find success by incorporating elements of traditional Chinese culture into modern designs. For example, Italian fashion house Gucci made headlines with its 2023 Year of the Rabbit collection, which implemented the Chinese Zodiac of the rabbit into its designs.

While Gucci’s success story shows that Guochao isn’t just for Chinese brands, foreign brands do need to work very closely with a team of Chinese experts to ensure that their designs land with Chinese consumers. Launching a product that comes across as offensive could result in online backlash, which could permanently ruin a foreign company’s reputation in China.

The Great Firewall (防火墙)

You’ve probably already heard that certain websites and applications are restricted in China. The Great Firewall refers to these limitations that render many popular websites and applications unusable in China, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Google, Twitter, and other popular Western apps. This means that you’ll have to get acclimated to Chinese social media platforms if you want your brand to succeed in China.

Digital marketing and online advertising in China

Ready to start your winning digital marketing strategy in China? Then you’ll definitely want to get acquainted with the following terms about doing marketing online in China:

English	Chinese	Pinyin	Pronunciation
Conversion	转化	zhuǎn huà	joan hua
Content strategy	内容策略	nèi róng cè lüè	ney rong tseh liueh
Technical optimization	技术优化	jì shù yōu huà	jih shuh iou huah
Email outreach	邮件推广	yóu jiàn tuī guǎng	you jiann tuei goang
Popup window	弹窗	tán chuāng	tann chuang
Buyers journey	买家旅程	mǎi jiā lǚ chéng	mae jia leu cherng
Market positioning	市场定位	shì chǎng dìng wèi	shyh chaang dinq wey
Fierce competition	激烈竞争	jī liè jìng zhēng	ji lieh jinq jeng
To publish	发布	fā bù	fa buh
A post	帖子	tiě zi	tiee tzy
To edit	编辑	biān jí	bian jyi
To like (a post or comment)	赞	zàn	tzann
A comment	评论	píng lùn	pyng luenn
To reply	回复	huí fù	hwei fuh
To share	分享	fēn xiǎng	fen sheang
A video	视频	shì pín	shyh pyn
A notification	通知	tōng zhī	tong jy
To follow (people)	关注	guān zhù	guan juh

Chinese search engines

As you already know, Google is blocked in China, so consumers use alternative search engines for browsing the internet. The most common search engine is Baidu, which is China’s equivalent of Google. In fact, Baidu is the sixth-most visited website in the world, with 677 million monthly users. Here are a few other common search engines in China as well with some helpful vocabulary:

English	Chinese	Pinyin	Pronunciation
Baidu	百度	bǎi dù	bae duh
Sogou	搜狗	sōu gǒu	sou goou
360 Search	360搜索	360 sōu suǒ	360 sou suoo
Weixin Search	微信搜一搜	wēi xìn sōu yī sōu	uei shinn sou i sou
Shenma	神马	shén mǎ	shern maa
SEO	搜索引擎优化	sōu suǒ yǐn qíng yōu huà	sou suoo yiin chyng iou huah
Keywords	关键词	guān jiàn cí	guan jiann tsyr
Organic traffic	自然流量	zì rán liú liàng	tzyh ran liou lianq
Referral traffic	推荐流量	tuī jiàn liú liàng	tuei jiann liou lianq
Search intent	搜索意图	sōu suǒ yì tú	sou suoo yih twu
Ranking	排行	pái háng	pair harng
Search volume	搜索量	sōu suǒ liàng	sou suoo lianq
Backlink	外链	wài liàn	way liann
Internal link	内链	nèi liàn	ney liann
Google	谷歌	gǔ gē	guu ge
Bing	必应	bì yìng	bih yinq
Homepage	主页	zhǔ yè	juu yeh
Sitemap	网站地图	wǎng zhàn dì tú	woang jann dih twu

Chinese social media platforms

Just as most Western search engines are blocked in China, most social media platforms are also restricted. That means that most users in China rely on Chinese social media platforms like WeChat and Weibo, most of which aren’t very commonly used outside of China. So, if this is your first time advertising in the country, you’ll definitely want to set up accounts on China’s social media ecosystem.

English	Chinese	Pinyin	Pronunciation
Social Media	社交媒体	shè jiāo méi tǐ	sheh jiau mei tii
WeChat	微信	wēi xìn	uei shinn
Weibo	微博	wēi bó	uei bor
Little Red Book	小红书	xiǎo hóng shū	sheau horng shu
Douyin	抖音	dǒu yīn	doou in
Baidu Tieba	百度贴吧	bǎi dù tiē bā	bae duh tie ba
Youku	优酷	yōu kù	iou kuh
Kuaishou	快手	kuài shǒu	kuay shoou
Tencent QQ	腾讯QQ	téng xùn QQ	terng shiunn QQ
Bilibili	哔哩哔哩	bī lī bī lī	bi lhi bi lhi
Dianping	大众点评	dà zhòng diǎn píng	dah jonq dean pyng
JinRi Toutiao	今日头条	jīn rì tóu tiáo	jin ryh tou tyau
Douyu	斗鱼	dòu yú	dow yu
Yizhibo	一直播	yī zhí bō	i jyr boh
Douban	豆瓣	dòu bàn	dow bann
Baijiahao	百家号	bǎi jiā hào	bae jia hao

E-Commerce in China

The e-commerce market in China is massive, having exceeded $3 trillion in transactions in 2022 (that’s trillion with a t!). That represents almost one in every two transactions worldwide, making this by far the largest e-commerce market in the world. If you’re looking to crack into this behemoth of a market, then you’ll definitely want to get started with the following e-commerce vocabulary words in Chinese:

English	Chinese	Pinyin	Pronunciation
E-commerce	电子商务	diàn zǐ shāng wù	diann tzyy shang wuh
Sales volume	销售量	xiāo shòu liàng	shiau show lianq
Customer	顾客	gù kè	guh keh
Buyer	买方	mǎi fāng	mae fang
Seller	卖方	mài fāng	mae fang
Agent	代理商	dài lǐ shāng	day lii shang
Retail	零售	líng shòu	ling show
Wholesale	批发	pī fā	pi fa
Deal	交易	jiāo yì	jiau yih
Credit card	信用卡	xìn yòng kǎ	shinn yonq kaa
Model	型号	xíng hào	shyng haw
Wholesale price	批发价	pī fā jià	pi fa jiah
Retail price	零售价	líng shòu jià	ling show jiah

Most popular e-commerce platforms in China

Although some Western e-commerce platforms operate in China, the vast majority of Chinese consumers shop on Chinese apps like Taobao and JD. In fact, Amazon recently announced it would close its Chinese app, marking another important milestone in the e-commerce giant’s retreat from the Chinese market. If you’re curious to know what apps Chinese people use for shopping or if you want to become a proficient seller, here are the apps you need to download immediately:

English	Chinese	Pinyin	Pronunciation
Taobao	淘宝	táo bǎo	taur bao
JD	京东	jīng dōng	jing dong
Douyin	抖音	dǒu yīn	doou in
Pinduoduo	拼多多	pīn duō duō	pin duo duo
TMall	天猫	tiān māo	tian mhau
Xiaohongshu	小红书	xiǎo hóng shū	sheau horng shu
Alibaba	阿里巴巴	ā lǐ bā bā	a lii ba ba
Vipshop	唯品会	wéi pǐn huì	wei piin huey
Dianping	大众点评	dà zhòng diǎn píng	dah jonq dean pyng
Meituan	美团	měi tuán	meei twan
Amazon China	亚马逊中国	yà mǎ xùn zhōng guó	yah maa shiunn jong gwo
Suning	苏宁	sūn níng	suen ning
Dangdang	当当	dāng dāng	dang dang
VMall	华为商城	huá wéi shāng chéng	hwa wey shang cherng

Double Eleven Shopping Holiday (双十一)

Anyone who grew up in the West could easily imagine that Black Friday (the Friday after Thanksgiving) is the biggest shopping holiday in the world. However, China’s Double Eleven shopping holiday takes the prize. Called 双十一 (shuāng shí yī) in Chinese, which literally means “a couple of elevens,” as it falls on 11/11 every year. This holiday was developed in the 90s as a way for companies to market to single people. That’s why it’s also commonly referred to as Single’s Day in English, alluding to the original intent of marketing to single people.

However, this holiday has exploded over the past decade, thanks in part to Alibaba’s efforts to turn this into a weeks-long shopping extravaganza. Now, Double Eleven deals start popping up in late October and run through the third week of November, with countless opportunities for shoppers to enjoy great deals on virtually any item available on TMall and almost any other e-commerce platform, including JD, Suning, and more.

This has now become a massive revenue driver for companies, both local and foreign. In 2022, Vitamix ran a Singles' Day video campaign that was viewed by over 100 million people — that’s almost as many people as watching the Superbowl!

So, if you’re looking to start selling your products on Chinese e-commerce platforms, then you need to put Double Eleven on your calendar and plan for it way in advance so you can outperform your competitors!

What’s a KOL?

One of the biggest tools foreign brands can use to connect with and build a strong reputation is a KOL, which stands for Key Opinion Leader. The concept of KOLs in China is somewhat unique, although still loosely related to that of influencers in the West. You’re probably used to influencers selling products and doing paid partnerships on social media, but a KOL isn’t just an influencer.

KOLs in China always have some topical authority on the products they promote. For example, a famous doctor might be a KOL for pharmaceutical brands. A successful hairstylist may be a KOL for haircare products. A certified fitness trainer may be a KOL for fitness products. You get the gist.

There are typically three tiers of KOLs: celebrities, bloggers, and influencers. The first tier includes A-list celebrities who can command authority on certain topics. The second tier is for bloggers who have dedicated their careers to becoming experts in a specific field, like handbags or perfumes. These people are experts in the field and their followers deeply respect their opinions. The third tier includes social media influencers, who can persuade their followers to make a purchase but aren’t necessarily seen as an authoritative source on a particular field.

This means that finding the right KOL for your brand is essential, as you can’t simply go off of follower counts and impressions — you need to make sure that the KOL is the right fit for your brand. Finding a suitable KOL can be a very strong way to enter the Chinese market, as you’ll have a reliable and reputable ally with a loyal following to help introduce you to Chinese consumers.

What’s a KOC?

If you’ve heard of a KOL, then you might have heard of a KOC. This acronym stands for Key Opinion Consumer, and they’re often included in KOL marketing campaigns. As its name suggests, a KOC is simply a consumer who can influence other consumers. These are key people who have no more than a few hundred followers yet can still have an impact on your products and marketing campaign.

Including KOCs in your campaigns in addition to KOLs has some distinct advantages. The most obvious one is that KOCs, given their small size, aren’t generally paid, so you’ll be able to include many of them without blowing up your budget. Second, KOCs have a higher degree of perceived authenticity. Since consumers know that KOCs aren’t paid, there is less at stake for leaving an honest review.

Working with KOCs can be as easy as identifying consumers who’ve already made a post about your product or have tagged your brand account on any of their publications. You can then reach out and ask if they’d be willing to make an extended review or simply leave a review on your website. Alternatively, you can contact KOCs and offer to send free products in exchange for a brief review.

Vocabulary words about KOLs & KOCs

The world of KOLs and KOCs is very vast, and there are many terms that you’re likely to encounter as you delve into it. Here are some of the most common vocabulary words about KOLs and KOCs in China.

English	Chinese	Pinyin	Pronunciation	Notes
Top-tier KOL	头部 KOL	tóu bù KOL	tour buh KOL	A major KOL with over a million followers.
Mid-tier KOL	腰部 KOL	zhōng bù KOL	jong buh KOL	A KOL with 10,000 to 100,000 followers.
Microl KOL	尾部KOL	wěi bù KOL	woei buh KOL	A microKOL has a smaller following base but higher engagement rate and fewer fake or inactive followers than larger KOLs, making them worthwhile.
PGC (Professional Generated Content)	专业生产内容	zhuān yè shēng chǎn nèi róng	juan yeh sheng chaan ney rong	Professional content generated by an agency, as opposed to organic content made by the KOLs.
Water army	水军	shuǐ jūn	shoei jiun	Fake followers.
Zombie fans	僵尸粉	jiāng shī fěn	jiang shy feen	Fake followers.
Planting grass	种草	zhòng cǎo	joong tsao	Sharing and recommending something for someone's liking
Pulling grass	拔草	bá cǎo	bar tsao	Persuading others to refrain from their buying impulse
Growing grass	长草	zhǎng cǎo	jaang tsao	Building up interest for a product.
Niche	小众	xiǎo zhòng	sheau jonq
Sales king/queen	带货王	dài huò wáng	day huoh wang	A KOL that is extremely effective at selling product.
Play the meme	玩梗	wán gěng	wan geeng	Incorporating memes into your strategy.
Celebrity	明星	míng xīng	ming shing
Big social media influencer	大V	dà V	dah V
Internet celebrity	网红	wǎng hóng	woang horng
Brand cooperation	品牌合作	pǐn pái hé zuò	piin pair her tzuoh
Fan economy	粉丝经济	fěn sī jīng jì	feen sy jing jih
Passer-by converted into a fan	路转粉	lù zhuǎn fěn	luh joan feen

Chinese marketing acronyms

You’re probably familiar with English marketing acronyms like SEO, PPC, KPI, CTR, and more, but what about Chinese acronyms? Perhaps you’d be surprised to learn that they also use acronyms for English terms, but maybe not the ones you’d expect. Here are the most common Chinese marketing acronyms:

Acronym	Meaning	Notes
10w+	10 wan plus	Stands for 100,000 and more, and is used to refer to the goal of reaching 100,000 or more followers on social media, which is usually seen as a benchmark for being influential.
C2M	Customer-to-manufacturer	Used to refer to companies that make products based on consumer feedback.
CP	Couple marketing	Using couples to take advantage of their relationship to promote a product. The idea is that the chemistry within the couple will bleed into the reputation of the product being advertised.
D2C	Direct to consumer	Companies that cut out the middleman and sell directly to consumers.
G2C	Global to China	Used to describe sales tactics aimed at capturing the Chinese market, like accepting Chinese payment methods and marketing on Chinese social media apps.
H5	Hypertext Markup Language 5	You’ve heard of Hypertext Markup Language before — that’s what HTML stands for. H5 refers to the current version of HTML used by most websites. However, this acronym usually refers to fancy landing sites that incorporate state-of-the-art technology to maximize the chances of converting visitors.
IP	Intellectual property
KOC	Key Opinion Consumer
KOL	Key Opinion Leader
MCN	Multi-Channel Network	Refers to companies that manage multiple KOLs, almost like talent agencies.
O+O	Online plus Offline	Used to refer to a marketing strategy that includes both online and offline tactics.
O2O	Online to Offline	Refers to marketing strategies that encourage customers to visit a physical location. For example, restaurants may offer coupons online that are only redeemable for dining in.
SNS	Social Network Sites	Refers to Chinese social media apps, like WeChat and Weibo.

Further your career with these Chinese marketing vocabulary terms

Whether you’re looking to become the newest e-commerce mogul in China or simply want to grow your business with some extra sales, getting a handle on these marketing terms is the best place to start. Penetrating the Chinese market can be a daunting task, but understanding what we’ve covered in this blog will help you cover the essentials. From the unique world of e-commerce to what goes on behind the Great Firewall, you’ve now got a glimpse into the thriving marketing environment of China.

To get more unique insights into the Chinese language and life in China, make sure to visit our Mandarin Chinese blog. We can help you craft the perfect resume in Chinese, express your love in Chinese in over a hundred creative ways, and even clarify the difference between Mandarin and Cantonese. And the best part? Every blog post is free, and we regularly upload new articles to keep your Chinese skills growing.