曾有一则消息说英国《牛津英语大词典》修订组最新宣布，新修订的一批单词发布在牛津英语在线词典上。其中，来自中国上海的常用词“嗲（dia）”也在其中。我们常说哪个女主持人、女演员发“嗲”，那么你了解“嗲”这个词吗？让我们一起来追溯一下它的历史吧。

Are you a diaist?

Recently, the Chinese word "dia" made it into the Oxford¹ English Dictionary Online, joining Wiki and Google as words appearing regularly in popular culture.

Pronounced in its pinyin form, the word makes sense to most Chinese people.

As a noun, it refers to someone who speaks and acts in such an over gentle way that others can't resist feeling charmed, or, frightened. As an adjective, it describes the extremely gentle quality of one's tone or actions.

The word originated in Shanghai in the first half of the 20th century. It is believed that "dia" was derived² from the English word "dear".

When Shanghai people first embraced "dia" in their everyday talk in 1960s, a Shanghai newspaper launched a series of debates over it.

Conservatives held that "dia" described a woman who intentionally³ (故意地) plays up her feminine character to allure⁴ (引诱) men. They saw it as a negative word. However, others argued that the word could be used in a positive sense and should be accepted.

Now, the word can mean "good" or "wonderful", although it more often emphasizes a woman's appearance and inner qualities.

Related words

diaism: n.嗲主义，崇尚嗲的理念

diaist: n. 嗲人

diaistic: adj. 嗲的

superdiaistic: adj. 超级嗲的

over diaistic: 过于嗲的