Niulai Movie ： Chinese Vocabulary & Low-Budget Animation

Learn key Chinese terms to discuss Niulai, the handmade $200 animation. Covers vocabulary, memes, and its unexpected box office success. For learners.

Tags:

• Chinese Vocabulary
• Niulai Movie
• Animation
• Low-Budget Film
• Internet Memes

If you haven't been living under a rock,

you've probably already heard about

《牛来》 (Niúlái) —

the Chinese animated movie that unexpectedly became one of the biggest online talking points recently.

There are countless articles discussing the movie by now:

its unusual production story,

its unique animation style,

and its surprising popularity.

So now, let's look something that can help you discuss it in Chinese — 牛来-related vocabulary!

牛来

Niú Lái

Niu Lai

(lit. "cow-comes")

01. HANDMADE PRODUCTION

One of the reasons Niulai became so interesting is its unusual production story.

手搓

shǒucuō

handmade / made by hand

The movie was created by a mother-and-son team, with only 2 people working on it for around 5 years.

When Chinese netizens discuss this, you may hear:

这部动画是两个人人工手搓出来的。

Zhè bù dònghuà shì liǎng gè rén réngōng shǒucuō chūlái de.

This animation was handmade by two people.

 BONUS 

粗糙 (cūcāo) ∙ rough; not polished

无AI (wú AI) ∙ no AI

02. LOW BUDGET

Another striking fact is that the movie was reportedly made on a budget of just about $200, but continues to break box office records.

低成本

dī chéngběn

low-budget

 EXAMPLE 

这是一部低成本动画，但是很有特色。

Zhè shì yí bù dī chéngběn dònghuà, dànshì hěn yǒu tèsè.

It's a low-budget animation, but it has a lot of character.

BONUS

票房暴涨1000倍 (piàofáng bàozhǎng yì qiān bèi) ∙ the box office increased 1000 times

03. "REVERSE SUCCESS"

The most interesting part of the Niulai story is how it became famous.

Chinese internet users call this:

反向爆火

fǎnxiàng bàohuǒ

to become popular in an unexpected way

(lit."opposite-direction-become popular")

 EXAMPLE 

这部电影真的反向爆火了。

Zhè bù diànyǐng zhēn de fǎnxiàng bàohuǒ le.

This movie became popular in the most unexpected way.

 BONUS

满场 (mǎnchǎng) ∙ a full cinema; all tickets sold out

04. THE MEMES

And of course, nowadays the memes make the experience much more fun and fulfilling. When Niulai is discussed online, you will see the word:

海报诈骗 

hǎibào zhàpiàn

"poster scam"

It means that the poster made the movie look different from what viewers expected. It's not a real accusation — just a joke about marketing and expectations.

04. MORE NIU-RELATED WORDS

And while we're at it, let's look at some other 牛 (niú)-related words!

牛

niú

cow / ox

很牛

hěn niú

very cool / very impressive

牛市

niúshì

bull market

 EXAMPLE 

最近股市是牛市。

Zuìjìn gǔshì shì niúshì.

The stock market is in a bull market.

Some netizens believe this is one of the reasons Niulai became so popular: thanks to its hidden reference to the bull market. Some even say:

牛来了，希望牛市也来了！

Niú láile, xīwàng niúshì yě láile!

The cow has arrived — hopefully the bull market has arrived too!

What do you think of this phenomenon?

Try your best to reply in comments — in Chinese 🐂

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