Zhing-zhong
adj, noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 Cheap products of Chinese origin. Zimbabwe, derogatory, slang, uncountable
- 1 Of objects, cheap, Chinese and of inferior quality. Zimbabwe, derogatory, slang
"Zimbabweans complain, sometimes bitterly, that their new Chinese buses break down with alarming regularity and that the Chinese goods that flood stores and roadside stalls are so shoddy as to be worthless. Indeed, they have coined a term for the phenomenon: zhing-zhong. "To call something zhing-zhong means that it is substandard," said Eldred Masunugure, the chairman of the political science department at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare. "The resentment of the Chinese is not only widespread; it's deeply rooted. It's affecting even other Chinese-looking people, like the Japanese." Professor Masunugure and others say that Harare's few Japanese residents complain of being taunted and called zhing-zhong."
- 2 Of a person, low-quality, unfit for their occupation or station in life. Zimbabwe, derogatory, slang
Example
More examples"Zimbabweans complain, sometimes bitterly, that their new Chinese buses break down with alarming regularity and that the Chinese goods that flood stores and roadside stalls are so shoddy as to be worthless. Indeed, they have coined a term for the phenomenon: zhing-zhong. "To call something zhing-zhong means that it is substandard," said Eldred Masunugure, the chairman of the political science department at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare. "The resentment of the Chinese is not only widespread; it's deeply rooted. It's affecting even other Chinese-looking people, like the Japanese." Professor Masunugure and others say that Harare's few Japanese residents complain of being taunted and called zhing-zhong."
Etymology
Dates back to the onset of Chinese trade with Zimbabweans at the turn of the 21st century. It stems from the way the Chinese language sounds to a Zimbabwean, ultimately etymologically connected to the racial slur ching chong.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.