Most will remember back in 2012 when the video of an American impersonating 12 international accents in Chinese went viral. The half-Chinese Beijing resident, Mikeéš‹ (Mike Sui), is back with an all new video packed with at least as much funny and even more impressions.
The video, its train setting perfectly timed as we gear up for Spring Festival, features 18 different impressions parodying: an emasculated Shanghainese, a scruffy Xinjianger, an American, a Lola loving Li Lei, a very hungry North Korean, a hospitable Sichuanese, a disgusted Brit, a cricket crunching Cantonese, an unsatisfied French, a skirt tenting Thai flight attendant, a sum-it-up Beijinger, a “blind” beggar, a panties-sporting Japanese, a commanding Tianjinese, a surgically-improved South Korean, a bomb-loving Taiwanese, an ambitious Liaoninger, and a powerful posse packing Jilinese.
Language Note
“Cock wire”, a laughably literal translation of 屌ä¸, is a slang term in Chinese for homely men of poor economic prospects. In short, a loser no woman would marry. It is typically used in a self-depreciating joking manner.
1… 2… 3… 4… yep, 18. Though by my count it misses the scammer who falls and asks for money as well as the initial ticket-checker. So possibly 19 or 20. Either way, as impressive as it is hilarious, and a worthy follow-up to his 12 Beijingers (sans-VPN).
As this in-depth 2012 The Awl profile explains, the months following his first video’s explosive success had Sui taking offers for spokesperson work from the likes of Nike, NetEase, Puma and Nescafe. He relayed at the time that while he was happy for the video’s success and the exposure it gave him, he wasn’t eager to repeat the act too soon. Three years, it seems, is just about right.
Awesome video. Thanks for the share. But where on earth did you get the translation “Cock Wire” for å±Œä¸ from?
I think it originates from poor auto-translations of the slang term. Indeed, Google Translate still translates it that way. As for why “屌且 is used to mean “loser”… that’s a much more convoluted story and an excellent illustration of the awesomeness of Chinese slang.