What Does “Lemon Demon” Mean in Chinese?

If you heard a mainland Chinese person say, “lemon demon,” what would you think they meant? Would your first reaction would be, “How can a lemon turn into a demon? Is it because lemons are so sour?”

In spoken Chinese, the word “sour” (酸 suān) has a double meaning. Apart from its literal meaning, it also refers to being jealous of someone because they are better than you. This feeling of jealousy often makes people say things that give others a “sour feeling.” Lemon demons (檸檬精 níngméng jīng) are one such example of people who do this.

Note: “Sour” in Chinese isn’t quite the same as “feeling bitter.” According to Collins‘s English Dictionary, bitterness stems from anger, but Collins doesn’t mention jealousy being a cause for bitterness. Whereas “sour” (酸 suān) specifically refers to jealousy as the cause for feeling sour.

Usage

For example, imagine this conversation:

“Regardless of where you go and what you do, the boss always speaks highly of you.”

“Why do you sound so sour? Are you feeling jealous of me?”

Lemons are also sour, so the internet phrase “lemon demon” (檸檬精 níngméng jīng) initially referred to people who were jealous of others. It had a negative connotation and was used to make fun of people.

The sourness of lemons has led to the creation of the internet phrase “lemon demon” (檸檬精 níngméng jīng), which initially referred to individuals who were envious of others. The term was initially used to mock others but has evolved to critique one’s own behavior.

For instance, instead of criticizing someone else for being jealous, people started using the word “lemon” to describe their own feelings of envy towards someone who is better at something. To express envy, you can use the phrase, “I am a lemon demon.” Similarly, you can say “I lemon-ed” (我檸檬了wǒ níngméngle) to mean “I soured,” aka “I’m jealous.”

Example

I lemon-ed when I saw her buy a big house at such a young age.

看到他年紀輕輕就買了大房子，我檸檬了。

Sweet and Sour Lemon

There is another expression in Chinese, known as “sweet and sour lemon demon” (酸甜檸檬精 suān tián níngméng jīng), which is used to describe the complicated feeling of experiencing both happiness for someone else’s romantic relationship and envy at the same time.

What about you? Have you ever felt like a “lemon demon”? 

Are you done reading? Check out Oolong Goal to learn more about Chinese buzzwords.