Slang of the Week
“A foreign waistcoat”
洋马甲 (yáng mǎ jiǎ) — what it means, where it comes from, and how to use it
“A foreign waistcoat”
What it means
This phrase has two parts:
- “Foreign” (洋 yáng), the character used for things from overseas, especially the West.
- “Waistcoat” (马甲 mǎ jiǎ), which in Chinese internet slang means an alias, a second identity someone puts on so as not to be recognised.
So a “foreign waistcoat” (洋马甲) is a disguise and describes a domestic product dressed up as an imported brand, sold at a much higher price.
In English it means: “fake foreign branding”.
Where it comes from
The “waistcoat” (马甲) in Chinese has its own famous origin.
It comes from one of the best-known comedy sketches in China: Zhao Benshan’s “The Hourly Worker” (钟点工), performed at the Spring Festival Gala in 2000. In the sketch, a snake puts on a waistcoat thinking nobody will recognise it, giving Chinese the catchphrase:
“Don’t think I don’t recognise you just because you’ve put on a waistcoat.”
小样，别以为你穿上马甲我就不认识你了。
The line stuck, and “waistcoat” (马甲) became the standard word online for a disguised identity.
Adding “foreign” (洋) came later.
The phrase came into wide use in July 2011, with the Da Vinci furniture scandal. Sofas sold by Da Vinci Furniture (达芬奇家居) as Italian imports, for hundreds of thousands of yuan, turned out to have been made in Dongguan in Guangdong, shipped out of the country and imported straight back again to gain the paperwork of a genuine import.
One headline from July 2011 captures the moment:
“Cracking the Da Vinci code: domestic products put on a foreign waistcoat”
揭秘达芬奇密码：国产货穿上洋马甲
The same practice has since been documented in cosmetics, ceramics, clothing, food, and health supplements. The method is always the same: register a company in Hong Kong or overseas, register a trademark under it, and sell into China as an import — at import prices.
Bonus: The trick even has a name in the trade: the “bonded-zone one-day trip” (保税区一日游). Goods are driven into a customs bonded zone, turned around, and driven straight back out — coming home a day later with the paperwork of a genuine import. Reporters covering the Da Vinci scandal found the practice was routine, and it has been used to give products from furniture to cosmetics their foreign identity.
The trick even has a name in the trade: the “bonded-zone one-day trip” (保税区一日游). Goods are driven into a customs bonded zone, turned around, and driven straight back out — coming home a day later with the paperwork of a genuine import. Reporters covering the Da Vinci scandal found the practice was routine, and it has been used to give products from furniture to cosmetics their foreign identity.
How to use it
“Fake foreign branding” is used widely online to call out this kind of rip-off product.
You can use it whenever a brand is pretending to be foreign.
Out shopping:
“That ‘Italian’ sofa brand? It’s fake foreign branding — made in Dongguan.”
那个”意大利”沙发品牌其实是洋马甲，在东莞产的。
Shopping online:
“Check where it’s actually made before you pay extra. A lot of these names are just fake foreign branding.”
付高价之前先看看产地，很多牌子其实就是洋马甲。
Calling out a product:
“It costs thirty yuan to make, it’s produced domestically, and the whole thing runs on fake foreign branding.”
成本30块，国内代工，全靠洋马甲忽悠人。
Now it’s your turn
Next time you’re shopping and see a foreign-sounding brand you don’t recognise, try asking a friend about it using this structure:
这个看起来很高级，好像是国外品牌，但其实不是，是一个＿＿＿。
Make a sentence and hit reply to this email — I look at every response!
And try it in a real conversation this week.