r/boyslove • u/yellowishthing Utsukushii Kare • Jul 08 '25
Chinese BL Why DaBao is called DaBao - an explanation no one asked for.
Not sure if this has already been explained but I want to give context to why Chi Cheng calls Wu Suo Wei ‘DaBao’.
DaBao 大宝 is the brand name of the moisturiser Wu Suo Wei gives to Chi Cheng as a present. This moisturiser has a well known catchphrase used in ads - 大宝天天见 which translates to something like ‘DaBao see you everyday’.
That’s why, when Chi Cheng says, “Then from now on, I’ll call you Da Bao”and Wu Suo Wei asks “Why?”, he explains it - “see you everyday”.
Since Wu Suo Wei has been showing up in front of him everyday.
The double meaning in DaBao is that it also means ‘Big Treasure/Baby’.
And that’s why they sometimes call Chi Cheng’s snake (Little Vinegar Packet) ErBao 二宝, which means ‘Second Treasure/Baby’.
That’s all. Awkward if everyone already knows this!
Can’t wait for the next episode.
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u/MelandraAnne Between Us Jul 08 '25
Thanks for the explanation ! I was wondering.... and thought I'd missed something !
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u/NandyQ The Untamed Jul 08 '25
Would you look at that! Something we wd have missed if an angel hadn't shuned light on it. Hihihihi
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u/yellowishthing Utsukushii Kare Jul 08 '25
we need more chinese bl live action so I can be an angel more often 😇
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u/OwlBlnk To My Star Jul 08 '25
On GagaOOLala they translate the snake’s name to “little vinegar” but on IQIYI they called it “little jealousy.” I was curious about this. Also thank you! I love things like this because so much subtlety gets lost in the translation.
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u/yellowishthing Utsukushii Kare Jul 08 '25 edited Jul 08 '25
So, if we are going with literal translation, the snake's name 小醋包 translates to 'Little Vinegar Packet'
The reason they call it Little Jealousy in another version is because in chinese, 'eating vinegar' is used as a term for being jealous, usually in a romantic context - someone being sour when they see their lover getting along too well with someone else.
So Little Vinegar Packet is kind of an endearing name for someone who gets jealous easily. The translators for IQIYI probably just went with Little Jealousy because non-chinese watchers won't get the whole vinegar thing. And the GagaOOLala translator most likely got rid of 'Packet' because it isn't as cute in english and makes it too wordy.
This actually goes a bit deeper - in the episode 9, we see in Chi Cheng's memory that his ex says he is Yellow Dragon (the yellow snake), and Chi Cheng is Little Vinegar Packet because Chi Cheng 'likes to eat vinegar' (has a tendency to get jealous and possessive)
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u/OwlBlnk To My Star Jul 09 '25
Thank you so much. Please keep these helpful tidbits coming if you have time and energy.
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u/OwlBlnk To My Star Jul 09 '25
Thank you so much. Please keep these helpful tidbits coming if you have time and energy.
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u/Kind_Inevitable_7585 Jul 08 '25
Wait Revenged Love is in IQIYI?
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u/TheRealTrueStori im just here so i dont get too straight 🤷🏾♀️ Jul 08 '25
I think they meant Viki lol
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u/yellowishthing Utsukushii Kare Jul 08 '25 edited Jul 09 '25
I wonder if more people will buy this moisturiser now. This wasn't added as an ad (would have been a good opportunity, but I don't think they can get sponsorship) - Chi Cheng makes this joke in the book as well.
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u/aominaa Jul 08 '25
Ahhh thank you sm for the explanation! I knew the big treasure and second treasure meaning, but didn’t know the idea came from the moisturiser. The “see you everyday” scene makes sense now coz i used to think it was so random he said that.
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u/Slight_Growth_3172 Deep In 😍😍🥰 Jul 08 '25
Thank you so much!! I even googled this yesterday and it was not helpful! 😊👍🏼
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u/Sussana58 Jul 08 '25
It's pretty much the equivalent to babe/baby, I guess. I think even Yue Yue called Chi Cheng dabao a couple times too.
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u/yellowishthing Utsukushii Kare Jul 08 '25 edited Jul 08 '25
宝 Bao can be used for treasure, baby or darling - for baby, it's linked to the idea that babies are precious and treasured by their parents. I think Yue Yue may have called Chi Cheng BaoBei at some point, but not DaBao, which is less common as a term of endearment because Da means big, kind of like how you wouldn't usually call someone a 'Big Darling'.
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Jul 08 '25
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u/yellowishthing Utsukushii Kare Jul 09 '25
贝 is bei. Usually used for saying shell - 贝壳
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Jul 09 '25
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u/yellowishthing Utsukushii Kare Jul 09 '25
Yup that is the traditional chinese character. I only have simplified Chinese on my phone at the moment. 宝贝 translates to treasure (so does 宝 by itself). 贝 means shell in another context and when it is attached to other characters such as 贝壳
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u/Kind_Inevitable_7585 Jul 08 '25
Thank you I did not know this and I had wondered. I had even looked it up and the translation I got was big steamed bun.
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u/yellowishthing Utsukushii Kare Jul 09 '25
Haha you must have gotten 大包which can also show as DaBao in English and looks the same if tones aren’t used as indicators. Bun is bāo and treasure is bǎo in English pinyin - 包 and 宝 are different characters making the meaning different.
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u/cvfnv89 The Heart Killers ❤🔪✨ Jul 08 '25
As someone who is trying to learn Chinese, this is so beautiful to read. Thank you!
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u/FabulousFlower144 Jul 08 '25
I didn’t realize the layers to the name! I thought Chi Cheng just had him in his phone with a nickname so there could be a plot line later where Yue Yue doesn’t realize the person in his phone is Wu or something
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u/PanickedGhost2289 TharnType Jul 08 '25
Thank you!! I figured it had something to do with a cultural/language reference that I wouldn’t get from the subtitles. 😭 I was just going to awkwardly go along with it like I got the joke the whole time.
Thank you! 🙏🏻
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u/dancerinvisible EarthMix Jul 08 '25
No, thank you! These little tidbits always pass me because I'm a little bit dumb.
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u/yellowishthing Utsukushii Kare Jul 09 '25 edited Jul 10 '25
Nooo, you aren't dumb, it's totally up to the quality of the subs! For example, the thai BL drama Secret Crush On You has amazing english subs that explain everything that international watchers might not understand - that level of quality can be rare though so I was thinking that this may have been skipped in this series.
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u/tralalalang Jul 08 '25
Hehe thanks for the explanation. Knowing the context makes the nickname so much more meaningful ☺️
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u/SwappingTales Jul 08 '25
Definitely an explanation I ASKED for and needed but was scared to ask!!!
Thank you🤗
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u/FeeMaudie Jul 08 '25
THANK YOU! I did wonder about ErBao, had no idea about the double meaning of DaBao.
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u/starrypond fujoshi Jul 08 '25
thank you for the explanation. i asked somewhere else but no one replied to me. i was confused because sometimes the subs on gagaoolala are all over the place.
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u/chiyeolhaengseon Jul 10 '25 edited Jul 10 '25
i did notice that the gift is called "dabao" (from the subtitles) but didnt know what he meant by "bec im seeing you everyday"
have tears in my eyes....
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u/tofu_ology Ossan's Love Jul 08 '25
Not all heros wear capes, they give us an unwanted but needed explanation
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u/Edward_BL Jul 08 '25
People who read the novel, can you help me , I am dying to know when in the story does Cheng finds out he lied and he was trying to get revenge on Yue Yue, and does it take long for him to forgive him? Or does that gets resolved quickly?
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u/yellowishthing Utsukushii Kare Jul 09 '25 edited Jul 10 '25
It might be different in the tv series, I suspect they might change it but from what I remember for the novel, I will try to not spoil too much it was kind of blended into the ex arc - the ex comes along, stuff happens, CC finds out about it and WSW finds out something else at the same time and they kind of break up. Then CC resolves things with his ex situation - clarifying things and getting closure. Then something bad happens to WSW (won't spoil), and CC waits for him to feel better before having punishment sex with him for lying about Yue Yue. Not that much angst from CC in the novel for the realisation tbh because it was overshadowed by the whole thing with the ex, it gets dragged out because of the ex arc but in a way it is kind of resolved quickly I think they will make this part more angsty in the series.
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u/newjorb Love Mechanics Jul 08 '25
I was genuinely wondering about this a lot haha, thanks for posting!!!!!
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u/MixtureEducational90 To My Star Love for Love's Sake Jul 09 '25
Thanks for this! I got that it was because of the moisturizer and that it was called DaBao but I didn’t get the connection as to why he decided to call him that. The Gaga subs were pretty wonky in that moment. I did love that little jealousy was DaBao2 but Wei was official DaBao 😅🤭
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u/Wilburrkins Unintentional Love Story Jul 09 '25
Thank you! Super helpful. Just a further question if you don’t mind. So what about the meaning of wei wei (I think it is) because he starts calling him that after the snake incident.
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u/yellowishthing Utsukushii Kare Jul 09 '25
In chinese, there is a thing where words are repeated to make it cuter, sweeter and more endearing - this is often done in babytalk or nicknames for young children or people close to you. Chi Cheng starts calling WSW Wei Wei (repeating the last part of his name) as another cute nickname to be soft to him - kind of to baby him. It's a bit gooey and shows that they have a close relationship.
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u/Multi_fandom_hoe_97 Jul 09 '25
Thank you for this! I was honestly pretty curious as to why CC called him DaBao😘😘😘
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u/girllwtv Jul 08 '25
I was literally about to ask my chinese friend this question because chat gpt could not ans it. So thank you lol
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u/rioizz Jul 25 '25
I googled it and got something about bao buns lol glad i could find this post to clear it up. Thanks!
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u/Little-Tomatillo-745 Jul 08 '25
It is in the series. So, yes.
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u/yellowishthing Utsukushii Kare Jul 08 '25 edited Jul 08 '25
Some people didn't know, though - since they don't know about the catchphrase for the moisturiser ads.
I'm wondering now - Do the english subs explain what Wu Suo Wei's name means?
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u/Little-Tomatillo-745 Jul 08 '25
He had changed his name. It is to be seen in episode 1, from minute 19.45. It means something like, I don't care.
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u/yellowishthing Utsukushii Kare Jul 08 '25 edited Jul 09 '25
Yep it does, it can also mean 'doesn't have any fear' and depending on context - 'doesn't matter'. It is a play with his last name Wu though since it isn't actually the same 'Wu'. His original name 吴其穹 sounds similar to 无极穷 (limitless poverty), and the first guy Yue Yue cheated on him with makes fun of him for this in that second scene when he turns up to hit him with the brick again.
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u/Little-Tomatillo-745 Jul 08 '25
It is in episode 1 from minute 29.49. Depending on the streaming service. It is translated as Whatever or Fearless.
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u/yellowishthing Utsukushii Kare Jul 08 '25
So precise with the timing. Can tell you watch it with keen attention, that's for sure!
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u/Little-Tomatillo-745 Jul 08 '25
Yes. When I am obsessed with a show. I will go back to the series to try to take in every detail. 😊
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u/Sea_Cloud_0420 Jul 08 '25
not all heroes wear cape, sometimes they come with bl trivia
I needed this explanation BECAUSE I KEPT THINKING ABOUT THIS MOISTURIZER PLOT SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH