If you are not sure where to go on vacation, go check the Internet to find the most “人气(rénqì)” scenic spots. If it’s time to update your music selection but you are not sure what to listen to, just search for a list of “人气(rénqì)” songs to get the latest hits. All kinds of “人气排行榜(rénqì páihánɡbǎng) popularity lists” will surely give you a hint about what is on trend nowadays. In other words, you will never fall behind the times when you keep up with what’s “人气(rénqì).” So, what does the Chinese word “人气(rénqì)” mean?
“人气(rénqì)” literally means “human breathing,” but now it is widely used to refer to “the degree of popularity” of something. It can be used as a noun or in the following phrase structure: “人气(rénqì) + people/thing.”
Examples
Beyonce shì měiguó zuì jù rénqì de gēshǒu zhī yī.
Beyonce 是 美国 最 具 人气 的 歌手 之 一。
Beyonce is one of the most popular singers in America.
Xiǎolóngxiā shì hóng biàn zhōngguó de rénqì měishí.
小龙虾 是 红 遍 中国 的 人气 美食。
Crawfish is a very popular food for Chinese people.
Zhè jiā xīn kāi de cānguǎn méi shénme rénqì.
这 家 新 开 的 餐馆 没 什么 人气。
This newly opened restaurant isn’t well known.
When a person or thing enjoys extreme popularity, we can say its “人气很高/旺(rénqì hěn gāo/wàng).” For such popular online stores as Taobao (a Chinese website for online shopping), the first thing sellers want to do is “增加人气(zēngjiā rénqì) increase popularity” of their products. By doing so, they can get a higher position in product search results, which can bring them more potential buyers. Also, with social networks now being widely used, blog owners, like those on Weibo, also want their personal homepages to have “人气(rénqì)” to attract more attention.
Examples
Zhè jiā bīngqílín diàn rénqì hěn wàng, wǒmen qù zhè jiā ba!
这 家 冰淇淋 店 人气 很 旺， 我们 去 这 家 吧！
This ice-cream shop is really famous. Let’s go to this one!