tiězi: 帖子 - Post, Thread (Online)

• Keywords: 帖子, tiezi, Chinese internet post, Chinese forum post, what is tiezi, Chinese social media, BBS post, 发帖 (fā tiě), 回帖 (huí tiě), 楼主 (lóuzhǔ), online forum, message board.
• Summary: In Chinese, 帖子 (tiězi) is the essential word for an internet “post” or “thread” on a forum, message board, or social media platform. It's the fundamental unit of online discussion. This guide explores the meaning of 帖子, its cultural roots in China's early internet, and teaches you crucial related verbs like “发帖” (fā tiě, to make a post) and “回帖” (huí tiě, to reply). Mastering this term is key to navigating the Chinese digital world.

• Pinyin (with tone marks): tiězi
• Part of Speech: Noun
• HSK Level: HSK 5
• Concise Definition: An online post or thread on a forum, blog, or social media platform.
• In a Nutshell: Imagine a community bulletin board where someone pins up a notice to start a discussion. That notice is a 帖子 (tiězi). In the digital age, a 帖子 is the original message that starts a conversation on a forum like Reddit, a Baidu Tieba community, or a Douban group. It's the anchor for all the replies and comments that follow. If you're reading or writing on the Chinese internet, you're interacting with 帖子.

• 帖 (tiē): This character's original meaning is a slip of paper used for notes, an invitation, or a public notice. The radical 巾 (jīn) on the left means “towel” or “a piece of cloth,” harkening back to a time when notices might be written on cloth or silk. The character's meaning evolved to encompass any kind of posted announcement.
• 子 (zi): This is a very common noun suffix in Chinese. It doesn't carry much meaning on its own but is attached to single-syllable words to turn them into concrete, two-syllable nouns. It solidifies the abstract concept of “a notice” (帖) into a tangible thing: “a post” (帖子).

Together, 帖子 (tiězi) literally means “a notice-thing,” a perfect and intuitive term for a digital post that serves the same function as its paper predecessor.

The concept of a 帖子 (tiězi) is central to understanding Chinese internet culture, which was heavily shaped by BBS (Bulletin Board System) forums long before the rise of modern social media. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, forums like Tianya (天涯) and Mop (猫扑) were the epicenters of online life in China. They were sprawling digital cities where users would 发帖 (fā tiě)—create posts—on every topic imaginable, from celebrity gossip to political debate. The quality, humor, and depth of a 帖子 could make a user famous overnight. The person who creates the post is called the 楼主 (lóuzhǔ), literally “building master” or “landlord,” a term that vividly illustrates their ownership and control over the conversation thread they initiated. This is culturally distinct from the Western concept of a “post.” While functionally similar, the Chinese terminology and the community roles are more defined. The goal is often not just to post, but to “build a tall building” (盖高楼, gàigāolóu), meaning to create a post that gets a huge number of replies. This collectivist, community-building aspect is a hallmark of Chinese forum culture. A user might “bump” a post they like by replying 顶帖 (dǐng tiě), literally “to top the post,” to keep it visible on the front page, an act of community support. The entire ecosystem revolves around the life cycle of a 帖子.

While the dominance of classic forums has waned, the term 帖子 (tiězi) and its associated vocabulary remain essential across the modern Chinese internet.

• Forums and Tieba (贴吧): On platforms like Baidu Tieba (a massive collection of keyword-based forums), 帖子 is the standard term. You join a “bar” (吧) and read, create, and reply to 帖子.
• Social Media: On platforms like Douban (豆瓣) or Zhihu (知乎), longer, discussion-oriented entries are called 帖子. On Weibo (微博), while short messages are just called “weibo,” a longer, article-style post that invites detailed discussion is often referred to as a 帖子.
• Key Verbs: The real-world usage of 帖子 is all about the verbs that go with it:
  • 发帖 (fā tiě): To create/make a post. (e.g., 我想发个帖子问一下大家。 - I want to make a post to ask everyone.)
  • 回帖 (huí tiě): To reply to a post. (e.g., 他的帖子下面有很多回帖。 - There are many replies under his post.)
  • 看帖 (kàn tiě): To read a post. (e.g., 我在看一个很有意思的帖子。 - I'm reading a very interesting post.)
  • 删帖 (shān tiě): To delete a post. (e.g., 为什么我的帖子被删了？ - Why was my post deleted?)
  • 顶帖 (dǐng tiě): To “bump” a post (reply to push it to the top). (e.g., 好帖，我帮你顶一下！ - Great post, I'll help you bump it!)

• Example 1:
  • 我昨天在网上发了一个帖子，问哪里有好吃的火锅。
  • Pinyin: Wǒ zuótiān zài wǎngshàng fāle yí ge tiězi, wèn nǎli yǒu hǎochī de huǒguō.
  • English: I made a post online yesterday asking where to find good hotpot.
  • Analysis: This shows the most common use case: using 发 (fā) with 帖子 to mean “to make a post.”
• Example 2:
  • 你看到那个关于学中文的帖子了吗？特别火。
  • Pinyin: Nǐ kàndào nàge guānyú xué Zhōngwén de tiězi le ma? Tèbié huǒ.
  • English: Did you see that post about learning Chinese? It's really popular.
  • Analysis: Here, 帖子 is the object of the verb “see” (看到). 火 (huǒ), meaning “fire,” is common slang for “popular” or “viral.”
• Example 3:
  • 这个帖子的楼主分析得很有道理。
  • Pinyin: Zhège tiězi de lóuzhǔ fēnxī de hěn yǒu dàolǐ.
  • English: The original poster of this post's analysis makes a lot of sense.
  • Analysis: This introduces the related term 楼主 (lóuzhǔ), the original poster, showing its direct relationship with 帖子.
• Example 4:
  • 请不要在这个帖子下面吵架。
  • Pinyin: Qǐng búyào zài zhège tiězi xiàmiàn chǎojià.
  • English: Please don't argue in the comments of this post.
  • Analysis: 帖子下面 (tiězi xiàmiàn), literally “under the post,” is the standard way to refer to the comment/reply section.
• Example 5:
  • 管理员因为内容违规，把他的帖子删了。
  • Pinyin: Guǎnlǐyuán yīnwèi nèiróng wéiguī, bǎ tā de tiězi shān le.
  • English: The administrator deleted his post because the content violated the rules.
  • Analysis: This demonstrates the verb 删 (shān), to delete, used with 帖子. The 把 (bǎ) structure is common here.
• Example 6:
  • 这个帖子太有用了！我得收藏起来。
  • Pinyin: Zhège tiězi tài yǒuyòng le! Wǒ děi shōucáng qǐlái.
  • English: This post is so useful! I have to save it.
  • Analysis: 收藏 (shōucáng) means “to collect” or, in an internet context, “to bookmark” or “to save.”
• Example 7:
  • 我看帖从来不回帖，只是默默地看。
  • Pinyin: Wǒ kàn tiě cónglái bù huí tiě, zhǐshì mòmò de kàn.
  • English: When I read posts, I never reply; I just read silently.
  • Analysis: This contrasts two key verbs, 看帖 (kàn tiě) and 回帖 (huí tiě). Someone who does this is called a “lurker” (潜水员, qiánshuǐyuán).
• Example 8:
  • 大家快来顶帖，别让这个好帖子沉了！
  • Pinyin: Dàjiā kuài lái dǐng tiě, bié ràng zhège hǎo tiězi chén le!
  • English: Everyone, come bump the post, don't let this good post sink!
  • Analysis: This sentence is pure internet slang. 顶帖 (dǐng tiě) means to “bump,” and 沉了 (chén le) means it “sank” (fell off the front page).
• Example 9:
  • 你能帮我把这个帖子的链接发过来吗？
  • Pinyin: Nǐ néng bāng wǒ bǎ zhège tiězi de liànjiē fā guòlái ma?
  • English: Can you send me the link to this post?
  • Analysis: Shows a practical request, combining 帖子 with 链接 (liànjiē), link.
• Example 10:
  • 他发了一个引战的帖子，引起了很多争议。
  • Pinyin: Tā fāle yí ge yǐnzhàn de tiězi, yǐnqǐle hěn duō zhēngyì.
  • English: He made a flame-bait post, which caused a lot of controversy.
  • Analysis: 引战 (yǐnzhàn) literally means “to lead to war” and is the perfect term for “flame-baiting” or intentionally starting a fight online.

• 帖子 (tiězi) vs. 文章 (wénzhāng): This is a common point of confusion.
  • 帖子 is interactive and community-based. It implies a discussion on a forum or social media. It can be short and casual.
  • 文章 (wénzhāng) means “article” or “essay.” It's more formal, longer, and usually a one-way communication (like a news article or a serious blog entry). You post a 帖子, but you write an 文章. A very long, well-researched post on Zhihu might be called an 文章, blurring the line, but the key difference is intent: 帖子 invites discussion, while 文章 presents information.
• 帖子 (tiězi) vs. 评论 (pínglùn):
  • A 帖子 is the original post that starts the thread.
  • A 评论 (pínglùn) is a “comment” on a post, an article, or a video. It's often used interchangeably with 回帖 (huí tiě), but 评论 is a broader term that can be used outside of forums.
• Common Mistake: Do not use 帖子 for a private message. A 帖子 is public by nature. A private message is a 私信 (sīxìn). A general message in a chat app is a 消息 (xiāoxi). Calling a private message a “帖子” would be like shouting a secret in a crowded room.

• 发帖 (fā tiě) - The verb “to post”; to create a new 帖子.
• 回帖 (huí tiě) - To reply to a post; the noun for a reply itself.
• 楼主 (lóuzhǔ) - “Landlord”; the Original Poster (OP) who created the 帖子.
• 沙发 (shāfā) - “Sofa”; internet slang for the very first reply to a 帖子 (first comment).
• 论坛 (lùntán) - A forum or BBS, the platform where 帖子 are published.
• 贴吧 (tiēbā) - “Post Bar”; Baidu's massive forum service, built around communities for specific keywords.
• 顶帖 (dǐng tiě) - To “bump” a post, usually by writing a short reply like “顶” to push it to the top of the forum page.
• 沉了 (chén le) - “(The post) has sunk”; slang for a post that has lost visibility by falling off the front page due to inactivity.
• 文章 (wénzhāng) - An article or essay; more formal and substantial than a typical 帖子.
• 评论 (pínglùn) - A comment or review; a broader term for a reply that can also be used for news, videos, etc.