# How to say “you're a nerd” in Chinese

> The mildest way to say “you're a nerd” in Chinese is 学霸 (xué bà), “top student”. The strongest is 书呆子气 (shū dāi zi qì), “nerd energy”. Here are all 5, ranked mild to strong, with pinyin and when to use each one.

Source: https://lanlanchinese.com/how-to-say/nerd-in-chinese (updated 2026-10-18)

1. **学霸** (xué bà) (strength 1/5): top student. A compliment. Your parents' dream.
   Character by character: 学 = study, 霸 = tyrant.
   Heard in a real video: 异禀光芒万丈的超级学霸。 "Or a brilliant super-student who shone since childhood." (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CjJ9rciAjM&t=184s)
2. **书呆子** (shū dāi zi) (strength 2/5): bookworm (lit. book idiot). Smart but lost outside the library.
3. **宅男** (zhái nán) (strength 3/5): otaku guy (lit. house man). Hasn't left his room since tuesday.
4. **死宅** (sǐ zhái) (strength 4/5): hardcore otaku. Lit. Dead house. The room is the world.
5. **书呆子气** (shū dāi zi qì) (strength 5/5): nerd energy. You can feel it from across the room.

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