At a dinner party the other evening a colleague mentioned a term “PK”, which was said to be rather in currently. But I was ignorant, for I hadn’t watched any of the so-called Super-voice Girl Singing Contests. Following my colleague’s theory, PK means “challenge someone one on one” or “fight a duel with somebody”.

I went online just now and found two explanations for PK. One theory goes that PK originates from online games. PK stands for “player killing”. It is contrasted with the killing between the machine and players. Therefore, a fight between two players is called PK, aimed at eliminating the weaker one.

The other theory goes that PK has its origins in soccer games. It stands for “penalty kick”. Of course football fans know the term very well. This is the definition I have found in Encarta for PK. “PK is a free kick in soccer from the penalty spot at the opposing team’s goal, which is defended only by its goalkeeper. It is awarded for certain types of fouls within the penalty area.”

PK has entered the Chinese language thanks to the popular shows of the super girls. In the past few years some digital terms and English words have become part of the Chinese language. But to those guys who know little about English or computer games, such terms can arouse loathing.