chăo fáng
炒房
real estate speculation

hù kŏu
户口
permanent residence registration/permit

wō jū
蜗居
Dwelling Narrowness (Wo Ju), a popular Chinese TV show that depicts the lives of modern-day young people struggling to make ends meet with high housing prices. As a noun, it means a very small room, like a pigeonhole; as a verb, it refers to “dwelling in a narrow space.”

yĭ zú
蚁族
ant tribe, a term coined by Chinese sociologists to describe the struggles of young migrants with diplomas who scramble to big cities in hopes of leading better lives; these migrants often end up with low-paying jobs and poor living conditions. They are just like ants: clever, weak and living in groups.

hù jí găi gé
户籍改革
reform of the household registration system

tún jī tǔ dì
囤积土地
land hoarding

wǔ pán xī shòu
捂盘惜售
property hoarding

hōng tái fáng jià
哄抬房价
price rigging