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‘Raw, next question’ invades RedNote as Americans simp for Chinese hotties

It’s not the cultural exchange we expected, but it might be the one we deserve.

Photo of Rachel Kiley

Rachel Kiley

2 panel image of an X post. Right is zoomed out and left is zoomed in. Text over says: 'No more RAW please my American friends'

How do you say ‘raw, next question’ in Mandarin? Americans flocking to RedNote have been dying to bridge the language gap as they discover new influencers to fawn over.

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What is RedNote aka Xiaohongshu?

Xiaohongshu is a Chinese social media platform also called Little Red Book, or RedNote. It’s suddenly gained traction among Americans looking for an alternative to TikTok should the United States government go ahead with its plan to ban the app.

Although it isn’t a direct comparison to TikTok, its active user base, algorithm, and inclination towards short-form content have prompted over 700,000 new users to join in just the last two days.

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The biggest catch here is that the app is made up almost entirely of Chinese users, which means most of the content is in Mandarin. But that hasn’t stopped Americans from jumping in. In fact, the cultural exchange has already proven somewhat fascinating, if a little embarrassing from our side of things

Americans are thirsting over Chinese RedNote hunks

Despite the language barrier, Gen Z “TikTok refugees” scrolling through RedNote have found plenty to latch onto. And in many cases, that means they’re discovering a brand new crop of attractive influencers to…admire.

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But old habits die hard, and these thirsty RedNote newbies are bringing TikTok colloquialisms to the platform.

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‘Raw, next question’ invades RedNote

“Raw, next question” has become shorthand among TikTokers for commenting that they are sexually attracted to the person whose video they’re watching—and they don’t want to discuss it further. It’s meant to convey pure lust, and is most frequently deployed by women towards men.

Sure enough, as soon as Americans found RedNote influencers who awakened this sexual yearning within them, they started busting out “raw, next question” in response. 

But let’s not forget about that pesky language barrier. So it wasn’t long before Americans decided to take it up a notch and started asking Chinese RedNote users how to say the phrase in Mandarin.

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And now, that’s pretty much become a trend all on its own—for better or for worse.

raw next question rednote
@RavennAlexiss_/X
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raw next question rednote
@vhs_kitten/X
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raw next question rednote
@vhs_kitten/X
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raw next question red note
@tamxna_hz/X

So, how do you say ‘raw, next question’ in Mandarin?

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