Slang Dynasty is a series that unpacks the wide world of Chinese regional slang, internet colloquialisms, and assorted street-level jargon.

On this episode, OG Chengdu alt-rapper Kafe Hu breaks down “der la dang mihuatang”.

What’s der la dang mihuatang, you ask? You’re not the only one wondering. This informal Chengdu-ism exists almost purely in the realm of spoken language — even Kafe Hu wasn’t quite sure how to write it out.

In Kafe’s words, the meaning is “keep it real”, or rather, “not keeping it real”. If you’re going to der la dang somebody’s mihuatang, it means you’re trying to pull one over on them. “Don’t der la dang my mihuatang!” is like saying “don’t lie to me!”

This is mihuatang

Mihuatang is basically an old school Chinese-style Rice Krispy treat, and der la dang means…absolutely nothing. It’s just an onomatopoeia to describe what you’re doing to somebody’s figurative Rice Krispy treat. And that’s actually all there is to it.

This confusing phrase would baffle most native speakers of standard Mandarin, so take it out for a spin and put your friends to the test.