Get soy sauce

打酱油 (dǎ jiàngyóu): get soy sauce

“What the fuck does it have to do with me? I was just out buying soy sauce.”

“Soy sauce leads the people.”

“No comment” or “none of my business.” Humorous way for netizens to distance themselves from a sensitive or political topic.

The word came into popular usage after Guangzhou Television interviewed a local resident about the Edison Chen photo scandal. The man answered, “What the fuck does it have to do with me? I was just out buying soy sauce.”

The phrase can also be used in an ordinary context, such as to express one's lack of interest in the World Cup:

璐璐318: The World Cup has started. Many people are immensely excited. I am just here to get soy sauce.

世界杯开始啦啦，好多人激动不已，我是来打酱油的。

打 dǎ means “to hit.” Before soy sauce was sold in individual bottles, customers would bring an empty vessel to the store, which they would fill under with soy sauce under a spigot.

See also soy sauce committee members.