Get soy sauce

打酱油 (dǎ jiàngyóu): get soy sauce

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

“No comment” or “none of my business.” The phrase is a 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 f**k does it have to do with me? I was just out buying soy sauce.”

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. 打酱油 dǎ jiàngyóu refers to this practice.

See also soy sauce committee members.

“Soy sauce leads the people.”