打call

What does 打call mean?

为…打call is the standard online way to root for a person or a piece of work: a singer on a survival show, a friend's small business, a favorite novel. The phrase implies visible, vocal support rather than quiet approval, and it comes with fandom energy: posting, voting, sharing. The mood is upbeat and only mildly ironic.

Where does 打call come from?

The word borrows from Japanese idol culture, where fans at concerts perform synchronized コール, call-and-response chants timed to the music. Chinese fans, especially on the ACG site B站, imported the practice and wrote it as 打call in the mid-2010s. It crossed from fandom into general use in 2017, and that December the magazine 《咬文嚼字》 put it on its annual top-ten popular-word list.

How to use 打call

• 新开的这家面馆味道绝了，必须发条朋友圈给老板打call。
  Xīn kāi de zhè jiā miànguǎn wèidào jué le, bìxū fā tiáo péngyǒuquān gěi lǎobǎn dǎ call.
  The new noodle shop is unreal; posting it on my feed to give the owner a shout-out.
• 决赛夜粉丝全体在线打call，投票榜一分钟涨了一万。
  Juésài yè fěnsī quántǐ zàixiàn dǎ call, tóupiào bǎng yì fēnzhōng zhǎng le yí wàn.
  On finals night every fan showed up to cheer online, and the vote counter jumped ten thousand in a minute.