wumao

wu·mao
W4U1M3A1O1
/ˈwuː.maʊ//ˈuː.maʊ/

noun

An Internet user who is paid by the authorities of the People's Republic of China to spread propaganda and disinformation on their behalf.

Similar
50 cent army
OriginChinese 五毛 →
Scrabble 10
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Meanings

nounwumao (plural wumao or wumaos)

plural wumaos

  1. An Internet user who is paid by the authorities of the People's Republic of China to spread propaganda and disinformation on their behalf.
  2. derogatoryAnyone who is supportive of China or the Communist Party of China, whether paid or not.

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar
50 cent army
Broader
shillsupporterkeyboard warrior
Also see
panda hugger

Origin

  1. Chinese五毛
  2. Englishwumao

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 五毛 (wǔmáo), a clipping of 五毛黨 /五毛党 (wǔmáodǎng, literally “the 5 dime party”), in reference to allegations that the Chinese government employs online shills paid 1/2 yuan RMB per online post.

More words from Chinese

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 五毛
  • 五毛 (wǔmáo)Translations
Japanese 五毛党
  • 五毛党 (gomōtō)Translations
Polish wumao
  • wumaoTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

wumao. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wumao

MLA

“wumao.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wumao. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wumao,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wumao.

Source: wumao on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.