秒杀: a Chinese slang term for “seckilling”

"秒 (miǎo)" means "second," as in the unit of time, and "杀 (shā)" is a verb which means "to kill." Combining them, "秒杀 (miǎoshā)" is translated literally as "one-second kill." The term originated from online, multi-player videogames, in which a player who doesn't have any other option is killed or kills his opponent in an instantaneous attack.

“秒”是指时间单位，其英文意思为 second。“杀”是一个动词，其英文意思为“to kill”。“秒”和“杀”组合成新词“秒杀（miǎoshā），其字面意思为“在一秒之内杀掉”（one-second kill）。该词来源于一款多人网络游戏。在该游戏中，玩家只有两条路可走：要么瞬间杀死敌人，要么瞬间被敌人杀死。

When 秒杀 (miǎo shā) appears in the network game, 秒杀 (miǎo shā) (seckilling) can be used when players are fighting against each other or a monster, since another party is extraordinarily strong and given that players are killed instantly, in a split second, before they are able to fight back or escape. Here, 秒杀 (miǎo shā) used in the game is often described to kill out the opponent, which also is the original meaning of 秒杀 (miǎo shā) in network.

在该网络游戏中，“秒杀”是指玩家相互攻击或攻击怪兽时，其中一方非常强大，在一秒之内将对方杀死。对方根本没有时间反击或逃跑。在此，“秒杀”的意思就是指杀光敌人，与网络用词“秒杀”的本意一致。

As time goes by, the meaning of 秒杀 (miǎo shā) changes. Now, the term has also become popular in the online shopping community to define the rapid sell out of newly advertised goods. When it comes to shopping, "秒杀 (miǎoshā)" means "seckill," a new term that refers to a sales method with which online vendors sell an expensive product at an exorbitantly low price far below market value for a given time period. For example, they may sell an iPad for just one Yuan. With such a low price, a lot of Chinese netizens will flock to the website at the designated time, constantly refreshing their screen until the given moment arrives. For just one second, the price will plummet and the shopper whose index finger clicks the fastest will walk away with an incredible bargain.

时过境迁，“秒杀”的意思发生了变化。如今，该词已成为网购热词，指推广的新商品在瞬间销罄。在网购中，“秒杀”的意思为seckill, 是网络商家采取的一种营销手段，即网络商家在预定时间内，以超低的价格销售原价高昂的商品。例如，商家可能以1元的价格销售iPad，大量的买家会在指定的时间之前访问商家的网站，不断刷屏，等待秒杀时间的到来。仅在这一秒之内，iPad价格大跌。手快的买家便能以难以置信的优惠价买到这件商品。

Examples:

nǐ wán yóu xì de shí hòu zěn me lǎo bèi (miǎo shā) ya, xià cì dòng zuò kuài diǎn.

你玩游戏的时候怎么老被秒杀呀，下次动作快点!

You are often seckilled when playing a game. Act faster next time!

wǒ men shàng wǎng miǎo shā.

我们上网秒杀。

Let's go seckilling online.

Translated from: echineselearning & phibeechinese