Meaning:

    “男” means “men,” “默” is short for “沉默,” which means to “keep silent,” “女” means “women,” and “泪” is short for “流泪,” which means to “shed tears.” A popular saying originating from online chat rooms in 2010, this coined four-character idiom means “Men would stop talking and women would shed tears when they see this.” Netizens first used the term in the headline of their posts to lure other people to click on them. And those posts were often about romantic love. Later, the term has been used in various contexts to express feelings of sympathy, sadness, surprise or awkwardness.

    Example:

    A: 我决心要减肥了。

    Wǒ juéxīn yào jiǎnféi le。

    I am determined to go on a diet.

    B: 为什么？

    Wèi shénme?

    Why?

    A: 昨天逛街看上一件衣服，店员看了我几眼然后说，对不起，本店没有您可以穿的尺码。

    Zuótiān guàngjiē kànshàng yījiàn yīfú, diànyuán kàn le wǒ jǐ yǎn ránhòu shuō, duìbùqǐ, běndiàn méiyǒu nín kěyǐ chuān de chǐmǎ。

    I went shopping yesterday. When I wanted to buy a dress, the shop assistant looked me up and down, then said: “Sorry, we don’t have your size in the shop.”

    B: 男默女泪。

    Nánmò-nǚlèi。

    My sympathy goes out to you.