Meaning:

    “颜” here means “looks,” and “控,” which originates in Japanese, is the transliteration of the English word “complex.” “控” is often added after a noun to form a phrase, which means “being attracted to and obssessed with.” Therefore, this term refers to those people who are obssessed with good looks. There is a proverb, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” However, psychological studies have found that good-looking people are more easily forgiven than those who are ugly if they make the same mistakes. Many Chinese netizens have openly confessed that they are obssessed with good looks, although a mature person needs to know that this is not the correct attitude to have toward people in real life.

    Example:

    A: 某导演长得那么难看还嫖娼，活该被封杀。

    Mǒu dǎoyǎn zhǎng de nàme nánkàn hái piáochāng, huógāi bèi fēngshā。

    That film director was caught with a prostitute. Look at his ugly face. He deserves to be shut out from the show biz.

    B: 长得帅就可以原谅吗？

    Zhǎng de shuài jìu kěyǐ yuánliàng ma?

    Should we forgive him if he were handsome?

    A: 我是有点颜控，不过心理上就是觉得丑男人更不应该干坏事。

    Wǒ shì yǒudiǎn yánkòng, bùguò xǐnlǐ shàng jìushì juédé chǒu nánrén gèng bù yīnggāi gàn huàishì。

    I admit that I’m kind of judging a book by its cover, but it just feels right that ugly guys should not be allowed to behave badly.