The Names of 6000 Short Dramas Reveal the Most Secret Desires of Chinese People#
#Omnivore
This article comes from the WeChat public account: Hedgehog Community (ID: ciweigongshe), Author: Xinghui, Editor: Principal, Cover image from: Visual China
This article explores the most secret desires of Chinese people by analyzing the names of 6000 short dramas. The author finds that female-oriented short dramas mainly revolve around marriage, while male-oriented short dramas focus on love and empowerment. These short drama titles reflect people's desires and anxieties for security, parent-child relationships, and self-worth.
• 💍 Female-oriented short dramas closely tie to the theme of marriage, creating a rich variety of naming methods.
• 🏢 Male-oriented short dramas focus on love and empowerment, attracting viewers with plot twists and face-slapping storylines.
• 🤔 The names of short dramas reveal people's inner desires and anxieties for security, parent-child relationships, and self-worth.
In the modern content war for attention, names are always the first bullet loaded.
In terms of eye-catching appeal, sharpshooters in the public account field are commonly referred to as "clickbait," while the top figures in online literature are half-envied and half-disdained by peers as belonging to the "Feilu style." The naming examples in the light novel realm have even spawned a famous phrase for cross-border dissemination—about why I must choose such a long title to attract attention.
Today, the most eye-catching new naming contenders in the traffic arena are short dramas. A brand new discipline of naming is emerging alongside the alluring myth of wealth creation.
I am curious, what are the most popular naming keywords for short dramas right now? Why can they make Chinese viewers stop scrolling and click on payment links? What exactly do the men and women attracted by these short drama names seek from fictional stories?
To answer these questions, I collected and organized the names of 6000 Chinese short dramas, and used this sample for word segmentation and frequency statistics, resulting in the 200 most frequently occurring keywords for short drama naming. Next, based on the differences in the main audience categories, I conducted a secondary classification of these 200 keywords, observing the naming methods of short dramas from the perspective of specific user groups.
This is undoubtedly a spectacle that belongs only to the internet age: behind 386 "CEOs," 240 "wives," and 98 "war gods," countless propositions concerning class, gender, and desire are hidden between the words, surging beneath millions of flickering smartphone screens.
- Female Section: A Thousand Subcategories of Marriage
An interesting fact is that if we line up the high-frequency words clearly associated with female-oriented short dramas, the top one would be "CEO," while the last would be "love," with the two gazing at each other from afar in silence.
And in the long stretch between the top and the bottom, we can clearly glimpse the naming theme closely surrounding female-oriented short dramas—marriage.
Around the word "marriage," short drama creators are racking their brains to come up with names that can capture niche markets, constantly innovating and creating, understanding the nuances better than ChatGPT.
First, in terms of the timeline of marriage, these short drama titles completely cover the entire industry chain of "newlywed" (21 times), "divorce" (205 times), and "remarriage" (15 times)—yes, divorce is always the highest-rated episode.
Specifically regarding the "newlywed" phase, there are many opening options beyond the conventional path, such as "flash marriage" (148 times), which continues the "marriage before love" lineage, and the "hidden marriage" (20 times) that every young master seems to have. Conversely, the naming ideas that interrupt "newlywed" thinking have given rise to two major factions: "broken engagement" (16 times) and "elopement" (46 times)…
Secondly, regarding the male characters in marriage stories, short drama creators are both seeking retro themes and innovation.
Undoubtedly, the "classical" domineering CEO type remains the absolute mainstream in the short drama market, with CEO density comparable to traditional female-oriented online literature platforms. With an astonishing frequency of 386 times, the term "CEO" firmly sits at the top of this frequency statistics.
In other words, in every 100 short drama works, there are about 6.5 CEOs who will show you a doting smile.
In fact, the actual proportion of CEO characters in short dramas is likely even higher, as the "surname + CEO" phrasing is also a very common alternative in short drama titles, forming its own category in the statistics.
From the frequency results, the major surnames of CEOs in the short drama realm have welcomed a wave of updates, known as the second CEO battle.
The "Gu CEO," which held a dominant position in traditional female-oriented online literature, has been replaced by the old rival "Fu CEO" (36 times) in the short drama world, while "Lu CEO" (35 times) narrowly lost, followed closely by "Li CEO" (23 times) and "Huo CEO" (18 times), all eyeing the throne.
It is unclear when, but the Li family has surpassed the older generation of CEO families, becoming the tacit choice for many short drama creators trying out "niche surnames."
Of course, the retro CEO theme is not the only option. Some creators choose to take a different path, using highly dynamic character settings to name short dramas, creating a sense of "it would be impolite not to click in and take a look."
For example, in the initial statistical results, a high-frequency word called "plant" (16 times) puzzled me for a long time. It wasn't until I traced back to the corresponding short drama titles that I suddenly realized the full term should be "vegetative person," or more specifically, "vegetative husband."
Yes, "vegetative husband" has become a fashionable setting with considerable market potential in the short drama circle. Each time the female lead awakens her "vegetative husband," the surprise scene inevitably puts the audience in a dilemma between the Nobel Prize in Literature and the Nobel Prize in Medicine.
Finally, introducing external variables into the couple's world has become a new clever naming trick for more and more short drama creators.
The case of being spoiled by "brother" (29 times) is no longer new; in comparison, the more popular trend in female-oriented short dramas is "cute baby" (94 times).
As the cute babies gain power in the short drama circle, a series of naming keywords have also ascended. Among them, the most representative are the terms for the male and female leads, "daddy" (84 times) and "mommy" (80 times), as well as the term "assist" (16 times) that clarifies the cute baby plot positioning.
The existence of the latter reminds us once again that even with the addition of the baby DLC, the main storyline of marriage stories remains unbreakable.
Additionally, it is particularly noteworthy that the naming trend of cute babies often comes with another significant "selling point," namely that "one birth" (23 times) does not yield just one child. Besides the most common "double treasures" (34 times), there are also many short drama names featuring "three treasures," "four treasures," and even "five treasures" and "seven treasures," seemingly unwilling to easily concede the Nobel Prize in Medicine to the "vegetative husband."
In summary, if we string together several key characteristic keywords of female-oriented short drama naming, we might arrive at a plot-twisting, thought-provoking short drama titled "After Divorcing the Wife with Three Babies from One Birth, the Overbearing Fu CEO Became a Vegetative Person."
- Male Section: A Quick Reference Manual for Superlative Adjectives
In another world, male-oriented short dramas also have their own tasks to accomplish, with keywords roughly divided into two thematic categories.
One is love. Similar to the various male gods in female-oriented keywords, many male-oriented keywords reflect a mirrored "goddess" realm.
In the story, "she" can be the regrettable "ex-wife" (63 times) and "fiancée" (14 times), or the high-ranking "empress" (40 times), "princess" (24 times), and "senior sister" (24 times), with the common feature being "stunning beauty" (22 times).
Interestingly, while "empress" is a popular target for male-oriented short dramas, the similar term "queen" rarely appears in male-oriented short drama titles. In most cases, "queen" (27 times) is a self-reference by the protagonists of female-oriented short dramas.
Of course, more male-oriented creators do not overthink it, but simply use the most straightforward and concise summary: "beauty" (70 times). To conquer them, they are even willing to imitate Jin Yong's use of "fake eunuch" (10 times) techniques without hesitation.
From this perspective, the male-oriented "beauty" is probably akin to the female-oriented "CEO," belonging to the universal truth of the cosmos, the ultimate answer to all naming dilemmas.
However, under another major topic for male-oriented dramas, short drama creators find it much harder to reach a consensus on naming.
This matter that can get everyone riled up is simply about empowerment.
So, how can naming make the thrill of a comeback cloud male viewers' minds and prompt them to enter their payment passwords?
On one hand, the key lies in the contrast brought by identity.
For example, a universal killer move in male-oriented short dramas is to borrow the most deeply ingrained image of a loser throughout history—"son-in-law" (39 times)—and then embark on a journey of face-slapping and satisfaction.
From this starting point, "mad son-in-law" (21 times), "divine son-in-law" (15 times), and "dragon son-in-law" (15 times) take turns appearing in short drama titles, as if aiming to collect 101 styles of cool "door-in-law" characters, staging a grand son-in-law selection show.
More trendy creators directly designate "working person" (17 times) as the protagonist, breathing the same air as trending topics on Weibo. In terms of specific professions, "security guard" (24 times) and "delivery" (23 times) have become emerging industries with a high concentration of protagonists, even surpassing the evergreen old predecessor "bodyguard" (22 times).
On the other hand, to conquer male short drama viewers, the strength achieved after empowerment must be prominently displayed in the name, bold and scrolling.
Just how strong is it? The answer is generally the strongest.
How strong is the strongest? The answer includes "supreme" (74 times), "invincible" (48 times), "peerless" (43 times), "pinnacle" (34 times), "super" (34 times), "overlord" (27 times)… countless adjectives all point to the highest peak.
Simply having a domineering adjective is not enough; male-oriented short dramas also come with a series of indirect top identities, offering a wide selection.
Besides the "war god" (98 times), which makes hot-blooded middle-aged men unable to move after watching, the mainstream best-selling wholesale titles can be summarized as a "descendants of the dragon" large-scale series, including "dragon king" (32 times), "mad dragon" (31 times), "dragon commander" (22 times), "dragon lord" (20 times), "heavenly dragon" (17 times), "hidden dragon" (17 times), "covert dragon" (16 times), and "divine dragon" (15 times), allowing for a different skin every day from Monday to Sunday.
Finally, if we were to compare the bizarre degree of names, male-oriented short dramas would not easily concede defeat.
Take "devaluation," which appears 22 times, for example. As one of the branches of the rich man's short dramas, while its stunning degree may be slightly inferior to "vegetative husband," the simple monetary concept it contains can repeatedly shock my young heart.
You might wonder how easy it is to get rich this way; why didn't we think of such a good idea?
- Comparative Review: Eternal Desires and Anxieties
Returning to the initial question, what do the men and women attracted by these short drama names seek from fictional stories?
Before seeing the names of 6000 short dramas, I might have answered vaguely with "love" and "thrill." But now, we can discuss more concrete details.
For a long time, people in first- and second-tier cities, viewing the industry from a commercial perspective, often linked the "short drama craze" with the "sinking market." They envied the rich and tempting "sinking" resources while harboring a conscious or unconscious arrogance, quickly glancing over those "unworthy of the grand stage" hit shows.
The problem is that if we merely summarize everything with the phrase "sinking market," many content logics that should not be overlooked will be obscured.
Some people view many short drama naming keywords as vulgar, clichéd, or even laughably incomprehensible.
Looking back at our previous discussion, the two gender keywords that best represent the stereotype of the sinking market are "cute baby" and "son-in-law." They are the starting points of a series of sub-keywords, linking the two major lucrative categories of "multiple treasures" and "son-in-law," while simultaneously facing the disdain and aversion of young people towards their outdated frameworks.
After all, a woman who derives happiness from "one birth with multiple treasures" and a man who repeats the old trope of "son-in-law's comeback" are far from the ideal selves of contemporary young people.
However, for others, the words that are not understood correspond to genuine existing anxieties.
In "multiple treasures" stories, children with extraordinary intelligence become the most solid support for their mothers, achieving both instrumental rewards for love and respect, while generously depicting an unbreakable parent-child bond.
The intense sense of security it provides is a tremendous temptation for middle-aged women who pour their hearts into their children in reality. Those Chinese mothers who have walked alone from "widowed parenting" have never escaped the secret desire for compensation, yet they can never truly express it to any other. Thus, they can only seek an outlet from the exaggerated imagination of "one birth with multiple treasures," rewriting their experiences of painless childbirth and hopeful nurturing.
Similarly, the emotional core of "son-in-law" short dramas is also rooted in the hearts of middle-aged men in a highly similar manner.
The anxiety encapsulated in the unique term "son-in-law" has a lineage that predates short dramas and even online literature. From the first Chinese man who was despised for being a son-in-law, the identity of "son-in-law" has become a concentrated symbol of male identity anxiety.
The lack of recognition from society and family for one's status and contributions are the two most difficult anxieties for men to shake off after a lifetime of hard work, fundamentally rooted in the fear of being "incompetent" or "useless." Everything that "son-in-law" short dramas do is to repeatedly soothe that deepest cultural wound, telling the silent middle-aged man before them: you are not incompetent.
Ultimately, the reason "face-slapping" never ceases is that anxiety is never quelled.
From a broader perspective, the popularity of these content archetypes in the realm of online literature predates the rise of short dramas. Similar commercial stories have already been told once in the online literature circle, where the protagonist was free reading.
Assistant Professor Ji Yunfei from Sun Yat-sen University’s Chinese Department (Zhuhai), who has long focused on online literature, once commented that the most irreplaceable significance of free reading is that it has recruited and absorbed hundreds of millions of pirated and new users, transforming them into target readers for authors' creations, such as a large number of middle-aged and elderly readers who previously did not read online literature.
The immense potential released by the short drama industry today is akin to the market increment activated by the free online literature model back then, benefiting those who were once overlooked and forgotten. Through the so-called "sinking" business model, more silent Chinese people have become target users for content creators.
In the silent, unpretentious crowd, unvoiced desires have birthed a consensus among creators, constructing the naming vocabulary we see today. This is true for online literature, and it is also true for short dramas.
The social issues behind some bizarre phrases have their own propositions to face. But criticizing creators for not being lofty in the literary relief process may be another form of misplaced violence.
In fact, it is precisely these seemingly unrefined contents that have found a remedy in fiction that does not harm reality, appropriately responding to the anxieties that people find hardest to articulate.
Artistic works that soothe public desires are not shameful. Creating works that can comfort the public and gain commercial returns is also not shameful. The individual pain and desires themselves are not shameful either.
This article comes from the WeChat public account: Hedgehog Community (ID: ciweigongshe), Author: Xinghui, Editor: Principal