Zhiren (直人)

Zhiren — “straight person” — is the everyday Chinese word for heterosexual people, a direct calque of the English “straight,” with wan (“bent”) as its counterpart for gay. The metaphor pair has fully naturalized into Chinese internet language. Zhinan (straight man) and zhinü (straight woman) are the gendered forms; all are neutral descriptors, carrying no judgment either way.

The best derivative is zhitongzhi — “straight tongzhi” — meaning a straight ally of the LGBTQ+ community (see the ally guide if that’s you).

Register note: colloquial and online. Formal writing says yixinglianzhe (“heterosexual person”).

Common confusions: first, zhinan (a straight man — neutral) versus zhinan’ai (“straight-man cancer”), internet slang mocking sexist attitudes. The latter is about attitude, not orientation, and the two shouldn’t be bundled. Second, treating “straight” as the default right answer: straight people are the majority, but majority is not the same as the only normal (see comphet).