# In Chinese, Is 'Turtle Head' The Proper Term For 'Penis'? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 2, 2007, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-chinese-is-turtle-head-the-proper-term-for-penis/398381 "2007-04-02T03:31:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-chinese-is-turtle-head-the-proper-term-for-penis/398381/1 "2007-04-02T03:31:15Z")
As I understand it, in Chinese, ‘turtle head’ (pronounced QUAY-toe in Mandarin) is a common term used to describe the male appendage, because it is said to look and sound like a penis (some turtles emit a hissing sound when they withdraw their head into their shell). I would like to know if ‘turtle head’ is, in fact, the actual medical term for the penis, or if it is just a common slang expression for the penis like ‘cock’ or ‘pecker.’ In other words, if you were to attend a conference of Chinese urologists, would you hear them talking about ‘turtle heads’? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-chinese-is-turtle-head-the-proper-term-for-penis/398381/2 "2007-04-02T03:56:39Z")
I don’t know about Chinese, but it in Japanese it is the correct medical term for _part of_ the penis - namely the glans. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-chinese-is-turtle-head-the-proper-term-for-penis/398381/3 "2007-04-02T04:32:19Z")
[QUOTE=scr4] I don’t know about Chinese, but it in Japanese it is the correct medical term for _part of_ the penis - namely the glans. [/QUOTE] It’s the same in Chinese, or so my dictionary says: 龟头 (龜頭 in traditional script) – gui1 tou2 : glans. For the record it’s 亀頭 – kitou, in Japanese. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-chinese-is-turtle-head-the-proper-term-for-penis/398381/4 "2007-04-02T04:34:04Z")
nope. it’s crude slang. turtle is often used as an insult proper term is ying1jin1. ‘lao’er’ is very common slang ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-chinese-is-turtle-head-the-proper-term-for-penis/398381/5 "2007-04-02T04:48:50Z")
[QUOTE=China Guy] nope. it’s crude slang. turtle is often used as an insult [/QUOTE] While I don’t dispute common usage, it seems, from what I gather, that _gui tou_ is used seriously to refer to the glans. For example, [this page](http://www.sg120.com/nanxing/296/baopiguitouyan.html), from a hospital’s site talks about inflamation of the glans and foreskin as 包皮龟头炎. However, when I was a teen, in French, the proper word for “glans”, “gland”, was a relatively common insult. So a word can both be harsh slang _and_ a proper medical term. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-chinese-is-turtle-head-the-proper-term-for-penis/398381/6 "2007-04-02T06:30:08Z")
[QUOTE=Surreal] …it is said to look and sound like a penis (some turtles emit a hissing sound when they withdraw their head into their shell). [/QUOTE] :eek: My penis has never hissed! This thread reminds me of the Seinfeld episode, when Jerry and George are trying to explain the effects of cold water on a penis: “It shrinks?” “ **Like a frightened turtle**.” “I don’t know how you guys walk around with those things.” ---
**Author:** ![Donovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@Donovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donovan)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-chinese-is-turtle-head-the-proper-term-for-penis/398381/7 "2007-04-02T06:33:15Z")
[QUOTE=Surreal] As I understand it, in Chinese, ‘turtle head’ (pronounced QUAY-toe in Mandarin) is a common term used to describe the male appendage, because it is said to look and sound like a penis (some turtles emit a hissing sound when they withdraw their head into their shell). [/QUOTE] My penis never makes a hissing sound, is it broken? ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-chinese-is-turtle-head-the-proper-term-for-penis/398381/8 "2007-04-02T06:50:44Z")
I _wish_ my penis made a hissing sound! ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-chinese-is-turtle-head-the-proper-term-for-penis/398381/9 "2007-04-02T14:27:01Z")
[QUOTE=China Guy] ‘lao’er’ is very common slang [/QUOTE] Old son? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-chinese-is-turtle-head-the-proper-term-for-penis/398381/10 "2007-04-02T14:38:18Z")
I’ve been told that calling someone a “turtle egg” is a big insult in Chinese because it’s basically a way to call someone a bastard (turtles don’t know who their parents are). A college prof who was fluent in Chinese once said during a lecture that telling someone to “Roll away” [like a turtle egg] in Chinese was like saying “fuck off.” ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-chinese-is-turtle-head-the-proper-term-for-penis/398381/11 "2007-04-02T14:46:57Z")
[QUOTE=Tangent] My penis has never hissed! [/QUOTE] Would you rather experience a penis hissing, or a heinous pissing?