Ootdbuy Spreadsheet SearchIndependent guide to OOTDBUY

Chinese search words, and why they beat the English ones

The OOTDBUY interface is in English. The index underneath it is not. Every result title you read is a machine translation of something a Chinese seller wrote for Chinese shoppers, which means an English word only finds a listing when the translation happens to contain that word.

Typing the Chinese category word skips the translation layer. It is the single change that improves results most, it costs one copy and paste, and you do not need to read Chinese to do it.

Every word below was run through the official search once, on 2026-08-04, and the entry records what came back. Where a word read back empty on the first pass we ran it again on its own before writing anything down.

Two stacked panels comparing what the English word hoodie and the Chinese word returnedWhy the English word can land you on the wrong shelfhoodiean English word in a Chinese indexTyped in English on the Taobao tab, the first screen came back mostly sun protection layers and thin ice silk tops. All ofthem hooded. None of them the thing the word means to you.卫衣wei yi, sweat-clothingThe Chinese category word for sweat-clothing. Same tab, same day: the first screen is the garment you had in mind, fromheavyweight cotton down to thin.Both searches run on ootdbuy.com on 4 August 2026, Taobao tab, first screen only. Results move; the reason they differ does not.

Build the word you need

Pick the thing you want, then add qualifiers one at a time. The tool joins them into a Chinese search word, hands you the finished link to the official search, and shows the price band that word returned when we measured it.

Add a qualifier, one at a time

The link runs on ootdbuy.com. The qualifiers are the eight we tested; more than two at once narrows a category to almost nothing.

Four stacked queries, each adding one Chinese qualifier and narrowing the shelfA Chinese query is built in layersStart with the category word. Add one qualifier at a time and read what comes back before adding the next.卫衣wei yiThe category. Everything hooded and everything crew neck, at every weight.卫衣 男wei yi / nanMen. Cuts and sizing charts change, and half the shelf disappears.卫衣 男 加绒wei yi / nan / jia rongFleece lined. Now it is a winter garment, and heavier to ship.卫衣 男 加绒 重磅wei yi / nan / jia rong / zhong bangHeavyweight. The dense cotton the fit pictures are usually wearing.Qualifier words and their effect checked on ootdbuy.com search, 4 August 2026. The shaded bar is a reading aid, not a resultcount.

Chinese search behaves the way keyword search behaves: every word you add is another condition the title has to satisfy. Two qualifiers is usually the point where a category goes from browsable to bare.

Add them in this order and you will rarely overshoot. Gender first, because it removes the largest slice. Then weight or season, because that decides which garment you are actually looking at. Then cut, if the shelf is still too wide. Read the first screen between each step.

Do not translate a brand name into Chinese. Sellers who carry brand-adjacent goods write those names in Latin letters, frequently misspelled on purpose, and a Chinese rendering of the name matches nothing at all.

Four stacked queries, each adding one Chinese qualifier and narrowing the shelfA Chinese query is built in layersStart with the category word. Add one qualifier at a time and read what comes back before adding the next.卫衣wei yiThe category. Everything hooded and everything crew neck, at every weight.卫衣 男wei yi / nanMen. Cuts and sizing charts change, and half the shelf disappears.卫衣 男 加绒wei yi / nan / jia rongFleece lined. Now it is a winter garment, and heavier to ship.卫衣 男 加绒 重磅wei yi / nan / jia rong / zhong bangHeavyweight. The dense cotton the fit pictures are usually wearing.Qualifier words and their effect checked on ootdbuy.com search, 4 August 2026. The shaded bar is a reading aid, not a resultcount.

The same word, on the tab where it goes wrong

This is the first screen the English word hoodie returned on the Taobao tab. Almost everything on it is a thin sun protection layer or an ice silk top. Every one of them is hooded, which is why they matched, and not one of them is the garment an English speaker means by the word.

Send the Chinese category word to the same tab on the same day and the screen is sweatshirts. Nothing about the site changed; only the word did.

The Taobao tab of the OOTDBUY result page for the English word hoodie, filled with thin sun protection jackets and sleeveless summer tops
Taobao tab, the English word hoodie, 4 August 2026. Prices shown are what that screen carried on the day.

The word list

Forty-six category words. The band in the fourth column is the range across the first screen of results on the day that search was run, twenty results, default tab. It is a snapshot of a shelf rather than a price for anything, and it will drift.

ItemType thisLiterallyFirst screen, 2026-08-04On the finds wall
Hoodie卫衣wei yisweat-clothingUSD 1.33 - 21.4browse
T-shirt短袖T恤duan xiu T xushort-sleeve TUSD 0.73 - 4.48browse
Jeans牛仔裤niu zai kucowboy trousersUSD 1.82 - 24.55browse
Cargo trousers工装裤gong zhuang kuworkwear trousersUSD 1.38 - 22.4browse
Sweatpants卫裤wei kusweat trousersUSD 1 - 9.94browse
Shorts短裤duan kushort trousersUSD 0.96 - 9.27browse
Jacket夹克jia kejacket, by soundUSD 3.65 - 29.53browse
Puffer羽绒服yu rong fufeather-down clothingUSD 8.13 - 99.54browse
Overcoat大衣da yibig coatUSD 5.31 - 54.42browse
Knitwear毛衣mao yiwool clothingUSD 1.41 - 14.03browse
Shirt衬衫chen shanlining shirtUSD 1.91 - 6.47browse
Polo shirtPOLO衫POLO shanpolo shirtUSD 1.29 - 12.94browse
Gilet马甲ma jiahorse armourUSD 1.24 - 42.8browse
Tracksuit运动套装yun dong tao zhuangsport setUSD 0.75 - 13.09browse
Trainers运动鞋yun dong xiesport shoesUSD 1.66 - 44.46browse
Basketball shoes篮球鞋lan qiu xiebasketball shoesUSD 3.65 - 46.45browse
Boots靴子xue zibootsUSD 3.48 - 24.55browse
Sliders拖鞋tuo xiedrag shoesUSD 0.32 - 10.78browse
Socks袜子wa zisocksUSD 0.03 - 0.58browse
Backpack双肩包shuang jian baotwo-shoulder bagUSD 1.66 - 22.89browse
Shoulder bag单肩包dan jian baoone-shoulder bagUSD 0.8 - 22.89browse
Crossbody斜挠包xie kua baoslung-across bagUSD 1.14 - 31.52browse
Tote托特包tuo te baotote bag, by soundUSD 1.14 - 21.24browse
Handbag手提包shou ti baohand-carried bagUSD 1.14 - 19.74browse
Wallet钱包qian baomoney bagUSD 0.21 - 8.3browse
Belt皮带pi daileather bandUSD 0.05 - 5.47browse
Cap棒球帽bang qiu maobaseball hatUSD 0.36 - 7.47browse
Beanie毛线帽mao xian maowool-thread hatUSD 0.33 - 1.58browse
Scarf围巾wei jinwrap clothUSD 0.13 - 7.47browse
Gloves手套shou taohand coversUSD 0.06 - 2.24browse
Sunglasses墨镜mo jingink lensesUSD 0.13 - 24.22browse
Glasses frames眼镜框yan jing kuangglasses frameUSD 0.06 - 7.13browse
Watch手表shou biaohand clockUSD 0.2 - 6.3browse
Necklace项链xiang lianneck chainUSD 0.08 - 2.07browse
Bracelet手链shou lianhand chainUSD 0.08 - 3.15browse
Ring戒指jie zhifinger ringUSD 0.03 - 4.15browse
Earrings耳钉er dingear studsUSD 0.08 - 1.99browse
Jewellery饰品shi pinornamentsUSD 0.01 - 1.41browse
Perfume香水xiang shuifragrant waterUSD 0.25 - 6.14browse
Headphones耳机er jiear machineUSD 0.66 - 7.62browse
Phone case手机壳shou ji kephone shellUSD 0.08 - 9.12browse
Keyboard键盘jian pankey plateUSD 0.03 - 13.27browse
Plush toy毛绒玩具mao rong wan jufluffy toyUSD 0.1 - 2.89browse
Dress连衣裙lian yi qunjoined-clothing skirtUSD 1.66 - 16.26browse
Skirt半身裙ban shen qunhalf-body skirtUSD 0.91 - 9.79browse
Suitcase行李箱xing li xiangluggage boxUSD 3.15 - 27.94browse
Three stacked sources for Chinese search wordsThree places a usable Chinese word comes fromThe listing you already haveIf you have one good listing open, its Chinese title is a word list written by someone selling the exact thing. Lift thecategory word out of it.The table on this siteForty-six category words, each one run through the OOTDBUY search once so the entry is backed by a real result, not by adictionary.The qualifier listMen, women, fleece lined, heavyweight, loose, retro. Short words that do most of the narrowing once the category word isright.The table referred to is /search-words/ on this site; every entry there carries the date its search was run.

The qualifiers worth knowing

Eight short words that do most of the narrowing. Each was tested on top of a category word rather than on its own.

Type thisSay itIt meansUse it when
男nanmenThe category word is returning both, which it does by default.
女nvwomenSame reason, opposite half of the shelf.
加绒jia rongfleece linedYou want the winter version of a garment that exists in both.
重磅zhong bangheavyweightYou want dense cotton rather than the thin end of the category.
宽松kuan songloose fitYou want the oversized cut, which Chinese listings treat as a fit and not as a size.
美式复古mei shi fu guAmerican retroYou are after a style rather than an item. Works well on tops, poorly on accessories.
纯棉chun mianpure cottonYou want the material stated in the title rather than guessed from a photo.
透气tou qibreathableUseful on trainers and sportswear, meaningless on outerwear.
Three stacked sources for Chinese search wordsThree places a usable Chinese word comes fromThe listing you already haveIf you have one good listing open, its Chinese title is a word list written by someone selling the exact thing. Lift thecategory word out of it.The table on this siteForty-six category words, each one run through the OOTDBUY search once so the entry is backed by a real result, not by adictionary.The qualifier listMen, women, fleece lined, heavyweight, loose, retro. Short words that do most of the narrowing once the category word isright.The table referred to is /search-words/ on this site; every entry there carries the date its search was run.

Reading a Chinese title without reading Chinese

Once a search returns the right shelf, the titles still look like noise. They are not. They are keyword lists, and a few patterns are worth recognising.

A number followed by a weight unit near the front is usually fabric weight, and it is the most useful number in the whole title. A number next to a piece counter is a pack quantity, which is how a wholesale listing ends up looking cheap. The phrase cross-border in a translated title means the seller is set up for export orders. And a brand name spelled almost right is deliberate rather than sloppy.

What to do when two listings look identical

A search result card beside three notes on its badge, title and priceWhat a search result shows before you open itsource badgeCross-Border HeavyCotton Hooded ...USD 8.79The badgeWhich of the three sources this result came from. Worth reading first: it tells youwhat kind of seller you are about to open.The titleA machine translation of a Chinese title written for the Chinese search box. It is abag of keywords, not a description. Brand names in it are often deliberatelymisspelled.The priceThe goods alone, before domestic freight, before international freight. Read it as aposition on the shelf, not as what the parcel will cost.Card fields as they render on the ootdbuy.com result page, 4 August 2026. The garment is a drawing, not a listing.

Where to take the word once you have it

Two places, in this order. If a search keeps returning the wrong thing, where searches go wrong lists the eight usual causes.

link iconFinds wall

Check the shape on the finds pages

If you are not sure what the item is called in English, browse the category first and match the picture. The card names it for you.

Open the finds wallsearch iconOOTDBUY official

Run it in the official box

Paste the Chinese word into the search bar at the top of ootdbuy.com, then pick your source tab before you read anything else.

Open ootdbuy.com