Modern Chinese contains a wealth of new slang terms. Unfortunately, the meanings of these terms are often unclear to those who aren’t in the know. Check out our list of three of the major Chinese slang terms that are trending right now.  1. 内卷 (nèijuǎn) 内卷 (nèijuǎn) has come to describe—and often express disgust about—the fiercely competitive atmosphere that pervades everything from education to the workplace. 内卷 (nèijuǎn) originated as a technical term in anthropology to describe “diminishing returns.” It described a situation in which an increase in population was not accompanied by an increase in innovation or productivity. The term 内卷 (nèijuǎn) has come to be a rallying cry for China’s beleaguered millennials, many of whom are sick, tired, and burnt out from quite literally working or studying from 9 in the morning until 9 at night, 6 days a week. This is known as China’s infamous "996 work culture." Using the term 内卷 (nèijuǎn) is about more than just wringing one’s hands at the state of society, however. Instead, the conversation around 内卷 (nèijuǎn) is making a subtler point by highlighting the fact that the cutthroat competition that 内卷 (nèijuǎn) describes is both brutal and senseless. 2. 躺平 (tǎng píng) What do you do after peering through the looking glass and recognizing the true nature of China’s 内卷 (nèijuǎn) rat race? In short, 躺平 (tǎng píng): just lie down flat. Yup, lie down flat on the ground and 休息一下 (xiūxí yīxià; take a rest). Take it easy, take a nap, take a break, take a day off from work, or, better yet, take two. Picture it: bamboo chairs, old folks playing Chinese chess, songbirds flitting through the trees, steaming cups of tea… doesn’t that sound nice? Sure, the pay won’t be a quarter as good, but money can’t buy happiness. We’re talking about quality of life here. This is the spirit of 躺平 (tǎng píng). While the 躺平 (tǎng píng) lifestyle is not for everyone, so long as China’s rat race continues to heat up, the 躺平 (tǎng píng) option seems destined to continue to be seen as an attractive option by many. 3. 破防了 (pò fáng le) Today, 破防了 (pò fáng le) expresses being emotional overwhelmed. It is often used in social media comments under moving, heartbreaking, inspiring, or otherwise compelling articles, images and videos. Emerging originally from the world of gamers, the phrase 破防了(pò fáng le) was initially used in the context of one’s virtual city being overwhelmed by the invading forces of the enemy: “Bro! The defenses are down! They’re coming in! 破防了 (Pò fáng le)！破防了 (Pò fáng le)!” In other words, “Our defenses have been breached! We’re compromised!” As often happens, the Internet snatched this phrase, retained some limited, context-specific aspects of its original meaning, and inflated it. It is no longer your in-game city walls that have been overrun, but rather your psychological defenses. Indeed, this phrase is so popular that the major Chinese video streaming site Bilibili selected 破防了 (pò fáng le) as their “comment of the year.” |
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