All terms
Every trending Chinese term we have explained, newest first.
吃谷chī gǔ
ACG fandom slang for buying, collecting, and displaying character merchandise, especially badges, cards, acrylic stands, and plushies.
Phrases情绪价值qíng xù jià zhí
The comfort, validation, fun, and sense of being cared for that someone or something gives you emotionally.
Culture断亲duàn qīn
The growing phenomenon of young Chinese cutting off or quietly dropping contact with extended relatives — skipping reunions, ignoring the group chat, letting cousin ties lapse.
Slang松弛感sōngchí gǎn
Effortless, unbothered ease — the aspirational quality of staying calm and unhurried when things go wrong, or of a style that looks beautifully un-forced.
Phrases草台班子cǎotái bānzi
A slapdash, amateurish operation held together with duct tape — now used to say that every organization, however prestigious, is secretly improvising.
Slang偷感tōu gǎn
The self-conscious urge to do things furtively — working out, job hunting, even existing — as if any observed effort would be embarrassing; 'doing everything like you're stealing'.
Slang淡人dàn rén
A low-reactivity person: emotionally muted, hard to excite, replies 'ok' to everything — the opposite of a 浓人 (nóng rén), an intense, expressive person.
Slang班味bān wèi
The unmistakable aura of a worn-down office worker — dull eyes, wrinkled shirt, gray complexion — that clings to you once you've started working and is famously hard to wash off.
Slang那咋了nà zǎ le
'And? So what?' — a breezy, northeastern-flavored shrug used to deflect judgment or anxiety; the motto of not letting anything get to you.
Memes尊嘟假嘟zūn dū jiǎ dū
'For real?!' — a cutesy, baby-talk way of saying 真的假的 (zhēnde jiǎde, 'really? no way!').
Memescity不citycity bù city
'Is it citywalk-cool or not?' — a playful bilingual catchphrase asking whether something is stylish, urban, exciting; by extension 好city = very cool/fun.
Memes泼天的富贵pōtiān de fùguì
A sudden, overwhelming windfall of fortune or fame — used when unexpected massive success lands on someone (or some brand/city), often with the question of whether they can 'catch' it.
Slang显眼包xiǎnyǎnbāo
An adorably attention-grabbing person (or thing) — the class clown, the friend who can't help standing out in a funny, endearing way.
Slang摆烂bǎi làn
To deliberately stop trying and let a bad situation get worse — an ostentatious, even cheerful, embrace of failure.
Slang躺平tǎng píng
To opt out of the rat race — rejecting overwork, consumerism and societal pressure by doing the bare minimum.
Slang内卷nèijuǎn
Pointless, escalating internal competition where everyone works harder and harder but nobody actually ends up better off.
Slang搭子dāzi
A low-commitment activity partner — someone you team up with for one specific thing (eating lunch, going to the gym, traveling) without the obligations of a full friendship.