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Chinese Slang

Chinese Slang Dictionary

Chinese slang (网络流行语, wǎngluò liúxíngyǔ) is the informal Chinese people use online and with friends: yyds ("the GOAT"), 躺平 ("lying flat"), 666 ("nicely done"). Fluentide's dictionary has 89 terms, each with pinyin, the English meaning, a usage-status tag and audio.

Trending right now

红温going red班味soul-crushed office looki人an introvert显眼包the show-off
Haoshan Hong
Haoshan Hong

Founder of Fluentide · Native Mandarin speaker · Schwarzman Scholar at Tsinghua University

Updated October 2026

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Practise Chinese slang with flashcards

Word first. Tap to see the picture, pinyin, meaning, an example and the spoken explainer.

What is Chinese slang?

Chinese slang, 网络流行语 (wǎngluò liúxíngyǔ), is the part of Chinese that textbooks don't cover: pinyin acronyms like yyds (永远的神, “the GOAT”), number codes like 666, puns, dating labels, and burnout words like 内卷 (the rat race) and 躺平 (lying flat). Most of it starts on Weibo, Douyin and Bilibili and ends up in ordinary conversation.

How Chinese slang is formed

The four ways Chinese internet slang is formed: pinyin acronyms, number codes, homophone puns, and repurposed everyday words.Four examples. yyds is a pinyin acronym of 永远的神 (yǒngyuǎn de shén) and means the GOAT. 666 is a number code where 六 (liù) sounds like 溜 (liū), meaning nicely done. 集美 is a homophone pun on 姐妹 (jiěmèi, sisters) used to address girls. 内卷 (nèi juǎn) is an everyday word, literally inward-rolling, repurposed to mean the rat race.yydsPinyin acronym永远的神 · yǒngyuǎn de shén“the GOAT” — forever god666Number code六 liù sounds like 溜 liū“nicely done” — smooth, slick集美Homophone pun姐妹 · jiěmèi (sisters)“girls” — playful address内卷Repurposed wordnèi juǎn · lit. inward-rolling“the rat race” — pointless grind
Almost every term in this dictionary is built one of these four ways. Spot the mechanic and a new word stops looking random.

Is this Chinese slang still current?

Chinese slang terms by usage status89 terms in this dictionary: 48 trending, 27 classic, 7 declining, 3 outdated, 4 cringe.Trending48 termsBlowing up right nowClassic27 termsMainstream, still used dailyDeclining7 termsFading but still aliveOutdated3 termsPeople have stopped using itCringe4 termsUsing it now marks you as out-of-touch
Every term in this dictionary carries one of these tags. Trending and classic terms are safe to use; the last two will date you.

Browse Chinese slang by category

Chinese Internet Slang

36 terms

Pinyin acronyms, number codes and meme words from Weibo, Bilibili and Douyin: yyds, 666, xswl.

Chinese Gen-Z Slang

19 terms

Cutesy, ironic, fast-changing words young people type: 绝绝子, 尊嘟假嘟, i人.

Chinese Work & Burnout Slang

9 terms

How young people in China talk about the grind: 内卷, 躺平, 摸鱼, 摆烂.

Everyday Chinese Slang

19 terms

Reactions, labels and set phrases from normal conversation that textbooks leave out.

Chinese Dating Slang

6 terms

Labels for crushes, players and relationship status: 海王, 舔狗, CPDD.

All 89 Chinese slang terms

Search by characters, pinyin (tones optional) or English. Try yyds, neijuan or lying flat.

89 terms · page 1 of 4

红温 (hóng wēn) — Going red in the face from anger, embarrassment, or losing your cool — your 'temperature' visibly spikes.
Trending

红温

hóng wēn

going red / tilted / losing it

班味 (bān wèi) — The worn-down, drained look a job stamps onto you — dead eyes, no spark, the 'office vibe' you can't wash off after months of clocking in.
Trending

班味

bān wèi

soul-crushed office look / work has drained me

i人 (i rén) — An introvert, from the MBTI 'I' type; the opposite is e人 (extrovert). Used loosely for anyone shy or drained by socializing.
Trending

i人

i rén

an introvert / the MBTI I-type

显眼包 (xiǎn yǎn bāo) — An attention-grabbing goofball who can't help standing out and making a scene — usually said affectionately.
Trending

显眼包

xiǎn yǎn bāo

the show-off / class clown / a whole spectacle

搭子 (dā zi) — An activity buddy for one specific thing — a 饭搭子 (meal buddy), 咖啡搭子 (coffee buddy), 旅游搭子 (travel buddy). Lighter than a close friend.
Trending

搭子

dā zi

an activity buddy / a [meal/gym] partner

抽象 (chōu xiàng) — Absurd, chaotic, makes-no-sense-on-purpose humor or behavior. Calling something 抽象 means it's so random and surreal that it's funny.
Trending

抽象

chōu xiàng

unhinged / chaotic / cursed (but funny)

活人感 (huó rén gǎn) — The quality of seeming like a real, spontaneous human online instead of a polished, scripted brand. High praise for unfiltered, relatable content.
Trending

活人感

huó rén gǎn

feels like an actual person / unfiltered and real

谷子 (gǔ zi) — Anime / game / idol merch — badges, figures, cards. A phonetic spelling of "goods". Buying it is 吃谷 ("eating grain").
Trending

谷子

gǔ zi

anime merch / fan goods

主理人 (zhǔ lǐ rén) — Originally a brand founder/curator. Now often mocking — a tiny-shop owner who acts grandly artisanal about, say, a sandwich.
Trending

主理人

zhǔ lǐ rén

the 'founder' / self-important small-biz owner

邪修 (xié xiū) — An unorthodox, rule-breaking shortcut that somehow works — the 'wrong' method that gets the result anyway. Opposite of the by-the-book way.
Trending

邪修

xié xiū

a cursed life-hack / the unorthodox method

当个事儿办 (dàng ge shìr bàn) — To treat something as if it genuinely matters and actually deal with it, instead of letting it drift.
Trending

当个事儿办

dàng ge shìr bàn

actually take it seriously

已读乱回 (yǐ dú luàn huí) — Reading a message and answering something absurd or unrelated. Often it is deliberate — a joking dodge, or a soft way to decline — and it also describes two people whose replies never quite meet.
Trending

已读乱回

yǐ dú luàn huí

read it and replied with nonsense

我嘞个豆 (wǒ lei ge dòu) — A Henan-dialect exclamation — "oh my god", "wow". It carries genuine admiration as often as shock, so it usually lands warm rather than alarmed.
Trending

我嘞个豆

wǒ lei ge dòu

oh my god / wow

淡人 (dàn rén) — The low-key half of the pair: light on emotion, ambition and socialising, hard to rattle. Worth knowing it is not the same as 社恐 — a 淡人 is not anxious, just genuinely unbothered either way.
Trending

淡人

dàn rén

a chill, unbothered person

外耗 (wài hào) — Letting it out instead of swallowing it. Where 内耗 is grinding yourself down with overthinking, 外耗 is directing that friction outward — saying the awkward thing, making it the other person's problem — to protect your own energy.
Trending

外耗

wài hào

making it someone else's problem

痛包 (tòng bāo) — An ita bag — a bag covered in badges and character merch, usually behind a clear window. The "pain" is how visually overwhelming it is, and the otaku self-mockery of loving something that openly.
Trending

痛包

tòng bāo

ita bag / merch bag

吧唧 (bā jī) — A pin badge, especially character merchandise. Traded, displayed on a 痛包, and collected in the same ecosystem as 谷子.
Trending

吧唧

bā jī

pin badge

松弛感 (sōng chí gǎn) — Composure under pressure — handling things calmly and treating yourself decently instead of tensing up. Praise for someone who does not look like they are gripping the wheel.
Trending

松弛感

sōng chí gǎn

effortless ease

古希腊掌管……的神 (gǔ xī là zhǎng guǎn … de shén) — Hyperbolic praise for being the authority on something — "the ancient Greek god of X". The domain is always deliberately mundane, and it works aimed at yourself too: 我是掌管干饭的神.
Trending

古希腊掌管……的神

gǔ xī là zhǎng guǎn … de shén

the patron saint of …

俺不中嘞 (ǎn bù zhòng le) — An internet phrase meaning "I am done / I cannot take it", assembled from Henan dialect. Worth knowing before you use it: Henan speakers generally find the construction stilted rather than authentic, and in real dialect 不中了 can describe someone in very bad physical shape. It is a meme voice, not a phrase to try on a Henan friend.
Trending

俺不中嘞

ǎn bù zhòng le

I can't take it

浓人 (nóng rén) — The high-energy half of a personality pair: enthusiastic, broad interests, competitive, full of social battery and the urge to share. A vibe label, not a diagnosis.
Trending

浓人

nóng rén

an intense, high-energy person

活人微死 (huó rén wēi sǐ) — Physically present but emotionally flatlined — still at your desk, nobody home. A burnout joke, never literal.
Trending

活人微死

huó rén wēi sǐ

dead inside but still showing up

误闯天家 (wù chuǎng tiān jiā) — Awe at stumbling into somewhere extremely luxurious or beautiful — a hotel, a home, a garden that feels above your pay grade.
Trending

误闯天家

wù chuǎng tiān jiā

I wandered into somewhere way too fancy

……基础，……就不基础 (… jī chǔ, … jiù bù jī chǔ) — A contrast formula: keep one half plain so the other half can do the talking. It started as a styling rule — a basic top with a statement bottom — and now gets applied to any deliberate ordinary-plus-extra pairing.
Trending

……基础，……就不基础

… jī chǔ, … jiù bù jī chǔ

keep one half plain, let the other pop

The method in practice

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When to use Chinese slang

When to use Chinese slangSlang fits in group chats, comments and posts, with friends in person and with coworkers your age. Skip it with your boss, teachers and elders, in job interviews, and in essays and emails.Slang fitsGroup chatsComments and postsFriends, in personCoworkers your ageSkip itYour bossTeachers and eldersJob interviewsEssays and emails
The same rule as English slang: use it with peers, drop it when the other person is grading, hiring or older than you.

Frequently asked questions

Keep learning

Chinese Vocabulary

The everyday words under the slang, with pinyin and audio.

Chinese Grammar by HSK level

The patterns slang bends, explained in English.

How comprehensible input works

Why listening to Chinese you mostly understand beats word lists.

Chinese listening practice

Natural speech at your level, where this slang turns up.

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