Work & Burnout
摆烂
bǎi làn
In English
letting it rot / actively giving up
Illustration
coming soon
Classic · Mainstream, still used dailyliterally: set it out to rot
What does 摆烂 mean?
Deliberately letting things go to ruin — when a situation is already hopeless, you stop trying entirely. More nihilistic than 躺平.
Hear it explained
Short audio explainer coming soon.
Example
反正改不完了，干脆摆烂吧。
Fǎnzhèng gǎi bù wán le, gāncuì bǎi làn ba.
I'll never finish anyway — might as well let it all rot.
What 摆烂 goes with
直接摆烂zhíjiē bǎilànjust let it all rot
摆烂了bǎilàn legave up entirely
Where 摆烂 comes from
From NBA "tanking" (摆烂 = losing on purpose for a better draft pick). It broadened to any "it's hopeless, so I quit" attitude.