班味
bān wèi
In English
soul-crushed office look / work has drained me
What does 班味 mean?
班味 (bān wèi) is a work Chinese slang term that literally means "work smell". 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. In English, it's closest to "soul-crushed office look / work has drained me".
Character breakdown
work shift; a stint on the job
smell; flavor
Hear it explained
A 30-second take on 班味 — what it means, where it came from, and how to use it.
Okay, you know that look people get after a soul-sucking job too long? Dead eyes, zero energy, like life got quietly drained out of them. Chinese nails it in two characters: 班味, bān wèi — the work smell. Your job literally gives off a scent, and it is not a good one. 上了半年班，整个人都是班味. Honestly? Relatable.
Example
上了半年班，整个人都是班味。
Shàng le bànnián bān, zhěnggè rén dōu shì bān wèi.
Half a year on the job and I reek of the office grind.
What 班味 goes with
Where 班味 comes from
Took off in 2024 to capture how a draining job physically shows on you — the opposite of looking fresh and full of life.
Related slang
Pointless, exhausting competition where everyone works harder and harder just to stay in the same place — the rat race with no payoff.
Opting out of the grind — refusing to overwork, over-compete, or chase society's expectations. A quiet protest against 内卷.
A self-deprecating but oddly proud badge for the everyday wage earner grinding through their job.
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