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Chinese Slang

Chinese Gen-Z Slang

Chinese Gen-Z slang is the playful, ironic vocabulary of people born after the mid-1990s, like i人 (an introvert), 红温 (going red, losing it) and 绝绝子 (iconic, or a total disaster). This page has 19 terms, trending first.

Haoshan Hong
Haoshan Hong

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

Updated October 2026

Chinese Gen-Z Slang terms

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

爱你老己 (ài nǐ lǎo jǐ) — A deliberately garbled way of saying "love yourself". The scrambled wording keeps a sincere sentiment from sounding preachy.
Trending

爱你老己

ài nǐ lǎo jǐ

love yourself (said goofily)

水灵灵地 (shuǐ líng líng de) — A meme adverb that makes whatever follows sound vivid and worth noticing — "and there I was, just ___ing". Sticks to anything, ordinary or absurd.
Trending

水灵灵地

shuǐ líng líng de

just straight-up (with flourish)

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

不嘻嘻 (bù xī xī) — The moment the mood flips. Usually said as a pair: something good, 嘻嘻; then the catch, 不嘻嘻. 吃了一顿大餐，嘻嘻；上完体重秤，不嘻嘻.
Trending

不嘻嘻

bù xī xī

not funny / I'm not laughing

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

偷感 (tōu gǎn) — The careful, keep-your-head-down way of doing something when you would rather nobody watched. It is not an accusation — 偷感 is about enjoying the safety of going unnoticed, not about guilt.
Trending

偷感

tōu gǎn

sneaky, like-you-might-get-caught energy

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

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

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

破防 (pò fáng) — To have your emotional guard shattered — something hits so hard you tear up or lose composure. Can be sad or deeply moved.
Classic

破防

pò fáng

it broke me / right in the feels

乙游 (yǐ yóu) — An otome or dating-simulation game aimed primarily at women, where you romance a cast of characters. A mainstream fandom category, not a niche.
Classic

乙游

乙女游戏yǐ yóu

otome game

emo (ī mōu (English loan)) — Feeling suddenly down, moody, or melancholic — often late at night for no clear reason. Used as a verb: 我 emo 了.
Declining

emo

ī mōu (English loan)

feeling down / in my feels

集美 (jí měi) — A cutesy way to address your girlfriends — "sis", "ladies". A misspelling of 姐妹 that now reads as dated.
Outdated

集美

jí měi

sis / besties (dated)

尊嘟假嘟 (zūn dū jiǎ dū) — A baby-voice respelling of 真的假的 ("seriously?!"). Deliberately mushy and cute — now mostly seen as saccharine.
Outdated

尊嘟假嘟

zūn dū jiǎ dū

weally? fow weal?? (babyish 'seriously?')

栓Q (shuān Q) — "Thank you" — almost always sarcastic or exasperated, meaning something left you speechless or fed up.
Cringe

栓Q

shuān Q

thanks, I hate it / I'm so done

绝绝子 (jué jué zǐ) — An over-the-top "amazing!" (or, sarcastically, "awful"). The 子 baby-talk suffix is now widely mocked.
Cringe

绝绝子

jué jué zǐ

iconic / a disaster (and a bit cringe either way)

awsl (ā wǒ sǐ le) — An overwhelmed reaction to something unbearably cute — "I can't, I'm dying". Typed as the acronym awsl.
Cringe

awsl

啊我死了ā wǒ sǐ le

I'm dead / too cute, I can't

What is Chinese Gen-Z Slang?

It runs on baby-talk spellings, homophones and inside jokes, and it turns over fast. A word can go from everywhere to cringe within a year.

Chinese slang terms by usage status19 terms on this page: 11 trending, 2 classic, 1 declining, 2 outdated, 3 cringe.Trending11 termsBlowing up right nowClassic2 termsMainstream, still used dailyDeclining1 termFading but still aliveOutdated2 termsPeople have stopped using itCringe3 termsUsing it now marks you as out-of-touch
Every term on this page carries one of these tags. Trending and classic terms are safe to use; the last two will date you.

When to use Chinese Gen-Z 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.

Browse other slang categories

Chinese Internet Slang

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

Chinese Work & Burnout Slang

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

Everyday Chinese Slang

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

Chinese Dating Slang

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

See the full Chinese Slang Dictionary →

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