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Chinese Slang

Chinese Internet Slang

Chinese internet slang (网络流行语, wǎngluò liúxíngyǔ) is the fastest-moving layer of the language — born on Weibo, Bilibili, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu, and spread through livestream chat and group messages. It rarely shows up in textbooks, but it is everywhere in how people actually talk online.

Haoshan Hong
Haoshan Hong

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

Updated July 2026

What is Chinese Internet Slang?

This hub collects the internet terms worth knowing: pinyin acronyms like yyds and xswl, number codes like 666, homophone puns, and ordinary words bent to new meanings. Each entry gives the pinyin, the real English meaning, whether people still use it, an example, and where it came from.

Chinese Internet Slang terms

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

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

悬着的心终于死了 (xuán zhe de xīn zhōng yú sǐ le) — The waiting is finally over. Usually because the thing you were dreading actually happened — so the relief is the dark-comic kind rather than the good kind.
Trending

悬着的心终于死了

xuán zhe de xīn zhōng yú sǐ le

well, at least the suspense is over

预制…… (yù zhì …) — A prefix meaning "pre-fabricated, mass-produced", used as criticism — 预制朋友圈 is a social post that feels canned and generic.
Trending

预制……

yù zhì …

pre-packaged / canned

高雅人士 (gāo yǎ rén shì) — Ironic self-praise for enjoying something silly or lowbrow — announcing your trash TV habit as connoisseurship.
Trending

高雅人士

gāo yǎ rén shì

person of culture (ironic)

包的 (bāo de) — A confident, playful guarantee — consider it handled. It also works as a template, 包XX的: 包有梗的 (guaranteed funny), 包无敌的 (guaranteed unbeatable).
Trending

包的

bāo de

for sure / I got you

不语，只是一味地…… (bù yǔ, zhǐ shì yí wèi de …) — A mock-literary template for compulsive behaviour: "says nothing, just keeps doing X". The formal tone against a trivial action is the joke.
Trending

不语，只是一味地……

bù yǔ, zhǐ shì yí wèi de …

says nothing, just keeps …

听劝 (tīng quàn) — Willing to actually take strangers' advice. Used both as a request ("听劝" = tell me honestly) and as praise for a creator who changed something after comments.
Trending

听劝

tīng quàn

open to advice / takes feedback

这河里吗 (zhè hé lǐ ma) — Comic disbelief: "is this even reasonable?" A deliberate homophone of 这合理吗 (zhè hélǐ ma).
Trending

这河里吗

zhè hé lǐ ma

is this even reasonable?

人机 (rén jī) — Calling someone a bot — mechanical, inflexible, no warmth in how they respond. This is an insult, not gentle teasing; it stings in a way the English "NPC" often does not.
Trending

人机

rén jī

NPC / bot

先天圣体 (xiān tiān shèng tǐ) — Someone naturally built for a particular role or task — "born with the perfect build for this". Hyperbolic praise, usually joking.
Trending

先天圣体

xiān tiān shèng tǐ

born for it / built different

如何呢，又能怎 (rú hé ne, yòu néng zěn) — A rhythmic shrug at things you cannot change — half resignation, half defiance. Deliberately clipped so it scans like a chant.
Trending

如何呢，又能怎

rú hé ne, yòu néng zěn

so what, what can you do

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)

AI味 (AI wèi) — The generic, over-smooth, synthetic feel of AI-made content — in writing, images, voice, or design. It flags a perceived style, not proof that AI was used.
Trending

AI味

AI wèi

AI slop / that AI smell

硬控 (yìng kòng) — To have your attention completely captured — "this 硬控 me for ten minutes". It sounds like a complaint and is usually a compliment: the thing was good enough that you could not look away.
Trending

硬控

yìng kòng

held me hostage / could not look away

爆改 (bào gǎi) — To transform something dramatically — a room, an outfit, a face, a piece of writing. Implies a before-and-after worth showing.
Trending

爆改

bào gǎi

a total makeover

求捞 (qiú lāo) — A request for engagement so a post is not buried by the algorithm — "please boost this". Platform-native, so it reads oddly outside a comment section.
Trending

求捞

qiú lāo

please boost this

已老实，求放过 (yǐ lǎo shi, qiú fàng guò) — Comic surrender after a shock or an ordeal — "I have behaved, please spare me". Said when you have learned your lesson the hard way.
Trending

已老实，求放过

yǐ lǎo shi, qiú fàng guò

I have learned my lesson, please stop

丝瓜汤 (sī guā tāng) — Vague, soothing but empty emotional writing — gentle "healing" copy that sounds nice and says nothing.
Trending

丝瓜汤

sī guā tāng

warm, empty word-soup

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

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 …

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

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

真香 (zhēn xiāng) — The moment you eat your words: you swore you would never, then ended up loving it. The ultimate "I take it back".
Classic

真香

zhēn xiāng

I take it back / guess I love it now

蹲 (dūn) — A one-character comment meaning "I'm waiting for this" — waiting for a link, a result, a follow-up, or the rest of a story.
Classic

蹲

dūn

waiting for this / following

上价值 (shàng jià zhí) — To inflate something small into a heavy moral lesson. Almost always a complaint about someone being needlessly profound.
Classic

上价值

shàng jià zhí

making it deep / moralising

你是懂……的 (nǐ shì dǒng … de) — A template meaning "you really get X". Can be sincere admiration or dry sarcasm — the context decides which.
Classic

你是懂……的

nǐ shì dǒng … de

you really know your stuff / oh, you would

回旋镖 (huí xuán biāo) — A past statement or action that comes back to hit the person who made it. Figurative — someone's old post resurfacing to embarrass them.
Classic

回旋镖

huí xuán biāo

it came back to bite them

塌房 (tā fáng) — A fan's idol falling off the pedestal. It started with something as ordinary as the idol turning out to have a partner, and widened to cover real scandal — drugs, charges, disgrace.
Classic

塌房

tā fáng

their image collapsed / cancelled

666 (liù liù liù) — Admiration — 'nicely done', 'so smooth', 'you're killing it'. None of the Western unlucky baggage: 六 (liù) sounds like 溜 (liù, slick).
Classic

666

liù liù liù

pro / sick / nice one

凡尔赛 (fán ěr sài) — Humblebragging — showing off wealth or success while pretending to complain. The whole genre is 凡尔赛文学.
Classic

凡尔赛

fán ěr sài

humblebrag / flexing in disguise

翻车 (fān chē) — To mess up badly or fail in public — a plan, a livestream, or a confident claim that blows up in your face.
Classic

翻车

fān chē

to crash and burn / it backfired

yysy (yǒu yī shuō yī) — A preface meaning "to be fair" or "honestly", signaling a frank, even-handed take. Typed as yysy.
Declining

yysy

有一说一yǒu yī shuō yī

to be fair / not gonna lie

xswl (xiào sǐ wǒ le) — "LMAO" / "dying laughing". Typed as the acronym xswl. Increasingly replaced by 笑死 or 草.
Declining

xswl

笑死我了xiào sǐ wǒ le

LMAO / I'm dying

yyds (yǒng yuǎn de shén) — Crowns someone or something the absolute best — the GOAT. Short for 永远的神, usually typed as the pinyin initials yyds.
Cringe

yyds

永远的神yǒng yuǎn de shén

the GOAT / legendary

Browse other slang categories

Chinese Gen-Z Slang

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

Chinese Work & Burnout Slang

How young China talks about the grind — 内卷 (neijuan), 躺平 (tangping), 摸鱼 (moyu), 摆烂 (bailan).

Everyday Chinese Slang

The casual expressions that fill normal conversation and make you sound less like a textbook.

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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