Chinese Slang: 100 Common Words, Phrases, and Meanings for Everyday Conversations

Key takeaways

• Chinese slang falls into two broad streams: everyday informal speech that has been used for generations (terms for being lazy, expressing surprise, calling someone a fool), and internet-born slang that spread through social media platforms like WeChat, Weibo, and Douyin. Both are essential for understanding real Chinese communication.
• Internet slang in Chinese often comes from numbers used for phonetic meaning. 666 (liù liù liù) sounds like a repeated expression of smoothness and is used to mean awesome. 520 (wǔ èr líng) sounds like 我爱你 (wǒ ài nǐ, I love you) and is used as a declaration of affection.
• Some of the most culturally important recent Chinese slang reflects specific social phenomena: 内卷 (nèijuǎn, involution) describes extreme competitive pressure with diminishing returns; 躺平 (tǎng píng, lying flat) describes opting out of the competitive grind; 打工人 (dǎgōng rén, the working person) is a term workers use with self-deprecating humor about the grind of daily labor.
• Chinese slang changes faster than vocabulary in most other languages, driven by internet culture and the speed of social media. Learning current slang from native speakers through conversation is more reliable than any static list, which is why combining slang study with live practice is particularly important.

Chinese slang is one of the most expressive and creative areas of the language. It includes expressions that reflect centuries of culture, as well as terms that emerged on social media three months ago and are already used by millions of people.

italki connects learners with Chinese tutors who use these expressions naturally and can help you understand what you hear in real Chinese conversation, films, and online content. This guide covers 100 common Chinese slang terms organized by category, with characters, pinyin, and English meanings.

Work with a Chinese tutor online to practice slang in real conversation and learn the cultural context behind the expressions that everyday Chinese speakers actually use.

How chinese slang develops

Chinese slang comes from several sources:

Internet and gaming culture: Online games, streaming platforms, and social media generate a constant stream of new expressions. When a phrase becomes popular in a game, it can spread to general usage within weeks.

Number homophony: Chinese speakers exploit the fact that numbers can sound like words or sentences. This is especially popular for indirect expressions of affection or subversive commentary.

Character combinations: New words are created by combining existing characters in unexpected ways, or by using characters for their sound rather than their meaning (phonetic borrowing).

Social and cultural pressure: Terms like 内卷 and 躺平 emerged because they captured feelings that many young Chinese people experienced but had no precise word for. When a term perfectly names a shared experience, it spreads rapidly.

Regional dialect influence: Many slang expressions come from Cantonese, Shanghainese, or other regional dialects and enter Mandarin through cultural products or migration.

Internet and gaming slang

Characters	Pinyin	English	Context
666	liù liù liù	Awesome / impressive (literally six six six)	Gaming origin; used when someone does something skillful or cool
233	èr sān sān	Lol / haha (from a laughing emoticon number)	Internet forums; indicates laughing
233333	èr sān sān sān sān	Very funny / I’m dying of laughter	Extended form; more laughter, more threes
yyds	(y-y-d-s)	GOAT / greatest of all time	Abbreviation of 永远的神 (yǒngyuǎn de shén)
永远的神	yǒngyuǎn de shén	Greatest of all time (literally forever the god)	Applied to anything considered the best
绝绝子	jué jué zǐ	Absolutely amazing	Internet intensifier; sounds playful
破防了	pò fáng le	Hit in the feels / emotionally moved	Literally the defense was broken; gaming origin
回血	huí xuè	To recover / bounce back	Gaming term (regain HP); used for recovering from stress or difficulty
氪金	kè jīn	To spend real money in a game (pay-to-win)	Literally krypton gold
开挂	kāi guà	Cheating / using hacks in a game	Also used figuratively for anyone doing unusually well
送人头	sòng rén tóu	To give the enemy an easy kill	Literally sending heads; used when someone makes a terrible mistake
催更	cuī gēng	To urge content creators to update faster	Used in comments sections: fans urging writers/streamers to post more

Social commentary terms

Characters	Pinyin	English	Context
内卷	nèijuǎn	Involution / rat race with diminishing returns	Academic term that became mainstream; describes exhausting competition that benefits no one
躺平	tǎng píng	Lying flat / opting out	Response to 内卷; choosing not to participate in the competitive grind
佛系	fú xì	Chill / go with the flow (literally Buddhist-style)	Relaxed, detached attitude; not caring too much about outcomes
打工人	dǎgōng rén	The working person / a wage laborer	Self-deprecating term workers use about themselves
社畜	shè chù	Corporate drone (literally social livestock)	Borrowed from Japanese; describes overworked office workers
摸鱼	mō yú	Slacking off (literally touching fish)	Doing nothing useful at work while appearing busy
985废物	jiǔ bā wǔ fèi wù	Elite university graduate who still can’t find good work	Refers to China’s top universities; reflects anxiety about graduate employment
考公	kǎo gōng	Studying for the civil service exam	A major aspiration for many young Chinese people
鸡娃	jī wá	Intensive child-rearing / chicken baby	Parents who push children extremely hard academically
内耗	nèi hào	Internal drain / mental exhaustion	Over-thinking and worrying that depletes energy

Everyday reactions and expressions

Characters	Pinyin	English	Context
好家伙	hǎo jiāhuo	Wow / holy cow	Expression of surprise; also means good fellow literally
牛	niú	Awesome / impressive	Literally cow/bull; high praise
牛逼 / 牛B	niú bī	Very awesome (vulgar)	Strong version of 牛; avoid in formal settings
绝了	jué le	Incredible / amazing (literally absolute)	Reaction to something impressive or shocking
离谱	lí pǔ	Outrageous / over the top	Something that exceeds all normal limits
草	cǎo	WTF / damn (internet expression)	Euphemism for a vulgar word; very common online
笑死	xiào sǐ	Dying of laughter (literally laugh to death)	Used like I’m dead in English slang
哈哈哈	hāhāhā	Haha / lol	Universal laughing expression
尴尬	gāngà	Awkward	This standard word is used very frequently as a reaction
无语	wú yǔ	Speechless / I have no words	For situations that are so absurd you cannot respond
裂开	liè kāi	I’m losing it / I’m falling apart	Reaction to something extremely embarrassing or funny
绷不住了	bēng bù zhù le	Can’t hold it together / can’t keep a straight face	From trying not to laugh
破大防	pò dà fáng	Emotionally destroyed / deeply hit	Stronger version of 破防了
蚌埠住了	bàngbù zhù le	Can’t take it anymore / I’m done	Pun on a city name (蚌埠, Bengbu); sounds like 绷不住
芜湖	wú hú	Woohoo / expression of excitement	City name (Wuhu in Anhui province) repurposed as a meme

Terms of address and affection

Characters	Pinyin	English	Context
老铁	lǎotiě	Bro / buddy (literally old iron)	Warm term for a close friend; northeastern Chinese dialect origin
亲	qīn	Dear / hon	Customer service origin; now used broadly between friends
宝 / 宝贝	bǎo / bǎobèi	Babe / treasure	Affectionate term for romantic partners or close friends
大佬	dà lǎo	A big shot / an expert	Respectful term for someone influential or highly skilled
小哥哥	xiǎo gēgē	Cute/young guy (literally little older brother)	Flattering address for an attractive young man
小姐姐	xiǎo jiějie	Cute/young girl (literally little older sister)	Flattering address for an attractive young woman
打工仔	dǎgōng zǐ	A young worker / working lad	Cantonese origin; used self-deprecatingly
朋友们	péngyou men	Friends / everyone (used by streamers)	Common opener in livestreams and vlogs
铁子	tiě zi	Close friend / buddy	Variation of 老铁
家人们	jiārén men	Family / everyone (closer than 朋友们)	Streamers addressing their audience as family

Work and study culture slang

Characters	Pinyin	English	Context
卷	juǎn	To grind / compete intensely	Verbal form of 内卷; 他很卷 means he works incredibly hard / is always competing
躺	tǎng	To lie flat / give up competing	Verbal form of 躺平
干饭	gàn fàn	To eat enthusiastically / time to eat	Literally doing the rice; eating as an important daily event
上头	shàngtóu	Addicted / obsessed	Literally going to the head; used for anything compelling
打卡	dǎ kǎ	To clock in / to check in	Also used for posting about visiting a trending restaurant or location
划水	huá shuǐ	To coast / do the minimum	Literally paddling water; doing enough to not get noticed for doing nothing
甲方	jiǎ fāng	The client / the boss (from contract terminology)	Used ironically when following annoying client or employer instructions
社恐	shè kǒng	Social anxiety / fear of socializing	Short for 社交恐惧症 (shèjiāo kǒngjù zhèng)
社牛	shè niú	Extremely socially confident	Opposite of 社恐; someone who can talk to anyone anywhere
秃头	tū tóu	Going bald from stress	Humorous reference to hair loss from overwork; very common in student contexts
爆肝	bào gān	To work your liver to bursting	Staying up all night working; very intense gaming/studying session
考研	kǎo yán	Studying for graduate school entrance exams	A high-pressure milestone for many Chinese undergraduates

Slang about people and personality

Characters	Pinyin	English	Context
学霸	xuébà	Academic genius / top student	Literally study overlord; someone who excels at school
学渣	xuézha	A poor student / someone who fails at school	Self-deprecating counterpart to 学霸
键盘侠	jiànpán xiá	Keyboard warrior	Someone who is very aggressive online but passive in real life
杠精	gàng jīng	Someone who always argues / contrarian	A person who contradicts everything just to argue
柠檬精	níngméng jīng	A jealous person (literally lemon spirit)	Someone who is visibly envious; sourness = jealousy
懒癌	lǎn ái	Laziness cancer	Humorously describes extreme laziness as a disease
颜控	yán kòng	Someone obsessed with looks	A person who prioritizes physical appearance above all
吃货	chī huò	A foodie / someone obsessed with eating	Affectionate term for people who love food
直男	zhí nán	Stereotypically straight guy	A man considered clueless about relationships or fashion
废材	fèicái	A loser / useless person	Can be self-deprecating or insulting depending on tone

Negative expressions and complaints

Characters	Pinyin	English	Context
坑	kēng	A trap / ripoff (literally pit)	这个地方很坑 (This place is a ripoff)
踩雷	cǎi léi	To stumble into a bad experience	Literally stepping on a mine; discovering something is much worse than expected
翻车	fān chē	Fail spectacularly (literally to flip the car)	When something goes badly wrong publicly
拉了	lā le	That was terrible / it’s a mess	Colloquial dismissal
难搞	nán gǎo	Difficult to deal with	About people or situations that are complicated or annoying
整活	zhěng huó	To do something for entertainment / cause chaos	Can be positive (funny) or negative (causing problems)
乌龙	wūlóng	A mix-up / blunder	Originally from the oolong tea; now used for embarrassing mistakes
闹乌龙	nào wūlóng	To have a misunderstanding / mix-up	He made a complete mess of it
塌房	tā fáng	When a celebrity falls from grace	Literally the house collapsed; when an idol or public figure causes a scandal
吃瓜	chī guā	To be a spectator / watch drama	Literally eating melon; watching a controversy without getting involved

Quick reference: 100 chinese slang terms

Characters	Pinyin	English
666	liù liù liù	Awesome
233	èr sān sān	Lol
yyds	yǒngyuǎn de shén	GOAT
绝绝子	jué jué zǐ	Absolutely amazing
破防了	pò fáng le	Hit in the feels
回血	huí xuè	To recover
催更	cuī gēng	Urge for an update
内卷	nèijuǎn	Involution
躺平	tǎng píng	Lying flat
佛系	fú xì	Chill / Buddhist-style
打工人	dǎgōng rén	The working person
社畜	shè chù	Corporate drone
摸鱼	mō yú	Slacking off
内耗	nèi hào	Internal drain
好家伙	hǎo jiāhuo	Wow
牛	niú	Awesome
绝了	jué le	Incredible
离谱	lí pǔ	Outrageous
草	cǎo	WTF
笑死	xiào sǐ	Dying of laughter
无语	wú yǔ	Speechless
裂开	liè kāi	I’m losing it
蚌埠住了	bàngbù zhù le	Can’t take it
芜湖	wú hú	Woohoo
老铁	lǎotiě	Bro / buddy
亲	qīn	Dear / hon
宝	bǎo	Babe
大佬	dà lǎo	Big shot / expert
小哥哥	xiǎo gēgē	Cute young guy
小姐姐	xiǎo jiějie	Cute young girl
家人们	jiārén men	Everyone / family
卷	juǎn	To grind intensely
干饭	gàn fàn	Time to eat
上头	shàngtóu	Addicted / obsessed
打卡	dǎ kǎ	To check in
划水	huá shuǐ	To coast
社恐	shè kǒng	Social anxiety
社牛	shè niú	Socially fearless
爆肝	bào gān	To pull an all-nighter
学霸	xuébà	Top student
学渣	xuézha	Poor student
键盘侠	jiànpán xiá	Keyboard warrior
杠精	gàng jīng	Contrarian
柠檬精	níngméng jīng	Jealous person
吃货	chī huò	Foodie
坑	kēng	Ripoff / trap
踩雷	cǎi léi	Bad experience
翻车	fān chē	Spectacular fail
吃瓜	chī guā	Watching drama
塌房	tā fáng	Celebrity scandal
整活	zhěng huó	Causing chaos for fun
乌龙	wūlóng	Mix-up / blunder
难搞	nán gǎo	Difficult to deal with
种草	zhǒng cǎo	To be recommended something
拔草	bá cǎo	To lose interest after trying
安利	ān lì	To recommend enthusiastically
心机	xīnjī	Scheming / calculated
作	zuō	To be dramatic / to make trouble
撒娇	sā jiāo	To act cute
甜宠	tián chǒng	Sweetly doting (often used for relationships or dramas)
虐	nüè	Emotional pain (from a drama or relationship)
磕	kē	To ship a couple (real or fictional)
嗑糖	kē táng	Enjoying sweet couple content
拆 CP	chāi CP	To break up a ship
修罗场	xiū luó chǎng	A chaotic situation (literally asura battlefield)
打脸	dǎ liǎn	To be proven wrong publicly
洗白	xǐ bái	To rehabilitate someone’s image
黑料	hēi liào	Negative information / dirt on someone
黑粉	hēi fěn	Anti-fan / hater
粉丝	fěnsī	Fan (of a celebrity)
人设	rén shè	Public persona / character setup
饭圈	fàn quān	Fan culture circle
控	kòng	Someone obsessed with X (颜控, 音控)
美食博主	měishí bózhǔ	Food blogger
博主	bózhǔ	Blogger / content creator
主播	zhǔbō	Streamer / anchor
冲	chōng	To go for it / charge
给力	gěi lì	Powerful / impressive
无敌	wú dí	Unbeatable / incredible
开心	kāixīn	Happy (standard, but used slang-like in internet speech)
求求了	qiú qiú le	Please / I’m begging you
呜呜	wū wū	Crying sound (used like TT in Korean internet slang)
啊啊啊	ā ā ā	Screaming / overwhelmed with emotion
嗯嗯	ng ng	Mm / yeah (casual agreement)
哦哦	ó ó	Oh I see / got it (casual)
不是吧	bù shì ba	Are you serious? / No way
真的假的	zhēn de jiǎ de	Is it real or fake? / Are you serious?
啥	shá	What (northern dialect, very colloquial)
咋	zǎ	How / why (northern dialect, very colloquial)
整	zhěng	To do / to fix / to sort out (very versatile colloquial verb)
秒	miǎo	In a second / immediately
贼	zéi	Very / extremely (northeastern dialect: 贼好吃 = extremely delicious)

Register and context notes

Platform-specific slang: Some terms are much more common on specific platforms. 催更 is used on novel and content platforms. Gaming terms (666, 开挂) are universal. 家人们 is typically a livestreamer opener.

Speed of change: Internet slang in Chinese changes faster than in most other languages. Some terms from three years ago already sound dated. Learning from a native speaker who is currently active online is more reliable than any written list for staying current.

Formality levels: Most slang in this guide is informal to very informal. Terms like 牛逼, 草, and 死 (in compounds like 笑死) should be avoided in formal settings, professional emails, or when speaking to elders. Terms like 打卡 have moved into semi-formal usage and are now used in office contexts. Context is everything.

Written vs spoken: Many slang terms (233, yyds, 草) are primarily written internet expressions. In spoken conversation, 哈哈哈 is natural but 233 would sound odd unless said ironically. Written slang and spoken slang overlap but are not identical.

For Chinese numbers and how number combinations create meaning in Chinese internet culture, the guide to Chinese numbers covers the number system alongside the cultural associations that make number-based slang possible. For a foundation in Chinese vocabulary including formal and everyday words, the guide to how to introduce yourself in Chinese covers the core expressions used when meeting Chinese speakers for the first time.

Practice chinese slang with a tutor

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italki’s 30,000+ expert tutors include native Chinese speakers from mainland China, Taiwan, and Chinese-speaking communities worldwide, many of whom are active in the online culture that generates these expressions. Trusted by over 10 million learners worldwide, the platform lets you find a tutor whose age, region, and interests match the kind of Chinese you want to learn. Book a trial lesson and start understanding real Chinese conversation, including the slang that textbooks never cover.

FAQ

Is Chinese slang the same in mainland China and Taiwan?

No. Mainland China and Taiwan have developed significantly different slang vocabularies. Most of the terms in this guide come from mainland Chinese internet culture. Taiwanese Mandarin has its own slang, and many Taiwanese expressions come from different social media platforms or are influenced by Japanese and Cantonese differently. If you are learning Taiwanese Mandarin specifically, seek out Taiwanese native speakers for slang guidance.

What is 666 in Chinese slang?

In Chinese internet culture, 666 (liù liù liù) is an expression of admiration for impressive skill or performance. It originated in online gaming, where 溜 (liū, meaning smooth or slick) sounds similar to 六 (liù, six). 666 signals: That was incredibly smooth / impressive. It is now used broadly in any context where you want to acknowledge that someone did something well.

What does 躺平 (tǎng píng) mean?

躺平 literally means lying flat. In Chinese internet slang, it refers to a lifestyle choice of opting out of intense social competition: not pursuing career advancement aggressively, not buying property, not chasing the standard markers of success. It emerged as a response to 内卷 (involution) and reflects a broader cultural conversation about work-life balance and the pressure on young Chinese people.

What is 吃瓜 in Chinese slang?

吃瓜 (chī guā, literally eating melon) describes the role of a spectator who watches a controversy or drama unfold without getting involved. The image is of sitting back, eating a snack (melon), and watching events from a comfortable distance. 吃瓜群众 (chī guā qúnzhòng) means the melon-eating crowd, referring to the general public watching a public scandal or controversy.

Why does Chinese slang change so fast?

The speed of change is driven by the scale and speed of Chinese internet culture. Chinese social media platforms have enormous user bases, and a phrase can go from one tweet to hundreds of millions of people within days. When a term becomes overused or associated with a specific moment, younger users often abandon it for something new. This cycle is faster than in most other languages, which is why learning Chinese slang from live conversation is so much more effective than from a static list.