Trending topics, viral fame, memes and the new words people use to talk about life online.
Chinese internet slang is coined fast and spreads into everyday speech, newspapers and even official documents. Many words are images: 潜水, to dive, is to read a group chat without posting; 吃瓜, eating melon, is watching a drama unfold from the sidelines; 种草, planting grass, is making someone want to buy something. Others are abbreviations, such as 社恐 from 社交恐惧. Slang words are informal: understand them all, but use them only where the tone allows.
The words
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Verb (16)
吐槽to rant, make fun of (with a complaint)Verb5
下班后我们一起吐槽老板的新规定。After work we had a good moan together about the boss’s new rule.
Informal: playful complaining, usually to an audience that agrees.
刷屏to flood (a feed or chat)Verb5
婚礼的照片在同学群里刷屏了。The wedding photos flooded the classmates’ group chat.
Informal.
爆红to go viral; to become famous overnightVerb5
这首老歌突然在网上爆红。This old song suddenly went viral online.
Informal; 红, red, also means popular.
带货to promote and sell products (online)Verb5
不少主播在直播时带货。Quite a few streamers sell products during their live streams.
Informal, though now common in the media too.
种草to make someone want to buy somethingVerb5
看了她的视频，我被这款相机种草了。After watching her video, I really want this camera.
Informal; literally “to plant grass”; losing the urge again is 拔草.
围观to gather round and watch; to follow (a story)Verb5
这件事在网上引起了很多人围观。This affair drew a large crowd of onlookers online.
吃瓜to watch drama from the sidelinesVerb5
我不发表意见，就在旁边吃瓜。I’m not giving an opinion — I’m just watching from the sidelines.
Informal; the bystanders are 吃瓜群众.
躺平to opt out of the rat raceVerb5
他说不想再拼了，打算躺平。He says he doesn’t want to push himself any more and plans to opt out.
Informal; literally “to lie flat”.
潜水to lurk (read without posting)Verb5
他在群里一直潜水，从来不说话。He has always lurked in the group without ever saying a word.
Informal in this sense; literally “to dive”.
冲浪to surf (the internet)Verb5
奶奶七十岁了还天天上网冲浪。Grandma is seventy and still surfs the internet every day.
Informal; literally surfing on waves, used jokingly of being online.
发帖to post (on a forum)Verb5
他在论坛上发帖问哪儿能修旧相机。He posted on the forum asking where he could get an old camera repaired.
帖 is third tone here.
注销to close, cancel (an account or registration)Verb5
我已经把那个不用的账号注销了。I have closed that account I no longer use.
出圈to break out (of a niche) into wide popularityVerb5
这部小成本电影靠口碑出圈了。This low-budget film reached a wide audience by word of mouth.
Informal; 圈, a circle, as in a fan circle.
恶搞to spoof, parodyVerb5
有人把这段新闻恶搞成了一首歌。Someone turned this news clip into a spoof song.
Informal; 恶 is fourth tone è here.
剁手to vow to stop (online) shoppingVerb5
又买了这么多，我真该剁手了！I’ve bought so much again — I really ought to stop shopping!
Informal and joking: “to chop off one’s hands”; a shopaholic is a 剁手党.
变现to monetise; to turn into cashVerb5
粉丝多了以后，她开始考虑怎么变现。Once she had more followers, she started thinking about how to make money from them.
Noun (19)
网民internet usersNoun5
很多网民在网上讨论这部电影的结局。Lots of internet users are discussing the ending of this film online.
The neutral, formal word; among themselves people say 网友.
流量mobile data; online trafficNoun5
这个月的流量快用完了，我得找个地方连无线网。I’ve nearly used up this month’s data, so I need to find somewhere with wifi.
Also attention as a currency: a celebrity who brings clicks is a 流量明星.
网红internet celebrity, influencerNoun5
她在网上教做菜，慢慢成了网红。She taught cooking online and gradually became an internet celebrity.
Informal; also before a noun: a place everyone photographs is a 网红餐厅.
热搜trending searches; the trending listNoun5
这件事昨天上了热搜，大家都在讨论。This story was trending yesterday, and everyone is talking about it.
上热搜, to be trending.
弹幕comments scrolling across a videoNoun5
看视频的时候，屏幕上飘过很多弹幕。While the video plays, lots of viewer comments drift across the screen.
Literally “bullet curtain”; 弹 here is a bullet, not 弹, to play.
网络用语internet slangNoun5
很多网络用语老人根本看不懂。A lot of internet slang is simply incomprehensible to older people.
