A slang word a week
One Chinese internet slang word every week for ten weeks: what it means, where you'll see it, and how to use it.
我躺平了。I’m lying flat.
Ten words, one a week十个词
yyds
Week 1
The GOAT
The highest praise there is.
666
Week 2
Nice one
What a game chat says after a great move.
xswl
Week 3
Dying of laughter
And the “to death” in 忙死了 and 热死了.
打工人
Week 4
Wage worker
If you go to work, you’re one.
搭子
Week 5
A buddy for one thing
Meals, travel, the gym, study.
凡尔赛
Week 6
Humblebrag
A complaint that is really a boast.
显眼包
Week 7
The one you can’t miss
The class clown in every group photo.
摆烂
Week 8
Let it rot
When you stop trying, on purpose.
躺平
Week 9
Lying flat
Opting out of the race.
内卷
Week 10
The rat race
Everyone works harder, nobody gets ahead.
Read the first one第一课
This is the email you get first, as it arrives. If you like it, one click in it sends you the rest.
Leon from Dengdeng
Slang of the week: yyds (永远的神)
Hey, I’m Leon, the founder of Dengdeng.
Every week for the next ten weeks, I’ll send you one word from the Chinese internet. Here’s the first.
yyds
永远的神 yǒngyuǎn de shén · “eternal god”
It’s the highest praise you can give: the food, the song, the player is the best there is. Think “the GOAT”. People write the pinyin initials, y-y-d-s, because it’s faster to type.
这家小店的烤鸭yyds，每周都来吃。
Zhè jiā xiǎo diàn de kǎoyā yyds, měi zhōu dōu lái chī.
The roast duck at this little shop is the GOAT. I come every week.
You’ll see it under food videos, in comments about singers and athletes, and in reviews. It’s playful, so keep it out of anything formal.
More examples and other pinyin abbreviations: yyds in our dictionary
What’s something you’d call yyds? Reply and tell me.
Leon
