996 工作制 jiǔ jiǔ liù
Nine to nine, six days a week — the overtime shorthand.
The short answer
EverydayNow commonChecked November 2026
996 is the shorthand for a work schedule of 9 am to 9 pm, six days a week. It names the overtime culture of Chinese tech companies — and, by extension, any employer that expects it.
In a chat
- 琦琦 Qiqi
听说你去了那家公司？
I heard you joined that company?
- 灯灯 Dengdeng
对，但是他们是996。
Yes, but they do 996.
- 琦琦 Qiqi
每天到晚上九点？太累了吧。
Until nine every night? That's too much.
- 灯灯 Dengdeng
是啊，我在考虑换工作。
Yeah, I'm thinking about changing jobs.
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How to reply
996太累了，身体最重要。
996 is too much. Your health comes first.
那一周只休一天？
So you only get one day off a week?
When not to use it
- Read it as three digits: jiǔ jiǔ liù. Do not read it as a number, jiǔbǎi jiǔshíliù.
- In a job interview, ask about 加班 (overtime) directly. “Is it 996?” sounds like a complaint before you start.
What it means
Say the three digits — jiǔ jiǔ liù — and everyone knows you mean the schedule, not a number. Working 996 means roughly seventy-two hours a week behind a desk. The term spread from tech startups, where it was often unspoken but expected, to a general symbol of overwork.
It pairs naturally with neijuan (the competition that produces such schedules) and tangping (the refusal of them). A common sentence shape is 宁愿工资低一点，也不要996, “I'd rather earn less than work 996”.
How people use it
Use it as a noun: 这家公司实行996, “this company runs on 996”. It also survives in jokes — 996.ICU riffed that following such a schedule sends you to the intensive care unit.
Because Chinese labor law caps standard hours, calling a company a 996 company is an accusation, not a neutral description. In casual talk, though, it is simply the name of a familiar arrangement.
Where it comes from
The digits circulated in tech circles for years, but 2019 made the term global: a founder defended 996 as a “blessing” for strivers, and within weeks a GitHub project called 996.ICU — protesting the schedule — became one of the fastest-starred repositories in the site's history.
In August 2021, China's Supreme People's Court published cases that called 996 schedules illegal. The term is now a common word for overwork in China.
In use
2 examples这家公司实行996，员工都撑不住。
This company runs a 996 schedule — the employees can't hold up under it.
我宁愿工资少一点，也不想996。
I'd rather take a lower salary than work 9 to 9, six days a week.
The characters
Explore individuallyIndividual character meanings do not always explain the meaning of the whole word.
Sources
This guide is original Dengdeng editorial content, offered under CC BY-SA 4.0. The linked dictionary entries adapt CC-CEDICT under the same license.