Chinese internet slangBuddha-style · laid-back

佛系 fó xì

Calm, easy-going, and not in the race.

The short answer

CasualNow commonChecked November 2026

Foxi means “Buddha-style”: calm, easy-going and not interested in competing. A 佛系 person accepts whatever happens and does not fight for more.

Literal: Buddha + type, styleRegister: Casual. Self-description or light criticism.

In a chat

灯灯 Dengdeng
你们公司的升职名单出来了吗？
Nǐmen gōngsī de shēngzhí míngdān chūlai le ma?
Is your company's promotion list out yet?
琦琦 Qiqi
出来了，没有我。
Chūlai le, méiyǒu wǒ.
It's out. I'm not on it.
灯灯 Dengdeng
你不生气吗？
Nǐ bù shēngqì ma?
Aren't you angry?
琦琦 Qiqi
不生气，我现在很佛系，有也行，没有也行。
Bù shēngqì, wǒ xiànzài hěn fóxì, yǒu yě xíng, méiyǒu yě xíng.
No. I'm very Buddha-style now. If it comes, fine. If not, also fine.

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How to reply

佛系也挺好，开心最重要。
Fóxì yě tǐng hǎo, kāixīn zuì zhòngyào.
Buddha-style is good. Being happy matters most.
你也太佛系了吧！
Nǐ yě tài fóxì le ba!
You're way too laid-back!

When not to use it

佛系 is not about religion. Do not use it about a Buddhist person or a temple.
A manager can use 佛系 as a criticism: 你太佛系了 means you do not try hard enough.

What it means

佛系 describes a calm attitude: you do your part, accept the result and do not chase more. You do not compete, you do not argue, and you do not worry about winning.

It can be praise (a relaxed person who is easy to be with) or a mild criticism (a person who does not try). It is close in spirit to 躺平, but softer: 佛系 is a mood, 躺平 is a decision to stop.

How people use it

佛系 goes in front of nouns: 佛系青年 (Buddha-style youth), 佛系恋爱 (relaxed dating), 佛系减肥 (dieting with no pressure). It is also an adjective: 我很佛系.

有也行，没有也行 (“fine if I get it, fine if I don't”) is a phrase that people often use to describe the attitude.

Where it comes from

Chinese Wikipedia traces the word to the Japanese magazine non-no, which in 2014 described a type of young man it called the “Buddha man”: a man who follows his own interests and avoids the trouble of dating. The page says the word appeared often on the Chinese internet and in the media from about 2018.

The magazine 咬文嚼字 put 佛系 on its list of the ten top expressions of 2018. Its note defines it as a life attitude that does not compete, does not ask to win, and accepts whatever comes.

In use

2 examples

他(Tā)对(duì)工(gōng)作(zuò)很(hěn)佛(fó)系(xì)，从(cóng)来(lái)不(bù)加(jiā)班(bān)。

He's very laid-back about work. He never works overtime.

现(Xiàn)在(zài)很(hěn)多(duō)年(nián)轻(qīng)人(rén)选(xuǎn)择(zé)佛(fó)系(xì)生(shēng)活(huó)。

Many young people now choose a Buddha-style life.

The characters

Explore individually

Buddha

system; type, style

Individual 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.