Chinese internet slangsocially anxious · 社牛 (socially fearless)

社恐 shè kǒng

Socially anxious, and the opposite, 社牛.

The short answer

CasualNow commonChecked November 2026

Shekong is short for 社交恐惧症, “social phobia”. In slang it means a person who feels nervous with strangers and avoids parties, phone calls and small talk. Its opposite is sheniu (社牛), a socially fearless person who talks to anyone.

Literal: social + fear; 社牛 is social + ox (牛, “awesome” in slang)Register: Casual. People use it about themselves, as a joke.

In a chat

亮亮 Liangliang
周六的聚会你来吗？
Zhōuliù de jùhuì nǐ lái ma?
Are you coming to the party on Saturday?
里昂 Leon
会有很多不认识的人吗？
Huì yǒu hěn duō bù rènshi de rén ma?
Will there be lots of people I don't know?
亮亮 Liangliang
有一些。
Yǒu yīxiē.
Some.
里昂 Leon
那算了，我社恐。
Nà suàn le, wǒ shèkǒng.
Then I'll pass. I'm socially anxious.

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How to reply

没关系，你跟着我就行。
Méi guānxi, nǐ gēnzhe wǒ jiù xíng.
It's fine. Just stay with me.
我也社恐，我们一起坐在角落吧。
Wǒ yě shèkǒng, wǒmen yīqǐ zuò zài jiǎoluò ba.
I'm socially anxious too. Let's sit in the corner together.

When not to use it

社恐 in slang is a light joke about being shy. Do not use it to make light of a friend's real anxiety.
社牛 is the clean short form. Its long form contains a vulgar word, so use only 社牛.

What it means

社恐 started as a short form of 社交恐惧症, the name of a mental health condition. In slang it is lighter: a 社恐 prefers to stay home, texts instead of calling, and dreads talking to strangers. Many people call themselves 社恐 as a joke.

社牛 is the opposite. 牛 (ox) means “awesome” in slang, so a 社牛 is awesome at social life: they talk to strangers, sing in the street and feel no embarrassment.

How people use it

Both words work as nouns and adjectives: 我是社恐, 我有点社恐 (“I'm a bit socially anxious”), 他太社牛了 (“he's so socially fearless”).

People often put the two together: a 社恐 who has to give a speech, or a 社牛 who makes a 社恐 friend talk to everyone. A 社恐 often has a 社死 moment: see 社死.

Where it comes from

The newspaper 语言文字周报 put 社恐/社牛 eighth in its ten top internet expressions of 2021. Its note says that 社恐 is short for 社交恐惧症, a condition in which social anxiety seriously affects a person's life, and that online the word is used for people who feel this fear. 社牛 is the opposite: a person who is at ease with strangers.

An article on sspai traces 社牛 to its long form, which first appeared in a Bilibili comment on 27 July 2021 and spread over the next weeks.

In use

2 examples

我(Wǒ)有(yǒu)点(diǎn)社(shè)恐(kǒng)，不(bù)太(tài)喜(xǐ)欢(huan)打(dǎ)电(diàn)话(huà)。

I'm a bit socially anxious. I don't like phone calls.

他(Tā)是(shì)个(ge)社(shè)牛(niú)，在(zài)哪(nǎ)里(lǐ)都(dōu)能(néng)交(jiāo)到(dào)朋(péng)友(you)。

He's socially fearless. He makes friends everywhere.

The characters

Explore individually

society

fear

ox; (slang) awesome

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.