纯爱战神chún ài zhàn shén

Pure-love war god

wǒ shì chún ài zhàn shén.我是纯爱战神。I’m a pure-love war god.

纯爱战神, “pure-love war god”, is a joking name for someone who believes in loving one person without conditions, and who cannot stand a story in which a partner cheats.

Took off: 2023
Started in: A Japanese manga
Today: Now everyday Chinese

What it means

纯爱 is “pure love”: two people together only because they like each other, not for money or status. 战神, “god of war”, is a mock title for someone who fights for it. The milder form is 纯爱战士, “pure-love warrior”.

The longer line 纯爱战神应声倒地, “the pure-love war god falls on the spot”, is a comment people leave when a story comes between a couple: a cheating plot, or a third person who takes a partner away.

How people use it

It is a joke about yourself or a friend who is loyal in love, and a comment under romance dramas. Said about a friend, it is friendly teasing.

里昂

周末一起打球吗？
zhōu mò yì qǐ dǎ qiú ma?
Want to play ball this weekend?
不行，我要陪女朋友
bù xíng, wǒ yào péi nǚ péng you
Can’t. I’m spending it with my girlfriend.
你们在一起八年了，每个周末都陪她？
nǐ men zài yì qǐ bā nián le, měi gè zhōu mò dōu péi tā?
You’ve been together eight years, and she still gets every weekend?
对啊
duì a
Yep.
纯爱战神，佩服佩服
chún ài zhàn shén, pèi fú pèi fú
A pure-love war god. Respect.

More examples

他只喜欢她一个人，真是纯爱战神。
tā zhǐ xǐ huan tā yí gè rén, zhēn shì chún ài zhàn shén.
He only has eyes for her. A real pure-love war god.
这部剧男主出轨了，纯爱战神应声倒地。
zhè bù jù nán zhǔ chū guǐ le, chún ài zhàn shén yìng shēng dǎo dì.
The male lead cheats in this show. The pure-love war god falls on the spot.

Where it came from

Several articles trace it to the Japanese manga Jujutsu Kaisen. In the prequel, Jujutsu Kaisen 0 (best known from the 2021 film), Yuta Okkotsu fights with the help of the spirit of his first love. When the villain calls his move a cheap trick, Yuta answers that it is pure love. Fans called him the 纯爱战神, and people with the same ideals took the name for themselves.

These articles give no date for the first use. China.com explained the term in December 2022. In 2023 Douyin put it on its list of the ten buzzwords of the year.

The original. The source is a fight scene in Jujutsu Kaisen. We do not show it. Sohu’s 2023 article retells the scene. Sohu (in Chinese)