秋天的第一杯奶茶qiū tiān de dì yī bēi nǎi chá

The first milk tea of autumn

qiū tiān de dì yī bēi nǎi chá!秋天的第一杯奶茶！The first milk tea of autumn!

秋天的第一杯奶茶 means “the first milk tea of autumn”. It is a cup of milk tea, or a small money transfer to buy one, that you send to someone you love when autumn starts.

Took off: 2020
Started in: A chat screenshot
Today: Now everyday Chinese

What it means

The point is the gesture. Someone asks for the first milk tea of autumn, or posts that they got one, and a partner, friend or parent pays for the drink.

The transfer is often 52 yuan, because 52 (wǔ èr) sounds like 我爱, “I love”, the start of 520, “I love you”, TMTPost explains.

How people use it

The phrase comes back every year around 立秋. You can ask a friend for one as a joke, send one, or post a photo of yours.

琦琦

今天立秋了！
jīn tiān lì qiū le!
Autumn starts today!
所以呢？
suǒ yǐ ne?
So?
秋天的第一杯奶茶，谁请我？
qiū tiān de dì yī bēi nǎi chá, shéi qǐng wǒ?
First milk tea of autumn. Who’s buying?
我请你！
wǒ qǐng nǐ!
My treat!
谢谢，我要大杯的
xiè xie, wǒ yào dà bēi de
Thanks. I want a large.

More examples

秋天的第一杯奶茶，你喝了吗？
qiū tiān de dì yī bēi nǎi chá, nǐ hē le ma?
Have you had your first milk tea of autumn?
男朋友给我转了52块，说是秋天的第一杯奶茶。
nán péng you gěi wǒ zhuǎn le 52 kuài, shuō shì qiū tiān de dì yī bēi nǎi chá.
My boyfriend sent me 52 yuan and called it the first milk tea of autumn.
今天立秋，我请你喝秋天的第一杯奶茶。
jīn tiān lì qiū, wǒ qǐng nǐ hē qiū tiān de dì yī bēi nǎi chá.
Autumn starts today. Your first milk tea of autumn is on me.

Where it came from

The phrase took off around September 22, 2020, near the autumn equinox. A young woman posted a screenshot of a 52-yuan red envelope from her boyfriend, with the caption 秋天的第一杯奶茶, TMTPost reports. The topic reached fourth place on Weibo’s trending list within a day.

The Yangtse Evening Post told it a little differently on September 23: the woman first messaged her boyfriend that she wanted the first milk tea of autumn, and he answered with the 52 yuan.

From 2021, tea brands moved their promotions earlier, to 立秋, the start of autumn in the traditional calendar, around August 7. The day is now a fixed date for milk tea sales, TMTPost says.

The original. A chat screenshot: a 52-yuan red envelope from a boyfriend, with the caption 秋天的第一杯奶茶. TMTPost tells the story. TMTPost (in Chinese)