断舍离duàn shě lí

Declutter (danshari)

jīn tiān duàn shě lí!今天断舍离！Decluttering day!

断舍离 is the Chinese name for danshari, a Japanese method of decluttering. People use it for clearing out a closet, and as a joke for cutting anything out of their life: apps, habits, people.

Took off: 2013
Started in: A Japanese book on decluttering
Today: Now everyday Chinese

What it means

The three characters are three steps. 断 is “cut off”: do not buy what you do not need. 舍 is “let go”: throw out what you do not use or like. 离 is “leave”: the state you reach when things move on and you feel lighter.

It works as a verb: 我要断舍离了 is “I’m going to clear things out”.

How people use it

It is now everyday Chinese. You hear it about clothes, old boxes and phone storage, and as a joke about people: 和前任断舍离, “cut off your ex”.

亮亮

周末来我家吃饭吗？
zhōu mò lái wǒ jiā chī fàn ma?
Want to come over for dinner this weekend?
不行，我要在家断舍离
bù xíng, wǒ yào zài jiā duàn shě lí
Can’t. I’m decluttering at home.
又要扔东西？上次你扔完又买回来了
yòu yào rēng dōng xi? shàng cì nǐ rēng wán yòu mǎi huí lai le
Throwing stuff out again? Last time you bought it all back.
这次是真的
zhè cì shì zhēn de
This time I mean it.

More examples

搬家前我断舍离了一大堆衣服。
bān jiā qián wǒ duàn shě lí le yí dà duī yī fu.
Before I moved, I got rid of a huge pile of clothes.
手机内存满了，该断舍离一下了。
shǒu jī nèi cún mǎn le, gāi duàn shě lí yí xià le.
My phone storage is full. Time for a clear-out.

Where it came from

The idea comes from the Japanese author Hideko Yamashita, 山下英子. The simplified Chinese edition of her book 断舍离 came out in 2013 and started a craze for it in China, the Beijing Youth Daily wrote in 2022.

It came back online in 2019. Sixth Tone listed it among the memes of that year. People used it for everything from clearing out rooms to removing acquaintances from their WeChat contacts.