emo

Feeling down

wǒ emo le.我emo了。I’m feeling down.

Emo, written in English letters, means feeling sad, low or gloomy. 我emo了, “I’ve gone emo”, was one of the most used lines of 2021 and is still a normal way to say you feel down.

Took off: 2021
Started in: The English music word “emo”
Today: Now everyday Chinese

What it means

In English, emo is a kind of rock music and the style that goes with it. Chinese kept only the mood. 语言文字周报 noted in 2021 that 我emo了 has no direct link to the music.

It works as a verb or an adjective: 我emo了, “I’m down”, 今晚有点emo, “a bit low tonight”, 别emo了, “cheer up”. It is a casual word for a passing mood, not a word for depression, which is 抑郁.

How people use it

It is now everyday Chinese for young people. People use it for small sadness: a bad exam score, a rainy Sunday evening, an old song that brings back a memory.

Late at night is the classic time for it. Jiemian noted that a search for emo late at night turns up post after post of young people feeling a little sad.

琦琦

你怎么不说话？
nǐ zěn me bù shuō huà?
Why so quiet?
刚听了一首老歌，有点emo
gāng tīng le yì shǒu lǎo gē, yǒu diǎn emo
I just heard an old song. Feeling a bit low.
别emo了，出来吃火锅！
bié emo le, chū lái chī huǒ guō!
Stop moping and come out for hot pot!
好，马上到
hǎo, mǎ shàng dào
OK, on my way.

More examples

考试没考好，我emo了。
kǎo shì méi kǎo hǎo, wǒ emo le.
I did badly on the exam. I’m feeling down.
下雨的晚上特别容易emo。
xià yǔ de wǎn shang tè bié róng yì emo.
Rainy nights make it easy to feel low.

For the word itself and how to reply to it, see emo in the slang dictionary.

Where it came from

Emo moved from music into everyday Chinese in 2021. 语言文字周报 put emo fourth on its list of the ten most popular internet phrases of 2021, and Jiemian’s roundup of the year’s memes explained 我emo了 as “I’m not happy”.

Some users read the letters as a Chinese phrase: e个人momo流泪, a playful spelling of 一个人默默流泪, “crying alone without a word”.

The original. There is no single image; the word spread as text in posts and comments. The Paper’s report on the 2021 list of 语言文字周报 explains it. The Paper (in Chinese)