上头shàng tóu

Hooked (it went to my head)

tài shàng tóu le!太上头了！So hooked!

上头 first meant the hot, dizzy feeling when alcohol goes to your head. Now it means you are hooked: a show, a game or a song has you, and you cannot stop.

Took off: 2019
Started in: Drinking, then gamers
Today: Now everyday Chinese

What it means

You say a show, a song or a snack is 上头 when it is hard to stop. 这部剧很上头 means the show is hard to stop watching.

It can also mean you lost your head for a moment and did something rash: in a game, an argument or a sale. 我刚才上头了 means “I got carried away just now”.

How people use it

上头 is now everyday Chinese for anything addictive. 越听越上头, “the more I listen, the more hooked I get”, is something you might say about a catchy song.

The drinking meaning is still there. 这酒上头 means “this liquor goes to your head”.

灯灯

你昨晚几点睡的？
nǐ zuó wǎn jǐ diǎn shuì de?
What time did you go to bed last night?
三点。那部新剧太上头了
sān diǎn. nà bù xīn jù tài shàng tóu le
Three. That new show is so addictive.
看了几集？
kàn le jǐ jí?
How many episodes?
一口气看了十集
yì kǒu qì kàn le shí jí
Ten in one go.

More examples

这首歌太上头了，我听了一整天。
zhè shǒu gē tài shàng tóu le, wǒ tīng le yì zhěng tiān.
This song is so catchy. I listened to it all day.
他一上头就买了三双鞋。
tā yí shàng tóu jiù mǎi le sān shuāng xié.
He got carried away and bought three pairs of shoes.
这部剧越看越上头。
zhè bù jù yuè kàn yuè shàng tóu.
The more I watch this show, the more hooked I get.

Where it came from

The old meaning is about drink. 语言文字周报 explains 上头 as the dizziness or headache that comes after drinking.

Gamers borrowed it for a player who gets rash: they should pull back and take a small win, but they keep fighting until they lose. Eye Shenzhen describes this use in July 2019, along with a newer one: viewers called a TV show 上头 when it was exciting and they could not stop watching, such as the 2019 romance Go Go Squid!

That December, 语言文字周报 put 上头 on its list of the ten most popular internet phrases of 2019.