双向奔赴shuāng xiàng bēn fù

Both sides moving toward each other

zhè jiù shì shuāng xiàng bēn fù!这就是双向奔赴！You both made the effort!

双向奔赴 means “running toward each other from both directions”: a relationship in which both sides make the effort, not one person chasing the other.

Took off: 2023
Started in: Posts about love and friendship
Today: Now everyday Chinese

What it means

双向 is “two-way”, and 奔赴 is a formal verb for hurrying toward a place or a goal. Together they describe two people who both move closer: a couple who both change their plans to live in one city, or friends who both keep in touch.

The opposite is 单向奔赴, effort from one side only.

How people use it

It is sincere and a little romantic. You hear it for couples, for friends who both make time, and for a singer and the fans who travel to see them.

It is also everywhere in TV romance. In December 2025, a Beijing News review of a romance drama called it an emotional slogan that new shows use almost too often.

灯灯

我买了下周去上海的票，想给你一个惊喜
wǒ mǎi le xià zhōu qù shàng hǎi de piào, xiǎng gěi nǐ yí gè jīng xǐ
I bought a ticket to Shanghai for next week. I wanted to surprise you.
不会吧！我也买了下周去北京的票
bú huì ba! wǒ yě mǎi le xià zhōu qù běi jīng de piào
No way! I bought a ticket to Beijing for next week too.
哈哈，双向奔赴了
hā hā, shuāng xiàng bēn fù le
Ha, we both came running.
那我们在南京见吧
nà wǒ men zài nán jīng jiàn ba
Then let’s meet in Nanjing.

More examples

我们俩都想见面，这就是双向奔赴吧。
wǒ men liǎ dōu xiǎng jiàn miàn, zhè jiù shì shuāng xiàng bēn fù ba.
We both wanted to meet. That’s both of us making the effort.
好的友情是双向奔赴的。
hǎo de yǒu qíng shì shuāng xiàng bēn fù de.
A good friendship goes both ways.
我不想再单向奔赴了。
wǒ bù xiǎng zài dān xiàng bēn fù le.
I don’t want to be the only one trying anymore.

For the word itself and how to reply to it, see 双向奔赴 in the slang dictionary.

Where it came from

We have not found its first use. In December 2023, 咬文嚼字 put 双向奔赴 on its list of the ten most popular phrases of the year.

The magazine explained it as two sides working toward a shared goal and moving closer, used mostly between people for mutual affection. It added that its use had grown beyond relationships between two people.

The original. There is no image; the meme is a phrase. China News reported the 2023 list with the magazine’s notes. China News (in Chinese)