偷感tōu gǎn

A sneaky vibe

wǒ tōu gǎn hěn zhòng.我偷感很重。I’m very sneaky.

偷感 means “a sneaky feeling”: you do things in a careful, low-key way, as if you hope nobody will notice. People say 偷感很重, “the sneaky feeling is strong”, about shy or secretive behavior.

Took off: 2024
Started in: Short videos
Today: Now everyday Chinese

What it means

偷 means “to steal”, but nobody steals anything. 偷感 is the look of a person who seems to sneak: eyes down, small steps, a hand in front of the face in photos.

It is not an insult. 语言文字周报 describes it as doing things with little confidence, or out of fear of attention. Many people use it about themselves: studying for an exam without telling anyone, or looking away when the boss looks up.

How people use it

It is now common. You can use it for people, and also for animals and things: a cat creeping along a wall, or clothes that do not fit.

琦琦

你吃零食的样子好偷感
nǐ chī líng shí de yàng zi hǎo tōu gǎn
You look so sneaky when you eat snacks.
老板就坐我后面
lǎo bǎn jiù zuò wǒ hòu mian
The boss sits right behind me.
难怪你一直低着头
nán guài nǐ yì zhí dī zhe tóu
No wonder you keep your head down.
偷感拉满
tōu gǎn lā mǎn
Sneaky mode: maxed out.

More examples

他每次都从后门进教室，偷感很重。
tā měi cì dōu cóng hòu mén jìn jiào shì, tōu gǎn hěn zhòng.
He always comes into the classroom through the back door. Very sneaky.
我拍照只敢站在最边上，偷感太重了。
wǒ pāi zhào zhǐ gǎn zhàn zài zuì biān shang, tōu gǎn tài zhòng le.
In photos I only dare to stand at the very edge. So sneaky.

Where it came from

Nobody has traced the first use. A May 2024 article in The Paper says its origin is probably impossible to find. The writer links it to dance covers of the K-pop song “Easy”, released in February 2024, whose moves look sneaky, and says the word then moved from dance to everyday life.

By June 2024 the Douyin topic had more than 510 million views, according to the data firm New Rank. In December 2024 语言文字周报 put 偷感 on its list of the ten top internet phrases of the year.