yyds
Forever a god (GOAT)
yyds！The greatest!
yyds is short for 永远的神, “forever a god”: the greatest of all time. People use it for a player, a singer, a dish or a phone, anything they think is the best.
- Took off
- 2021
- Started in
- Esports
- Today
- Now everyday Chinese
What it means
The letters are the pinyin initials of yǒng yuǎn de shén. Online the 的 is often written 滴, which gives a cute, drawn-out sound, so the phrase is also 永远滴神.
It is pure praise and very casual. You can say it alone, as a reaction, or after a noun.
How people use it
yyds is still common, mainly among young people, though some find it worn out. It is for chats and comments, not for an email to your teacher.
你吃了我推荐的那家烤肉吗？
Did you try the barbecue place I recommended?吃了，yyds！
I did. The GOAT!我就说吧，下次一起去
Told you. Let’s go together next time.好，他家的五花肉永远滴神
Deal. Their pork belly is forever the GOAT.
More examples
这家店的奶茶yyds！
This shop’s milk tea is the best ever!
你做的菜yyds，我还想再吃一碗。
Your cooking is legendary. I want another bowl.
For the word itself and how to reply to it, see yyds in the slang dictionary.
Where it came from
It started in League of Legends esports. A streamer praised the Chinese pro player Uzi with 乌兹，永远滴神, “Uzi, forever a god”. Sources disagree on which match it was: Chinese Wikipedia gives the 2019 World Championship, and other sources give the 2018 Mid-Season Invitational.
In 2021 the letters spread far beyond gaming, and the national language monitoring center put YYDS second on its list of internet phrases of 2021. 咬文嚼字 left it off its own list on purpose: its editors said they did not want to promote letter abbreviations.
The original. A livestream commentary clip from a League of Legends match. There is no stable public copy. Chinese Wikipedia’s page on the streamer covers it. Chinese Wikipedia (in Chinese)
Related memes
Related slang in the dictionary: xswl
Sources
- Chinese Wikipedia on the streamer (in Chinese) (zh.wikipedia.org)
- 199IT: the internet phrases of 2021 (in Chinese) (199it.com)
- The Paper: why 咬文嚼字 left out yyds (in Chinese) (m.thepaper.cn)
Checked November 2026. The picture at the top is our own drawing of 灯灯. It is not the original meme image.
Ten Chinese memes
One Chinese internet meme every three days for a month: where it came from, what it means and how to use it.
