REAL INTERNET CHINESE
cut off, discard, leave behind
decluttering your stuff, your habits and your relationships on purpose
- Who can you say it to?
- Safe with anyone Fine at work, fine with your partner's parents.
- Out loud, or only typed?
- Say it or type it Works out loud and in chat.
- Is it still used?
- Settled in Past the fad stage, part of everyday speech.
When to say it
Borrowed from a Japanese organising idea, now a life motto. The closet that yields three full bags, the group chats you finally leave, the 'friend' who only ever takes. Said mid-cleanout or freshly free. Can be aspirational, can be a brag, occasionally it is a farewell announcement.
Hear it in the wild
Zhōumò wǒ duànshělí le yí guìzi yīfu.
This weekend I decluttered a whole closet of clothes.
Xuéhuì duànshělí, rìzi qīngsōng duō le.
Learned to let things go, life got much lighter.
Quick answers
What does 断舍离 mean?
decluttering your stuff, your habits and your relationships on purpose
When do people say 断舍离?
Borrowed from a Japanese organising idea, now a life motto. The closet that yields three full bags, the group chats you finally leave, the 'friend' who only ever takes. Said mid-cleanout or freshly free. Can be aspirational, can be a brag, occasionally it is a farewell announcement.
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