REAL INTERNET CHINESE
to lie flat
to quit the rat race and do the bare minimum 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
Say it when you stop chasing promotions, mortgages, and perfect scores and choose a calm, cheap, small life instead. Half joke, half genuine life philosophy among tired young workers. Self-deprecating but secretly a little proud.
Hear it in the wild
Wǒ bù xiǎng shēngzhí le, wǒ juédìng tǎngpíng.
I don't want the promotion anymore, I'm choosing to lie flat.
Zhōumò bù jiē gōngzuò diànhuà, tǎngpíng liǎng tiān.
No work calls this weekend, two days of lying flat.
Quick answers
What does 躺平 mean?
to quit the rat race and do the bare minimum on purpose
When do people say 躺平?
Say it when you stop chasing promotions, mortgages, and perfect scores and choose a calm, cheap, small life instead. Half joke, half genuine life philosophy among tired young workers. Self-deprecating but secretly a little proud.
When should you not say 躺平?
Mostly a joke about yourself. Telling someone else to tǎngpíng can sound like calling them a loser.
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