cóng
从
'nèi juǎn
内卷
'dào
到
'tǎng píng
躺平
'
：nián qīng rén
年轻人de
的wǎng luò
网络xīn shēng
心声From 'Involution' to 'Lying Flat': The Online Voices of Young People
liú刘lǎo shī老师 ，wǒ我zuì jìn最近zài在wēi bó微博shàng上kàn dào看到nián qīng rén年轻人jīng cháng经常shuō说 'nèi juǎn内卷 ' 、 'tǎng píng躺平 ' ，hái yǒu还有shén me什么 'shè kǒng社恐 ' 。zhè xiē这些cí词shì是shén me什么yì si意思ne呢 ？
Teacher Liu, I often see young people on Weibo saying 'involution', 'lying flat', and something called 'social anxiety'. What do these words mean?
zhè xiē这些dōu都shì是zuì jìn jǐ nián最近几年hěn很huǒ火de的wǎng luò网络xīn cí新词 ！ 'nèi juǎn内卷 'xíng róng形容guò dù过度jìng zhēng竞争 ，jiù就xiàng像suǒ yǒu rén所有人dōu都bèi被juǎn卷jìn进xuán wō漩涡lǐ里 ，pīn mìng拼命nǔ lì努力què却dé bú dào得不到xiāng yìng相应huí bào回报 ，ràng让shēng huó生活biàn dé变得hěn很lèi累 。
These are all popular internet slang terms in recent years! 'Involution' describes excessive competition—everyone is caught in a whirlpool, working desperately but getting little in return, making life exhausting.
nà那 'tǎng píng躺平 'ne呢 ？tīng qǐ lái听起来xiàng像shì是bù xiǎng不想nǔ lì努力de的yì si意思 ？
Then what about 'lying flat'? It sounds like not wanting to work hard?
'tǎng píng躺平 'qí shí其实shì是duì对 'nèi juǎn内卷 'de的yī zhǒng一种fǎn yìng反应 。bú shì不是wán quán完全bù不nǔ lì努力 ，ér shì而是jù jué拒绝jiā rù加入jī liè激烈jìng zhēng竞争 ，xuǎn zé选择jiǎn dān简单 、dī低yā lì压力de的shēng huó fāng shì生活方式 ，bù zài不再zhuī qiú追求shè huì社会dìng yì定义de的chéng gōng成功 。
'Lying flat' is actually a reaction to 'involution'. It doesn’t mean doing nothing, but rather refusing to join fierce competition and choosing a simpler, low-stress lifestyle, no longer chasing society’s definition of success.
yuán lái rú cǐ原来如此 ！nà那 'shè kǒng社恐 'shì是shén me什么yì si意思ne呢 ？
I see! Then what does 'social anxiety' mean?
'shè kǒng社恐 'shì是 'shè jiāo kǒng jù zhèng社交恐惧症 'de的jiǎn chēng简称 ，xiàn zài现在duō shù多数shì是nián qīng rén年轻人bàn kāi wán xiào半开玩笑dì地xíng róng形容zì jǐ自己zài在shè jiāo社交chǎng hé场合de的jǐn zhāng紧张gǎn感 。tā它de的fǎn yì cí反义词shì是 'shè niú社牛 ' ，zhǐ指nà xiē那些zài在shè jiāo社交chǎng hé场合hěn很zì xìn自信de的rén人 。
'Social anxiety', short for 'social phobia', is now often used half-jokingly by young people to describe their nervousness in social situations. Its opposite is 'social bull', which refers to people who are very confident in social settings.
zhè xiē这些xīn cí新词zhēn真yǒu yì si有意思 ！tā men它们hǎo xiàng好像hěn很zhǔn què准确dì地miáo shù描述le了xiàn dài rén现代人de的xīn lǐ心理zhuàng tài状态 。
These new words are so interesting! They seem to describe modern people’s mental state very accurately.
duì对 ！wǎng luò网络xīn cí新词jiù就xiàng像shè huì社会de的jìng zi镜子 ，fǎn yìng反映le了nián qīng rén年轻人de的shēng huó生活zhuàng tài状态hé和xīn lǐ心理 。xué huì学会zhè xiē这些cí词 ，nǐ你jiù就néng能gèng更hǎo好dì地lǐ jiě理解dāng dài当代zhōng guó中国nián qīng rén年轻人zài在xiǎng想shén me什么 、miàn lín面临shén me什么tiǎo zhàn挑战 。
Exactly! Online slang is like a mirror of society—it reflects the lifestyle and psychology of young people. By learning these words, you can better understand what young Chinese people are thinking and what challenges they face.
