Internet Buzzwords

QIANTU

班味

smell of work

Young people use this to joke about how tired they look because of working. They say you can tell workers from students by looking at their faces. Many people share photos showing how strong their “smell of work” is.

积极废人

positive loser

It refers to people who make lots of goals for themselves but never reach them. Even though they often have a good attitude (态度), they don’t turn their positive thoughts (积极的想法) into actions.

钝感力

power of insensitivity

This phrase comes from Japanese writer Junichi Watanabe’s book The Power of Insensitivity. It means not being too sensitive (敏感的) about everything. Nowadays, people use it to joke that someone is too obtuse (迟钝的) to read between the lines.