Chinese slang: numbers, internet words and what they mean

October 9, 2026 · 7 min read

Chinese slang is above all the language of texting: numbers instead of phrases (520 is "I love you", 88 is "bye", 666 is "awesome"), abbreviations in Latin letters like yyds, and short words that moved from the internet into everyday speech. Below is what each of the best-known numbers and words means in Chinese slang and how they work.

One caveat up front: slang ages fast. What people wrote in comments a few years ago can sound today the way "on fleek" sounds in English. So this page only has expressions that have been around for a while and have stuck, with no attempt to guess what's trending this month.

Why Chinese slang is full of numbers

Chinese has a small set of syllables, so the names of the digits inevitably sound like other words. Read a number out digit by digit and you get something that sounds like a whole phrase, and typing three digits is faster than typing three characters. It's the same trick as English "gr8" or "2day", taken much further. Here is the whole mechanism in two examples:

• 五二〇wǔèrlíng520, digit by digitthree syllables
• 我爱你wǒàinǐI love youthe same rhythm, similar vowels
• 八八bābā88, digit by digit
• 拜拜bàibaibyethe first sound matches

The resemblance can be loose: the consonants or the overall shape of the syllables match, the tones don't always. For native speakers that's enough, because the set of these numbers is small and everyone knows it. How the digits themselves are read is in the article Chinese numbers, and why four is avoided and eight is loved is in Lucky and unlucky numbers in China.

Chinese number slang: the table

Chinese number slang in one table: the number, how it's read, what it means and what it sounds like.

A few notes. Because of 520, May 20 has become a day for love confessions on the Chinese internet. In China, 666 has nothing to do with the "number of the beast": six is a lucky, "smooth" number, and three sixes under a video or in a gaming chat are praise. 233 and 7456 are older slang: people will understand them, but they're written less often now. And 996 isn't wordplay at all but the name of a work schedule, one you'll also see in the news.

How to say "6 7" in Chinese

If you came here because of the "6 7" (six seven) meme: in Chinese it's 六七 liùqī — six seven, two syllables, the first in the fourth tone, the second in the first. Here are the two digits on their own, with a recording:

• 六liùsixfourth tone: short, falling
• 七qīsevenfirst tone: high and level; q sounds close to "ch" in "cheese"

The meme itself is American and has no meaning in Chinese number slang: 67 doesn't sound like any phrase, unlike 520 or 88. What a Chinese speaker will recognize is the six on its own: 六 sounds like 溜 liù, "smooth", which is where 666 "awesome" comes from.

Chinese internet slang in letters

The second way to shorten a phrase is to take the first letters of its pinyin, like English "lol" or "brb". The result is a string of Latin letters that tells an outsider nothing:

There are hundreds of these, and they don't live long: some only make sense inside one community. Many are rude, so a beginner shouldn't use them, and we don't list them here. If you see letters you don't know, try matching them to the first sounds of a phrase: most of the time it's something very simple, like 对不起 duìbuqǐ — sorry.

Internet words that made it into everyday speech

These words left the internet long ago: you'll hear them in conversation and see them in ads and headlines.

• 加油 jiāyóu — go! you can do it! Literally "add oil", and the same word means "to refuel". People shout it at stadiums, say it before an exam and sign off messages to friends with it. Not strictly slang, but one of the most common words in chats.
• 给力 gěilì — awesome, powerful Literally "gives strength". It took off around 2010 and has long since stopped sounding new.
• 赞 zàn — great, thumbs up and 点赞 diǎnzàn — to like (a post). The first is both praise ("great!") and the "like" itself; the second is the action.
• 萌 méng — cute, adorable It came from Japanese anime culture. People say it about kids, animals and anything sweet.
• 吃瓜 chīguā — to watch someone else's drama Literally "eat melon": sit on the sidelines and watch others argue, like eating popcorn. The onlookers are 吃瓜群众 (chī guā qún zhòng), "the melon-eating masses".
• 土豪 tǔháo — flashy big spender Usually said as a joke, for example to a friend who paid for everyone.
• 打工人 dǎgōngrén — working stiff, wage worker A self-mocking name for anyone with a job. "Good morning, fellow workers" is a typical caption on a morning meme.
• 内卷 nèijuǎn — exhausting rat race Literally "rolling inward", often translated "involution": everyone tries harder and harder, and nobody gains anything from it. Said about school and work.
• 躺平 tǎngpíng — to lie flat To drop out of the race and settle for less. Often said with a smile: "today I'm lying flat" means "I'm not doing anything today".

Ordinary praise hasn't gone anywhere: 厉害 lìhai — impressive, amazing is said by a schoolkid and their grandmother alike, and it won't go out of date.

How people address each other in chats: 亲, 小姐姐, 老铁

Colloquial Chinese has its own forms of address: warm, but not overly familiar.

• 亲 qīn — dear Short for 亲爱的 (qīn ài de). Online sellers use it with customers, and from there it spread across the internet. There's nothing romantic about it, much like a shop assistant calling you "hon".
• 哥 (gē) and 姐 (jiě), "brother" and "sister". A respectful way to address someone a little older than you, often after their surname or given name. The full words are 哥哥 gēge — older brother and 姐姐 jiějie — older sister.
• 小姐姐 (xiǎo jiě jie) and 小哥哥 (xiǎo gē ge): a friendly way to address a young woman or man, strangers included.
• 老铁 (lǎo tiě), "buddy, bro". It came from the dialects of China's Northeast and spread through live streaming. Fine with a close friend, not with your teacher.

"Haha" and the 呵呵 trap

Laughing and agreeing in chats also follow their own rules.

• 哈哈哈hāhāhāhahahaordinary friendly laughter; the longer, the funnier
• 呵呵hēhē"heh heh"sounds cold and mocking
• 嗯嗯ǹgǹgmm-hmm, yepsoft agreement
• 好哒hǎodaokey-dokey!a cute version of 好的

The main trap is 呵呵. In the dictionary it's just laughter, but in a chat people send it when they disagree or are annoyed: something like a flat "ok." or "sure, buddy". If you want to show you're amused, write 哈哈. The same goes for a single 嗯 ǹg — mm: on its own it's curt, doubled it's friendly.

Should beginners use Chinese slang?

Understand it, yes: without 520, 666 and 哈哈哈 you can't read a single chat or comment thread. Use it, carefully, and here's why.

• Register. Slang is for friends and texting. In a message to your teacher, at work or in an exam it's out of place.
• The other person's age. Older people may simply not understand letter abbreviations, and 老铁 said to someone older comes across as cheeky.
• Shelf life. A trendy word gives you away a couple of years later as someone who learned it from an old article. Neutral words don't age.

A solid base is plain polite words: 谢谢 xièxie — thank you, 对不起 duìbuqǐ — sorry, 再见 zàijiàn — goodbye. You can't go wrong with them, in a chat or face to face, and the slang will come on its own from talking with native speakers. If you're just starting out, get the tones and the first words of HSK 1 down first: every sound-alike in the table above rests on them.