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First, a myth to clear up: in the 1980s, China had no internet. China only joined the global internet in 1994. But people still had buzzwords. A rich person, for example, was called a "ten-thousand-yuan household." In the nineties, the rich became "big money." Around 2013, the internet started calling them "tuhao", local tycoons.
In 2020, the hit word was "Versailles": sighing out loud, while quietly showing off. Same meaning, four different outfits. Praising someone works the same way. In 2010 it was "geili", full of power. Game stream viewers spammed "666". In 2021, screens were full of "the eternal god."
And when nothing seems to matter? In 2010: "it's all just floating clouds." In 2021: "lying flat." In 2025: "so what, what can you do." The words keep changing. But the ways to make them? Just four tricks, over and over. Trick one: swap in a word that sounds alike. "Shenme", what, becomes "shenma", magic horse. "Liu liu liu", smooth, becomes six six six.
Trick two: shrink it. "Yong yuan de shen" keeps just four letters: Y Y D S. Trick three: give an old word a new meaning. "Tuhao" once meant a powerful rural landlord; later it became a joke. Trick four: borrow a sentence pattern and swap a few words. Like: "Doubt it, understand it, become it."
So what comes next? Nobody can guess the exact words. But two things probably won't change. One: what we need to say stays the same. Praising, laughing at ourselves, letting things go: every generation needs words for these. Two: the four tricks stay the same. Sound-alikes, shrinking, old words with new meanings, and sentence patterns.
What changes is how we talk. TV, forums, phones, short videos: each switch brings a new batch of words. Among 2025's top ten internet buzzwords, number one was already the name of an AI. The next batch of words may well grow from there. So next time you hear a word you don't get, don't panic. Take it apart: it's most likely an old idea in new clothes.
What was the buzzword of your generation? Tell me in the comments.
Same meaning,
new clothes every decade.
Calling someone rich, praising someone, saying "whatever": every generation needs to say these things. Only the words change. The examples here are Chinese buzzwords.
Simply put: the words change, the needs don't.
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