Mandarin Monday is a recurring series designed to enhance your Chinese skills by highlighting enjoyable and practical phrases and characters.
In our first Mandarin Monday of 2026, we are reflecting on the ten most popular buzzwords from 2025. These terms come from the official list published by Yaowen Jiaozi (咬文嚼字), one of China’s leading language authorities, which annually compiles the top ten buzzwords.
1. 韧性 rènxìng – Resilience Initially meaning "resilience" or "toughness," this 2025 buzzword describes a person's capacity to withstand pressure, adapt, and persist amid uncertainty. Online, it is often used ironically, commending emotional endurance in work and life while subtly acknowledging the substantial stress individuals are expected to manage.
2. 具身智能 jùshēn zhìnéng – Embodied Intelligence This term transitioned from theory to mainstream use in 2025, referring to artificial intelligence that engages with the physical world via a robotic body or form, making AI more effective and tangible than before.
3. 苏超 sū chāo – Jiangsu Football City League The abbreviation for the Jiangsu Football City League (江苏超级联赛 jiāngsū chāojí liánsài), an amateur football tournament that saw a dramatic rise in popularity in 2025. Each of Jiangsu's 13 prefecture-level cities submitted a team, reigniting rivalries between cities and generating many viral memes.
4. 赛博对账 sàibó duìzhàng – Cyber Reconciliation This term denotes the use of online platforms for individuals to compare real-life experiences and perceptions. Its popularity surged during discussions of a potential TikTok ban in the US, as many users began migrating to Chinese social media platforms, leading to cross-cultural comparisons that aimed to verify the realities of daily life and social interactions beyond stereotypes and algorithms.
5. 数字游民 shùzì yóumín – Digital Nomad Although the idea is not new, this term became fully integrated into the Chinese mainstream in 2025, describing professionals who use technology to work remotely from any location, thereby altering the traditional office lifestyle.
6. 谷子 gǔzi – Goods Borrowed from fan culture, this is a transliteration of the English term "goods." It refers to official merchandise and collectibles from anime, comics, and gaming, such as figurines, posters, cards, etc.
7. 预制xx yùzhì xx – Pre-made xx This prefix originates from 预制菜 yùzhìcài, meaning "pre-made meals," which gained popularity this year following the Xibei controversy. It has since been used to mock things that seem formulaic or fake, as in 预制浪漫 yùzhì làngmàn (manufactured romance).
8. 活人感 huórén gǎn – Authentically human Translating to "living person feelings," this phrase describes content or behavior that feels genuine, imperfect, spontaneous, and human, as opposed to polished or overly curated online personas or AI-generated output.
9. xx基础，xx不基础 xx jīchǔ, xx bù jīchǔ – If A is basic, then B isn't basic This meme-like sentence structure emerged from a fashion vlogger's guideline: 上身基础，下身就不基础 shàngshēn jīchǔ, xiàshēn jiùbù jīchǔ (If the top is basic, the bottom shouldn't be). It was quickly adapted by netizens into a humorous template for commenting on daily life, utilizing the contrast between "basic" and "not basic" for irony, playful critique, or self-deprecation, e.g., "If my salary is basic, then my lifestyle is not basic."
10. 从从容容…连滚带爬 cóngcong róngróng… liángǔn dàipá – (Should've been) calm and composed, but ended up rushed and scrambling This phrase went viral after being featured in a catchy online song, transforming it into a meme. It humorously captures the trajectory of many modern experiences: beginning with confidence and composure, only to culminate in panic or chaos. It is now commonly used in captions and posts, serving as a lighthearted form of self-mockery for plans, deadlines, trips, and goals that quickly go awry.
READ: Three Things for the Week Ahead in Beijing (Jan 12-18)
Images: Canva, Freepik
For the inaugural Mandarin Monday of 2026, we're reflecting on the ten most popular buzzwords from 2025.