996
jiǔ jiǔ liù
Working 9am to 9pm, 6 days a week — describes the grueling work culture in Chinese tech companies.
Origin
Became a major talking point in 2019 when tech workers created "996.ICU" on GitHub to protest overwork culture.
Examples
I can't meet up this week — my company does 996.
996工作制让人身心疲惫。(The 996 work schedule is physically and mentally exhausting.)
Related terms
草台班子
cǎo tái bān zi
Literally a 'straw-stage troupe' — any operation that looks official but is actually disorganized, unprofessional, and improvised; the viral extended form 'the whole world is one giant clown show' applies that to everything.
内卷
nèi juǎn
Involution — excessive, often pointless competition where everyone works harder but nobody gains more.
打工人
dǎ gōng rén
Working people / wage slaves — a self-deprecating term workers use to describe themselves.
卡点
kǎ diǎn
Arriving at exactly the last possible moment — being precisely on time with zero margin.