班味
bān wèi
Office stench — the lingering aura of exhaustion and despair that clings to you after work. Not a literal smell, but the dead-eyed, soul-drained vibe.
Origin
The #1 buzzword of 2024. "去班味" (removing office stench) became a trend as young workers tried to reclaim their identity outside of work through hobbies, travel, and self-care.
Examples
I need a vacation to wash off this 班味.
下班后第一件事就是去班味。(The first thing after work is to remove the office stench.)
Related terms
天台见
tiān tái jiàn
"See you on the roof" — gallows humor for having lost catastrophic money, usually on football bets or the stock market. The unspoken second half is that the rooftop is where you'd go to jump, so the phrase means roughly "I'm ruined" said with a laugh.
关灯吃面
guān dēng chī miàn
"Eating noodles with the lights off" — the standard way to say you took a bad loss in the market. Broader than a stock term now: any quiet, undramatic private misery.
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.