卡点
kǎ diǎn
Arriving at exactly the last possible moment — being precisely on time with zero margin.
Origin
Describes the habit of pushing deadlines and arrival times to the absolute limit, common among young people.
Examples
He always 卡点 arrives — one second later and he'd be late.
每次上班都卡点到。(Always arriving at work at the last possible second.)
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.
996
jiǔ jiǔ liù
Working 9am to 9pm, 6 days a week — describes the grueling work culture in Chinese tech companies.