摸鱼
mō yú
Touching fish — slacking off at work while pretending to be productive. Scrolling your phone, browsing Taobao, looking busy.
Origin
From the idiom 浑水摸鱼 (fishing in muddy waters). Became standard office vocabulary as workers openly embraced strategic laziness. "摸鱼学" (the art of slacking) has its own subculture.
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What does 摸鱼 mean? The complete guide — origin, usage, related slang, and cultural context.
Examples
I've been 摸鱼 all afternoon — nobody noticed.
今天摸了一天的鱼。(Slacked off the entire day today.)
Related terms
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.
卡点
kǎ diǎn
Arriving at exactly the last possible moment — being precisely on time with zero margin.