内卷
nèi juǎn
Involution — excessive, often pointless competition where everyone works harder but nobody gains more.
Origin
Originally an anthropological term, it went viral in 2020 when photos of Tsinghua students studying on laptops while biking circulated online.
Examples
The tech industry in China is so 内卷 — everyone works 996 just to keep up.
现在考研太内卷了。(The graduate school entrance exam is so involuted now.)
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.
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.