破防

pò fáng

Defenses breached — when something hits you so emotionally hard that your composure breaks. Can be happy tears or devastating news.

Origin

From gaming (breaking through defenses). Bilibili named it their "comment of the year." Used when a video, story, or moment makes you unexpectedly emotional.

Examples

That soldier reunion video completely 破防了.

看到这个视频我直接破防了。(Watching this video completely broke my defenses.)

Related terms

绝绝子

jué jué zǐ

Absolutely amazing / Absolutely terrible — an emphatic expression that can be positive or negative depending on context.

社死

shè sǐ

Social death — an extremely embarrassing moment that makes you want to disappear.

EMO/emo

emo

Feeling down, sad, or melancholic — used when experiencing a wave of negative emotions.

牛/牛逼

niú / niú bī

Awesome / badass — strong praise for something impressive or someone skilled.