If the act of lying flat, or tang ping, took over the Chinese internet in 2021, actively embracing a deteriorating situation, or bai lan, became its equivalent in 2022.
如果说“躺平”在2021年开始在中国互联网上流行，那么“摆烂”则在2022年流行起来。
Such catchphrases have become an essential part of the digital lexicon in recent years and are used by Chinese social media users to express a collective sentiment. This year's online buzzwords were mostly associated with COVID-19, and the others reflected the state of mind of the digital masses and the state of society.
近年来，这类流行语已成为数字词汇的重要组成部分，被中国社交媒体用户用来表达一种集体情绪。今年的网络热词大多与新冠肺炎有关，其他热词则反映了数字大众的心态和社会现状。
Here are Sixth Tone's top internet buzzwords of 2022.
以下是《第六声》评选的2022年网络热词
The chosen laborers
天选打工人
Derived from the Chinese term da gong ren — a self-deprecating slang term meaning “laborers” or “working people” — “the chosen laborers” refers to those workers whose residential compounds have not been locked down, allowing or forcing them to go to work every day. Some use the term sarcastically to express envy about their coworkers who can stay home, while other “chosen laborers” are just happy they can go out for a walk.
“天选打工人”源自中国的“打工人”一个自嘲的俚语，意为“劳动者”或“劳动人民”——指的是那些居住小区没有被封锁，允许或强迫他们每天去上班的员工。一些人用这个词来讽刺自己的同事可以呆在家里，而另一些“天选打工人”则为自己可以出去散个步而高兴。
Begone
退！退！退！
How do you vanish a foul presence in your life? In a viral video, a woman in a parking dispute was caught on camera stomping her feet, waving her arms, and repeatedly telling the other person to “begone.” The quirky repetition of the Chinese term tui tui tui reminded many social media users of a traditional ritual to ward off evil spirits, and the woman's words were quickly turned into an incantation to protect users from bad luck or misfortune.
你如何消除你生命中一个肮脏的存在？在一段疯传的视频中，一名女子在停车纠纷中跺脚，挥舞手臂，反复告诉对方“退”。“退！退！退！”一词的奇怪重复让许多社交媒体用户想起了辟邪的传统仪式，而这名女子的话很快就被变成了保护用户免受厄运或不幸的咒语。
I have nothing to say
我真的栓Q
Literally meaning “thank you so much,” the term is now sarcastically used by Chinese social media users to express being speechless. Digital denizens originally created “栓Q” to joke about the English accent of Liu Tao, a farmer who claims to be a self-taught English enthusiast on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. Liu has accumulated over 2.6 million followers by sharing videos about his hometown in Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, in Chinese and English.
这个词的字面意思是“非常感谢”，现在被中国社交媒体用户用来讽刺说不出话来。网民们最初创建“栓Q”是为了拿刘涛的英语口音开玩笑。刘涛是一名农民，在抖音上自称是自学成才的英语爱好者。刘涛通过分享他的家乡广西壮族自治区桂林的中英文视频，积累了260多万粉丝。
Shrimp-like boyfriend
虾系男友
When eating shrimp, it's best to ignore the head. And in China, a lot of people think the same about their boyfriends. A “shrimp-like boyfriend” is a man who has an average or below-average face, but an extremely desirable body. The term was first used by Chinese social media users to describe Li Dan, a popular Chinese standup comedian.
吃虾的时候，最好忽略虾头。在中国，很多人对自己的男朋友也是这样想的。“虾系男友”是指拥有一张普通或低于平均水平的脸，但身材非常漂亮的男人。这个词最初被中国社交媒体用户用来形容中国著名脱口秀演员李诞。
Besides “shrimp-like boyfriends,” young Chinese often also describe men as “dog-like boyfriends” referring to someone who's a devoted partner or as a mature, considerate “father-like boyfriend.”
除了“虾系男友”，中国年轻人还经常将男性描述为“狗系男友”指的是忠诚的伴侣，或者是成熟体贴的“爹系男友”。