Chinese (Mandarin) slang
画饼
huà bǐng
To make empty promises — especially a boss dangling raises or promotions that never come.
- Literally:
- 画 to draw + 饼 flatbread / pancake
How it's used
It comes from the idiom 画饼充饥, “drawing a pancake to satisfy hunger”. In workplace slang the boss is the one who 画饼: “stick with us, next year you'll get equity”. It's sarcastic and a little bitter, and very common in conversations among 打工人.
Examples
老板又在画饼了，说明年一定给我们涨工资。
Lǎobǎn yòu zài huà bǐng le, shuō míngnián yídìng gěi wǒmen zhǎng gōngzī.
The boss is making empty promises again, saying we'll definitely get raises next year.
别给我画饼了，说点实际的。
Bié gěi wǒ huà bǐng le, shuō diǎn shíjì de.
Stop with the empty promises — tell me something concrete.