Chinese (Mandarin) slang
内卷
nèi juǎn
Involution: pointless, ever-escalating competition where everyone works harder and nobody comes out ahead.
- Literally:
- 内 inside + 卷 to roll / curl up
How it's used
Borrowed from an academic term for “involution”, 内卷 exploded online around 2020 to describe school, job and workplace races where the bar keeps rising — longer hours, more certificates — without anyone getting more out of it. It's a complaint about the system, not praise for hard work. You'll hear it from students and office workers everywhere, and it's casual enough for chat but also shows up in news commentary.
Examples
现在找工作太内卷了，本科生都要有三段实习。
Xiànzài zhǎo gōngzuò tài nèijuǎn le, běnkēshēng dōu yào yǒu sān duàn shíxí.
Job hunting is so cutthroat now — even undergrads need three internships.
我们公司内卷得厉害，没人敢准时下班。
Wǒmen gōngsī nèijuǎn de lìhai, méi rén gǎn zhǔnshí xiàbān.
The rat race at our company is intense — nobody dares to leave on time.