Chinese (Mandarin) slang
破防
pò fáng
To have your emotional guard broken — suddenly moved, hurt or upset.
- Literally:
- 破 to break + 防 defence
How it's used
破防 comes from gaming, where it means breaking through an opponent's defence. Now it's what happens when something gets to you: a touching video, a parent's message, or a comment that stings. It works for being moved to tears and for being genuinely upset, so context tells you which. Casual and very common online.
Examples
看到妈妈发的那条消息，我直接破防了。
Kàndào māma fā de nà tiáo xiāoxi, wǒ zhíjiē pòfáng le.
When I saw that message from Mom, I completely lost it.
他说我胖，我当场就破防了。
Tā shuō wǒ pàng, wǒ dāngchǎng jiù pòfáng le.
He called me fat, and I was crushed on the spot.