Chinese (Mandarin) slang
躺平
tǎng píng
To “lie flat”: opt out of the rat race and do only the bare minimum.
- Literally:
- 躺 to lie down + 平 flat
How it's used
躺平 took off in 2021 as a quiet protest against 内卷 — skipping the overtime, the house and the promotion chase and accepting a low-desire life. Depending on who's speaking it can sound like a principled choice, a tired joke, or (from parents and bosses) a criticism of laziness. It's informal and very common among people in their twenties and thirties.
Examples
房价这么高，我干脆躺平了。
Fángjià zhème gāo, wǒ gāncuì tǎngpíng le.
Housing prices are this high, so I've just given up and decided to lie flat.
他辞了职回老家躺平了。
Tā cí le zhí huí lǎojiā tǎngpíng le.
He quit his job and went back to his hometown to take it easy.