倍速 (bèisù): playback speed

Meanings

1 playback speed
2 speed multiplier (e.g. 2x)

Characters

倍

Examples

我看电视剧都要开倍速，不然太拖了。

Wǒ kàn diànshìjù dōu yào kāi bèisù, bùrán tài tuō le.

I always watch shows at increased speed — otherwise they drag too much.

这门网课我用两倍速听的。

Zhè mén wǎngkè wǒ yòng liǎng bèisù tīng de.

I listened to this online class at 2x speed.

Tips

culture

Watching at 倍速 (typically 1.25x, 1.5x, 2x) is overwhelmingly common among Chinese viewers, especially Gen Z, for both dramas and educational content. Streaming services responded by adding 三倍速 (3x speed) buttons. The phenomenon spawned think pieces about attention span and 注意力经济 (attention economy).

usage

Used as a noun and modifier: 开倍速 / 关倍速 (turn on / off speed-up), 一倍速 / 二倍速 (1x / 2x), 倍速播放 (speed playback). 倍 = 'times / -fold', so 二倍速 is literally 'two-times-speed'.