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内卷

內卷
nèijuǎn
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 involution
  2. 2 excessive competition
  3. 3 rat race

Characters

内
nèi
inner; within
卷
juǎn
to roll; to curl
Literally 'rolling inward' - competition that spirals inward without producing real progress

Examples

HSK 4
大家都在内卷，谁也不敢休息。
Dàjiā dōu zài nèijuǎn, shéi yě bù gǎn xiūxi.
Everyone is caught in the rat race; nobody dares to rest.
HSK 5
现在的职场内卷太严重了。
Xiànzài de zhíchǎng nèijuǎn tài yánzhòng le.
The workplace competition is way too intense nowadays.
HSK 6
不要再卷了，生活不只是工作。
Búyào zài juǎn le, shēnghuó bùzhǐ shì gōngzuò.
Stop grinding so hard; life is more than just work.

Tips

culture
内卷 went viral around 2020, originally an academic term (involution) that became slang for pointless hyper-competition - where everyone works harder but nobody gains an advantage. It captures frustration with China's intense work culture and education system.
usage
Often shortened to just 卷 as a verb: 别卷了 (stop grinding). The opposite concept is 躺平 (lie flat / opt out of the rat race).

Stroke Order

内 nèi
卷 juǎn