梗 (gěng): meme

Meanings

1 meme
2 running joke
3 punchline
4 internet reference

Characters

梗

gěng

stem; stalk; punchline

Originally the 'stem' of a joke — now means any meme or cultural reference

Examples

这个梗我看不懂。

Zhège gěng wǒ kàn bù dǒng.

I don't get this meme.

他说话总爱玩梗。

Tā shuōhuà zǒng ài wángěng.

He always likes to use memes and references when he talks.

这个梗已经过时了。

Zhège gěng yǐjīng guòshí le.

This meme is already outdated.

Tips

culture

梗 originally meant the punchline or key twist in crosstalk comedy (相声). It evolved to encompass any viral joke, meme, or cultural reference on the Chinese internet. 玩梗 means to use memes/references, and 老梗 means an overused joke.

usage

Common phrases: 玩梗 (use a meme), 接梗 (get/catch a reference), 老梗 (stale meme), 烂梗 (bad/overused meme), 谐音梗 (pun-based meme).

Components

radical

木 mù

tree; wood

Wood radical on the left — pictograph of a tree. Indexes 梗 in the plant family with 枝 branch, 根 root, 茎 stalk. The original meaning is a hard, woody stem; only in modern internet slang did 梗 take on "meme, running joke, punchline" — a stiff stick of humour.

phonetic

更 gēng

more; again; change

Right side 更 supplies the sound with a tone shift: gēng → gěng. Same phonetic powers 硬 hard, 便 (in 便宜) — and the "hard" sense of 硬 echoes the woody stiffness of a 梗. Pure phonetic with a useful semantic rhyme.