硬控 (yìngkòng): to hold (someone) spellbound; t…

Meanings

1 to hold (someone) spellbound; to captivate so completely that the person can't look away
2 (gaming, original sense) to hard-CC: stun or immobilize an enemy with a guaranteed crowd-control effect

Characters

硬

Examples

这条视频硬控我三小时。

Zhè tiáo shìpín yìngkòng wǒ sān xiǎoshí.

This video held me glued to the screen for three hours.

他的演技硬控全场观众。

Tā de yǎnjì yìngkòng quán chǎng guānzhòng.

His acting absolutely captivated the entire audience.

游戏里一个大招就能硬控对手。

Yóuxì lǐ yí ge dà zhāo jiù néng yìngkòng duìshǒu.

In the game, one ultimate skill can hard-CC the opponent.

Tips

culture

Gaming origin: 硬控 = '硬性控制' hard crowd control, a MOBA/MMO term (League of Legends, Honor of Kings) for effects that unconditionally lock an enemy down—stun, knock-up, freeze—as opposed to 软控 soft-CC (slow, silence). Around 2024 Douyin users started saying a captivating video/scene/person 硬控 them, meaning 'held me hostage, couldn't look away.' Named a 2024 Top 10 buzzword by 《咬文嚼字》.

usage

Pattern: X 硬控 Y [duration]. '这首歌硬控我一周,' '她的颜值硬控我十年.' The duration is part of the joke, the longer the funnier.