福报

福報
fúbào
noun

Measure Word

Meanings

  1. 1 karmic reward, blessing earned through good deeds (Buddhism)
  2. 2 (ironic, modern) a 'blessing' you should feel grateful for — typically overtime or gruelling work

Examples

Xíngshàn jī dé shì wèile láishì de fúbào.
Doing good deeds is for karmic rewards in the next life.
Jiābān dào língchén hái yào gǎn'ēn, zhè jiù shì suǒwèi de fúbào?
Working overtime till dawn and supposed to be grateful — is this what they call a 'blessing'?

Tips

register
Originally a neutral Buddhist term. Since 2019 it has been ironic-dominant in Chinese internet usage because of the 996福报 debate; using 福报 straight in a workplace context now sounds sarcastic by default.
culture
The modern sarcastic sense crystallized from Jack Ma's April 2019 statement that being able to work 996 was a 'huge 福报'. The remark backfired and the word became shorthand for 'corporate BS dressed up as spiritual reward'.

Stroke Order

bào