p8nda
p8nda BETA
Home Dictionary Translate Flashcards Sign in

立flag

lìflag
verb

Meanings

  1. 1 to set a flag
  2. 2 to declare an intention or boast that ironically jinxes itself
  3. 3 (in fiction) to plant a foreshadowing line that later comes true

Examples

他刚立flag说自己肯定不会迟到,结果就迟到了。
Tā gāng lì flag shuō zìjǐ kěndìng bùhuì chídào, jiéguǒ jiù chídào le.
He just set a flag saying he definitely wouldn't be late — and then he was late.
别立flag,小心被打脸。
Bié lì flag, xiǎoxīn bèi dǎliǎn.
Don't set a flag — careful, you'll get egg on your face.

Tips

culture
Code-mixed slang from gaming and ACG (anime/comics/games) culture. The English 'flag' is the programmer's term — a boolean variable that triggers a future event. In visual novels and games, an early line like 'I'll definitely come back alive' is a 死亡flag ('death flag') — guaranteeing the character dies. Internet Chinese generalized 立flag to mean 'to make a confident declaration that fate will now mock,' close to English 'jinxing it' or 'tempting fate.'
memory
立 = 'to plant/raise', flag = the literal English word, kept in Latin script. Once the flag is up, the universe is contractually obligated to knock it down.

Stroke Order

立 lì