咸鱼

鹹魚

xiányú

noun #25,645

Measure Word

一条咸鱼 tiáo

Meanings

1 salted fish
2 (slang) someone who gives up on ambition; a slacker

Characters

Examples

广东人很喜欢用咸鱼来煮粥。

Guǎngdōng rén hěn xǐhuān yòng xiányú lái zhǔ zhōu.

Cantonese people love to cook porridge with salted fish.

他说自己就是条咸鱼，不想奋斗了。

Tā shuō zìjǐ jiùshì tiáo xiányú, bù xiǎng fèndòu le.

He said he was just a salted fish and didn't want to strive anymore.

咸鱼翻身是不可能的事吗？

Xiányúfānshēn shì bùkě néng de shì ma?

Is it really impossible for the salted fish to turn over (stage a comeback)?

Tips

culture

In modern internet slang, 咸鱼 refers to someone who has given up on ambition and just lies flat (躺平). The idiom 咸鱼翻身 (salted fish flips over) means achieving a dramatic reversal of fortune against all odds.

Stroke Order

咸 xián

鱼 yú