屌丝 (diǎosī): loser (self-deprecating interne…

Meanings

1 loser (self-deprecating internet slang)
2 average-looking, broke young man with no prospects

Characters

屌

silk / thread (here: -fan suffix)

Examples

我就是个普通的屌丝。

Wǒ jiùshì ge pǔtōng de diǎosī.

I'm just an average loser.

他自嘲说自己是屌丝。

Tā zìcháo shuō zìjǐ shì diǎosī.

He self-deprecatingly calls himself a loser.

Tips

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Vulgar in origin (屌 is crude slang for the male organ) but widely used self-mockingly by young men online to identify with the opposite of 高富帅. Fine in casual online speech; not for formal use.

history

Coined around 2011 on Baidu Tieba when fans of a soccer star 李毅 embraced 屌丝 as a self-label. It exploded across Chinese internet culture as shorthand for the ordinary, un-advantaged young man.