氪金

kèjīn

verb

Meanings

1 to spend money on in-app purchases
2 to pay to win (in games)
3 to spend real money on virtual items

Characters

krypton (chemical element)

From the Japanese loanword 課金 (kakin, 'billing/charging'). Chinese netizens adopted it using the homophone 氪 (krypton) for 课 (lesson/charge).

Examples

HSK 3

这个游戏不氪金也能玩。

Zhège yóuxì bù kèjīn yě néng wán.

You can play this game without spending money.

HSK 6

他在这个游戏里氪了好几千。

Tā zài zhège yóuxì lǐ kè le hǎojǐ qiān.

He spent several thousand on in-app purchases for this game.

Tips

culture

Core gaming slang. 氪金玩家 (paying player) vs 免费玩家 (free player) is a fundamental divide in Chinese mobile gaming culture. 重氪 means heavy spending, 微氪 means light spending.

memory

Krypton (氪) weakened Superman - spending money (氪金) weakens your wallet. Both are dangerous in large amounts.

Stroke Order

氪 kè

金 jīn