空瓶

Imagine yourself as a water bottle that's been completely drained — nothing left, not even a drop. That's '空瓶,' the feeling of being utterly hollowed out by work, social obligations, or just the relentless grind of modern life. Chinese Gen-Z workers coined this to describe that end-of-day (or end-of-week, or end-of-soul) emptiness where you've given everything and have zero resources left to refill yourself.

Emerging during China's intense debates around '996' work culture and 'lying flat' (躺平), 空瓶 captured a generation of young professionals and students who felt perpetually over-extended. As youth unemployment rose and workplace burnout became a mainstream topic, this metaphor of an empty vessel resonated widely on Weibo and Douyin as a relatable shorthand for exhaustion without recovery.

指人在工作或生活中被榨干、毫无精力剩余的状态，如同一个空瓶子。