摸鱼
What Does 摸鱼 Mean?
Literally 'touching fish' (or 'catching fish with bare hands'), this meme describes the art of goofing off during work hours — browsing social media, online shopping, or just staring into the void while technically on the clock. Emerging around 2020, it's the Chinese office worker's sardonic badge of honor: not laziness, but quiet resistance against grinding 996 culture. If you're reading this at work, congratulations, you're already doing it.
Origin Story
Ancient Chinese idiom meaning 'fishing in troubled waters' (opportunism), repurposed in modern work culture to mean slacking off at the office. Went mainstream as China's work culture debate intensified in 2020. Entire communities formed around sharing 摸鱼 strategies.
Cultural Context
摸鱼 surged in popularity around 2020 as China's brutal 996 work culture (9am–9pm, 6 days a week) sparked widespread burnout and online backlash. Rather than overt protest, many young workers adopted passive resistance — slacking subtly. The meme gave that behavior a name, a community, and a wink of solidarity among overworked millennials and Gen-Z employees. The term originated and spread primarily on Bilibili.
Similar Expressions in English
Like 'slacking off,' 'goldbricking,' 'cyberloafing,' or 'quiet quitting' in English. The fishing metaphor implies skill — a good 摸鱼 practitioner does it artfully without getting caught.
How Is It Used?
Chinese Explanation (中文解释)
上班摸鱼指在工作时间偷懒做私事，如刷手机、看视频、聊天等。'摸鱼'借鱼难抓比喻偷闲的状态，是社畜文化的重要表达。反映了996工作制下打工人对微小时刻自由的珍惜，是打工人文化的核心梗之一。