神马都是浮云
What Does 神马都是浮云 Mean?
神马都是浮云 (Even Divine Horses are Just Floating Clouds / Everything is Fleeting) was the defining catchphrase of 2010. The phrase layers two linguistic innovations: 神马 (shén mǎ, divine horse) is a deliberate mispronunciation of 什么 (shén me, what/everything), and 浮云 (fú yún, floating clouds) is a classical Chinese metaphor for transient, illusory things. Together they form a complete philosophy: nothing really matters, everything passes, don't take it too seriously. The phrase captured a specific post-2008 Chinese mood — ironic detachment from grades, jobs, relationships, money. It appeared everywhere: QQ signatures, forum posts, Weibo, even official media. By end of 2010, it was the #1 internet catchphrase of the year.
Origin Story
The phrase emerged from Tieba in mid-2010 and spread to Weibo and QQ. Its exact origin is disputed, but consensus traces it to a Tieba post where a user dismissed an argument with '神马都是浮云, 何必较真.' The phrase's brevity and philosophical tone made it highly quotable, and it became the default way to express detached indifference online.
Cultural Context
神马都是浮云 belongs to the golden age of Chinese internet 谐音 culture. The 浮云 metaphor connects the phrase to a thousand-year literary tradition — clouds as transience symbols in Chinese poetry since the Tang Dynasty — giving the meme cultural depth that purely internet-native terms lack. It is simultaneously deeply traditional and aggressively contemporary.
Similar Expressions in English
浮云 (fú yún)淡定 (dàn dìng)无所谓 (wú suǒ wèi)
How Is It Used?
Chinese Explanation (中文解释)
什么的谐音，2010年年度网络热词。神马都是浮云表达一切皆虚幻、不必太在意的豁达态度，成为一代人的口头禅和QQ签名标配。