油腻

Picture a middle-aged Chinese man with an unwashed ponytail, a Buddha-belly peeking out under a linen shirt, spouting unsolicited life wisdom while vaping on a hiking trail. That's 'greasy.' Coined after writer Feng Tang's viral essay on how men age badly, the term skewered a certain self-satisfied, unkempt, pseudo-philosophical type. It quickly evolved into a broader insult for anyone — regardless of age or gender — who oozes smug, slimy, try-hard energy.

China's rapid economic rise created a generation of self-made middle-aged men who confused success with wisdom. Feng Tang's 2017 essay 'How to Avoid Becoming a Greasy Middle-Aged Man' went viral, striking a nerve in a society grappling with aging masculinity, wellness fads, and the gap between how older men see themselves and how younger generations see them. The meme gave millennials a sharp, funny label for a recognizable social type.

指中年男性不修边幅、自以为是、油滑世故的形象，后泛指令人反感的油腻气质。