Casual street slang: Common slang

💬 [吃土] is a fixed slang verb phrase: literally "eat dirt," but it means being so broke you can't afford real life. You can reuse the pattern with [吃] in other slang too, where it often means "live on / suffer through" something rather than actually eat it.

💬 [有] often means "there is / there exists," but in slang like [有戏] it means "there's a chance" or "this might work out." You can reuse that pattern in short comments like [这事有戏] "this has a real chance."

🇨🇳 This is pretty rude and blunt. You'll hear it online or among people speaking crudely, but it's risky in polite company or with people you don't know well.

💬 [打酱油] is an idiom-like slang phrase: the literal meaning "buy soy sauce" doesn't help much. In real use it means "I'm just passing by / not getting involved," so learn it as one chunk.

💬 [给力] literally looks like "give strength," but as slang it means something like "awesome," "effective," or "really delivering." You can also see it in [很给力] or the negative [不给力] for "lame / not doing the job."

💬 [差不多] covers both "almost" and "more or less / about the same," so the exact meaning depends on context. Compare [快好了，差不多了] "it's almost done" with [两个都差不多] "the two are pretty similar."

💬 [神马] is internet-style slang for [什么], and [浮云] literally "floating clouds" is used for things that don't really matter or don't last. The whole line is a meme-like set phrase, so it's best learned as one chunk rather than word by word.

🇨🇳 This has a dated early-internet feel now. People may still use it jokingly or nostalgically, but it can sound old-school rather than fresh slang.

🇨🇳 This is regional and not widely understood everywhere in China. Unless you've heard locals around you use it, it's safer not to try it yourself.

💬 [坑] in slang often means "to trick," "screw over," or "set someone up," not just a literal pit. That's why [坑爹] is an exclamation for something outrageously annoying, absurd, or messed up.