【Learn Chinese】Popular Modern Chinese Number Slang Explained

If you scroll through Chinese social media or chat with young native speakers, you will often see simple numbers replacing full sentences! 数字俚语 (shù zì lǐ yǔ) is one of the most interesting features of modern Chinese internet culture.
These creative slangs use number pronunciation to express emotions, blessings and comments. They are short, trendy and widely used in daily online chats. Today, let’s learn the most popular Chinese number slangs to help you chat like a local!

Let’s start with the most well-known lucky and positive number slangs. 666 (liù liù liù) is the top trending compliment online. Short for 溜溜溜 (liù liù liù), it means “awesome”, “cool” or “you are amazing”. People use it to praise others’ skills, performance or great work. Another classic lucky number is 888 (bā bā bā). Since 八 (bā) sounds similar to 发 (fā), which means fortune and prosperity, 888 stands for 发发发 (fā fā fā), wishing great wealth and good luck.

There are also sweet daily number slangs for relationships and daily emotions. The most romantic one is 520 (wǔ èr líng). It sounds like 我爱你 (wǒ ài nǐ), which means “I love you”. That is why May 20th has become China’s unofficial Valentine’s Day for young people. For laughter and amusement, Chinese netizens love using 233 (èr sān sān). It comes from an old internet emoji and means “hahaha”, used to reply to funny and hilarious content.

We also have simple daily parting slang. 88 (bā bā) is the casual way to say goodbye. It derives from the English “bye bye” and is the most common online way to end a chat. In contrast, 99 (jiǔ jiǔ) is used to wish couples eternal love, as 久久 (jiǔ jiǔ) means “forever and ever” in Chinese.

Key Chinese Number Slang List
数字俚语 (shù zì lǐ yǔ) – Chinese number slang
666 (liù liù liù) – awesome, cool, impressive
888 (bā bā bā) – good luck, great fortune
520 (wǔ èr líng) – I love you (我爱你)
233 (èr sān sān) – hahaha (laughing out loud)
88 (bā bā) – bye bye
99 (jiǔ jiǔ) – forever (wish for lasting love)

Start using these fun number slangs in your daily chats! Small trendy vocabulary makes your Chinese learning more interesting and authentic.