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Who are China's "unfinished kids"?
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Who are China's "unfinished kids"?

Unpacking the social trends that gave rise to this new phrase and what it reveals about China’s education system
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This newsletter is all about language.

Every week we explore social trends and events in China as they unfold, seeking the words and phrases that help understand and explain what's happening.

The newest phrases are often “internet slang terms” (网络用语) that emerge online in response to these events or trends. Sometimes, we encounter terms so new that they aren’t even in the dictionary yet. Occasionally, we stumble upon phrases that encapsulate societal trends, or even entire movements, like “let it rot” 摆烂.

Very rarely, one of these phrases ties together various concepts and trends we've previously discussed over the years.

Today's newsletter focuses on one such phrase.

I first came across it during a dinner in China about a month ago. Someone asked me how to translate the phrase "rotten-end buildings" (烂尾楼).

"That's easy," I replied. "Unfinished buildings."

Then he asked me: 

“Have you heard of the new phrase: 'rotten-end kids'?”

“你有没有听过一个新的词:'烂尾娃'?”

I hadn’t heard of it, so quickly looked it up.

Here's what I found:

A new term has been trending online recently —“rotten-end kids”— which refers to children whose parents invest a huge amount of resources in their education. 

Parents invest time, energy, and money, with the hope of helping their kids achieve excellent results. 

However, the outcomes often fall short of expectations, like an "intensive parenting project" that has been left unfinished.

最近网上流行一个新词,“烂尾娃”,主要是指父母在孩子教育上投入了大量资源,包括时间、精力和金钱,希望通过各种方式让孩子取得优异的成绩,但最终发现效果并不理想,没有达到预期的目标,就像是“鸡娃工程”烂尾了。

Though relatively new, this phrase captures an important social phenomenon in China today, tying together several important trends. Understanding it takes us on a journey through recent social changes in China, and highlights topics we've covered in this newsletter.

So here’s how to grasp "unfinished kids" in five essential phrases.

"Unfinished buildings" (烂尾楼 làn wěi lóu)

The first phrase is "unfinished buildings", which directly translates as "rotten-end buildings" (烂尾楼 làn wěi lóu).

These are large construction projects that remain unfinished, often due to financial problems or corruption, leaving buyers—who have already paid for their new apartments—stranded with nowhere to live and no way to recover their money.

Like the young couple from Zhengzhou who took to social media to fight a bankrupt developer last November. 

The phrase "rotten end kids" (烂尾娃), which we translate as "unfinished kids," carries a similar implication: a child who falls short of their parents' high expectations, unable to secure a job despite the significant investment in their education.

Now that the "unfinished buildings" have been promised "guaranteed delivery", when will the "unfinished children" be promised "guaranteed employment"?

如今“烂尾楼”已经等到了“保交房”,“烂尾娃”们,何时能等到“保就业”?

According to government data, there are lots of "unfinished kids" in China, with the unemployment rate for people aged 16-24, excluding those in full-time education, reaching 17.1% in July this year, which equates to over 16 million out of work.

"Helicopter parenting" (鸡娃 jī wá)

The next phrase is a favourite of this newsletter.

One reason parents’ high expectations are not met by their “unfinished kids” is due to "helicopter parenting"—a concept that, in Chinese, is expressed as "chicken kids" (鸡娃 jīwá).

"Chicken kids" comes from the expression, "injecting chicken blood" (打鸡血 dǎ jīxiě), which means to "motivate."

"Injecting chicken blood into your kids" (or 鸡娃 jīwá) refers to parents who intensely push their children to give them an edge in school, paying huge amounts of money for private education and extra tutoring in everything from archery to AI. 

But the economic downturn in China has meant some families are unable to afford paying for extra lessons, so they drop classes in some extracurricular activities. This has resulted in a fall in popularity of some subjects, as we observed with the decline of piano sales earlier this year. 

For the families who can afford it, though, this can lead to even more intense or destructive competition among fewer kids and their parents, known as "involution" (内卷 nèi juǎn), which was one of our favourite phrases of 2021.

“Involuted” and excessive competition leads to stress and diminishing returns, while further widening the gap between wealthy and middle-class families, as one parent shared on social media:

Why do children become "unfinished"?

Because whether it's financially, in terms of energy, or understanding, parents simply can't keep up anymore and can't continue competing.

为什么娃会“烂尾”?因为不管是经济上,还是精力和认知上,家长们是真的跟不上, 卷不下去了。[1] 

"Double Reduction Policy" (双减政策 shuāng jiǎn zhèng cè)

The next phrase is the name of a policy.

The cause of the increasingly intense competition, and widening educational gap between richer families and those less well off, is ironically due to a policy which sought to stop it. 

The "double reduction policy" (双减政策) was introduced in July 2021, designed to reduce the burden on students by banning the private education industry from making a profit. Its introduction saw an entire sector obliterated, with even the largest private tutoring company in China, New Oriental, losing over 90% of its market value and laying-off 60,00 employees within a few months. 

While many tutoring companies have disappeared from public view, the demand remains. 

Private tutoring has gone underground and become more expensive. Parents report paying as much as 1,400 yuan ($200) for a one-on-one, hour-long session, while some claim they are charged rates as high as 5,000 yuan ($700).

This has made tutoring increasingly out of reach for most families, while unexpectedly creating new sources of revenue for companies like Starbucks.

"Starbucks" is no longer just a place to drink coffee; it could also be your tutoring classroom.

“星巴克”不再仅仅是喝咖啡的地方,也有可能是你补课的学堂。

"Taking off the long gown of Kong Yiji" (脱下孔乙己的长衫 tuō xià Kǒng Yǐjǐ de cháng shān)

"Taking off the long gown of Kong Yiji" is the next phrase on our journey through contemporary China.

This became popular in April last year as over-educated but under-prepared graduates faced an uncertain job market

The main character of Lu Xun's 鲁迅 classic short story, Kong Yiji 孔乙己, the down-and-out scholar of the late Qing dynasty, symbolises the crumbling and corrupt Qing at that time. 

In his modern incarnation as a social media slang phrase and meme, Kong symbolises how young people in China today may be well educated, but are unfit for or unwilling to suffer the hardships of China's competitive job market.

So parents who have heavily invested in their children’s education may find themselves disappointed when their children don't achieve high exam scores, or land a good job. 

Struggling to find work and unable to "shed their long scholar's gowns" (脱下长衫), many young people are questioning the worth of years of high stress, as they face either unemployment or the need to accept low-paying jobs.

Another phrase, "workhorse" (牛马 niú mǎ), has emerged this year to describe overworked, underpaid employees. With long hours, low pay, and limited growth, like some workers at Manner Coffee have found, this phrase reflects the disillusionment of young workers stuck in dead-end jobs.

"Lying flat and letting go" (躺平摆烂 tǎng píng bǎi làn) 

Unable to face these pressures and expectations, many young people are deciding to "lie flat and let go" (躺平摆烂).

This is a combination of two phrases, "lie flat" 躺平 and "let it rot" 摆烂, which appeared in 2021 and 2022 respectively. 

This new combined phrase is common in discussions about "unfinished kids" and reflects a growing trend of rejecting the endless competition and pursuit of academic success.

Instead of striving for high grades and well-paying jobs, some choose to do the bare minimum to get by, as a form of silent protest against societal expectations. 

Those at the bottom have completely given up, since they won't be able to pass anyway. [1]

最下面的属于彻底躺平摆烂,反正也考不上。

So, as you can see there is a lot to unpack in just this one phrase. 

Where better to do that than right here!

  • 🎧 Podcast Preview: This week on the RTM+ Member Podcast, we explore the layers behind the phrase “rotten-end” (烂尾), breaking down its various uses in modern Chinese. Plus, we unpack the key differences between “chicken kids” (鸡娃) and “involution” (内卷), showing you how to apply them in this context. Join us at the 10-minute mark to sharpen your language skills and gain deeper insight into this fascinating topic!


Favourite Five

烂尾娃.jpg

1. 鸡娃 jī wá

helicopter parenting

这些“鸡娃”的家长们,将整个家庭的精力、金钱,全部都用在了孩子身上 - These "helicopter" parents put all the family's energy and money into their children. [1]

  • Related:

    • 鸡 jī - push, pressure (colloquial, refers to pushing children to study hard)

    • 鸡不动 jī bú dòng - the child does not respond to excessive pushing or parents cannot keep up with pushing due to lack of money or energy

2. 烂尾娃  làn wěi wá

unfinished kids

在大多数情况下,造成“烂尾娃”的主要原因恰恰是家长本身 - In most cases, the very reason that children became “unfinished” lies with the parents themselves. [5] 

3. 虎头蛇尾 hǔ tóu shé wěi

tiger head, snake tail, start strong but end weak

不顾孩子的情况,大肆加量、上难度,最终虎头蛇尾 - They keep pushing their kids without taking a look at the reality. In the end, it doesn't bear any fruit. [5]

4. 脱下长衫 tuō xià cháng shān

remove the gown of Kong Yiji, to step out of traditional roles or expectations for well-educated

前段时间我们采访了如今已是上海两家餐厅主厨的崔迪,询问她从何获得“脱下长衫”的勇气 - Recently, we interviewed Cui Di, now the head chef at two restaurants in Shanghai, asking where she found the courage to "take off the gown of Kong Yiji". [4]

5. 千军万马过独木桥 qiān jūn wàn mǎ guò dú mù qiáo

a fierce competition, thousands fighting over one opportunity

有些人还努力考研经历了第二次“千军万马过独木桥”,但步入社会后的体验不尽如人意 - Some people fought hard to pass the tough entrance exam for graduate school, but their worklife after graduation isn't as satisfying. [4] 

  • Note: often used to describe the Gaokao 高考 which we expand more on in the member podcast!


Consuming the Conversation

Image

Useful words

6. 实惨 shí cǎn

really miserable, truly unfortunate

很多人唏嘘不已,18年的金钱和精力,换来这样的结果,实惨 - Many people sighed deeply, lamenting that 18 years of money and effort led to such a miserable result - truly unfortunate!  [2] 

  • Note: An internet clang phrase which means 实在太惨了.

7. 刷题 shuā tí

doing lots of practice questions, exam drills

孩子们不得不拼命刷题,埋头苦做,才能以微弱的优势胜出 - Children have to grind through endless practice questions to gain a slight advantage. [1]

8. 病态 bìng tài

abnormal, pathological

超过一半以上的家庭收入用于孩子的教育,这是很病态的 - It is pathological to spend more than half of the family’s income on the child’s education. [1] 

  • Related: 

    • 癫狂 diān kuáng - madness, frenzy

9. 受挫 shòu cuò

suffer setbacks

大学期间经历了一些学业受挫,认为自己并不适合建筑设计行业 - During college, she experienced some academic setbacks and felt she wasn’t suited for architectural design. [4]

  • Related:

    • 挫折 cuò zhé - setback, frustration

    • 挫败 cuò bài - defeat, failure

Three character phrases

10. 拖后腿 tuō hòu tuǐ

hold back, be a burden

有人说是家长拖了后腿,没鸡到点子上 - Some say it's the parents who are holding their children back, because they are not pushing in the right way. [2]

11. 忙不迭 máng bù dié

in a hurry, rushing

你连图纸都没有,甚至脑子里连个最终形态都没有,就忙不迭地开始拌水泥、砌砖头,这项工程从一开始就注定烂尾 - You don’t even have the blueprints, and not even a final vision in your mind, yet you rush to mix the cement and lay bricks. So this project is destined for failure from the start. [5]

12. 一场空  yì chǎng kōng

a wasted effort, all in vain

二十几年受的教育仿佛一场空,每一步都循规蹈矩不敢出岔子,但人生突然烂尾 - They did everything they can to follow the rules, but life took an unexpected turn and it seems their effort in twenty years of education all ended in vain. [6]

  • Related:

    • 出岔子 chū chà zi - to go off track, to stray from the path 

Idioms

13. 孤注一掷 gū zhù yí zhì 

take a desperate gamble

他们孤注一掷,不做他想,势必要将孩子送往更高的阶层 - They went all in, with no hesitation, determined to help their child climb the social ladder. [1]

14. 得不偿失 dé bù cháng shī

not worth the effort

钱花光了,孩子还卷出毛病了,得不偿失 - They spent all their money, and the child ended up with problems—it wasn’t worth it. [1]

15. 争先恐后 zhēng xiān kǒng hòu

scramble to be first

即使高达几千一节的课程,依然有人争先恐后地去报名 - Even with courses costing thousands per session, people still scrambled to sign up. [1]

16. 成王败寇 chéng wáng bài kòu

winner takes all

成王败寇,这是最可悲的教育观 - "Winner takes all"— this is the saddest take on education. [2]

17. 不上不下 bú shàng bú xià

neither here nor there, stuck in the middle

高奢和低配的两极都过得挺好,唯有中间阶层,不上不下 - Both those with abundant money and those with little are doing well, but the middle-class families are stuck in limbo. [3]

18. 望子成龙 wàng zǐ chéng lóng

to have great ambitions for one’s child

很多中国家长有望子成龙的心理,但孩子人生路走到青年,无法成龙,却成烂尾 - Many Chinese parents have high hopes for their children, but as they grow up, some kids end up "unfinished" rather than successful. [6] 

  • More: the full phrase is 望子成龙,望女成凤 (the two parts referring to boys and girls respectively)

19. 寒窗苦读 hán chuāng kǔ dú

study hard through harsh conditions

有些小孩寒窗苦读十几年,好不容易考上大学,读了两年学历贬值,继续卷研究生 - Some children studied hard for over a decade to get into university, but after two years their degree has depreciated, so they continue the grind for a graduate degree. [6]

Phrases

20. 躺平摆烂 tǎng píng bǎi làn

lie flat and let go

最下面的属于彻底躺平摆烂,反正也考不上 - Those at the bottom have completely given up, since they won't be able to pass anyway. [1]

21. 烫手山芋 tàng shǒu shān yù

hot potato, something difficult to handle

国际学校俨然已经从昔日的香饽饽变成了烫手山芋 - International schools have turned from coveted opportunities into hot potatoes. [3]

22. 一口吃成胖子 yì kǒu chī chéng pàng zi

want to achieve instant success

非常急功近利,想让孩子一口吃成胖子 - They are very eager for quick results, wanting their child to achieve instant success. [5]

23. 小镇做题家 xiǎo zhèn zuò tí jiā

small-town test taker

作为从高考大省厮杀出来的“小镇做题家”,他们十分不愿意孩子再重走自己的老路 - As small-town test takers who fought their way out of a province known for its low Gaokao pass rate, they are very unwilling for their children to walk the same path they did. [3] 

24. 差之毫厘,谬以千里 chà zhī háo lí, miù yǐ qiān lǐ

a small difference leads to a big error

“学霸”贬值了,容错率越来越低,到最后往往差之毫厘,却失之千里 - Being a  “top student” has become less appreciated, and the margin for error is increasingly small; in the end, a small mistake can have life-changing consequences. [1]


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