抽象

What does 抽象 mean?

In internet slang 抽象 covers anything absurd, baffling or just plain nonsensical: a video you can't explain afterwards, a comment section that has gone completely off the rails. '太抽象了' can land as 'I have no idea what I'm watching' or as 'this is gloriously unhinged', and only the tone tells you which; when English speakers call a clip unhinged or cursed they're reaching for the same register. 搞抽象 and 玩抽象 go a step further and mean performing that randomness on purpose, meme piled on meme. Plenty of young people treat it as a pressure valve, letting off stress through deliberate silliness.

Where does 抽象 come from?

Around 2015–2016, in game-livestreaming communities, streamers and their audiences were already shouting '太抽象了' whenever a match went off the rails. The early usage had an edgy streak; over time it loosened into a general label for absurd humor rather than a jab. 搞抽象 went properly mainstream in 2024 on Douyin, Bilibili and Xiaohongshu, and the phrase collected two honors that year: a place in 语言文字周报's top ten buzzwords and a spot among Xiaohongshu's keywords of 2024.

How to use 抽象

• 这个视频太抽象了，我笑了半天。
  Zhège shìpín tài chōuxiàng le, wǒ xiào le bàntiān.
  This video is so absurd, I couldn't stop laughing.
• 他又在群里搞抽象了。
  Tā yòu zài qún li gǎo chōuxiàng le.
  He's posting random nonsense in the group chat again.