恰饭

What does 恰饭 mean?

On Chinese video sites 恰饭 is what viewers shout when a creator drops a sponsor segment. The word softens the moment: it acknowledges that the person on screen has to earn a living, so a fan who likes the content will say the meal is eaten well, while a skeptic uses it to call out an ad disguised as a review. Bilibili comment sections have turned timing it right before the host starts reading the script into its own bit. Like 打工人, it turns making a living into a shared joke rather than an accusation.

Where does 恰饭 come from?

恰 is how people in Hunan and Jiangxi provinces say 吃, to eat, so 恰饭 is simply a local way of saying to have a meal. Gaming streamers and Bilibili uploaders picked it up as the standard label for taking advertising money. The tech site PingWest wrote about the spread of the word in a piece dated February 28, 2019, and Sina Finance returned to it on May 13, 2021, describing how audiences use it to police sponsored content. The half-joking line in creator circles is that everyone has to eat.

How to use 恰饭

• 这期视频开头就是广告，弹幕刷满“恰饭”两个字，好在内容够扎实，评论区说“这饭恰得香”。
  Zhè qī shìpín kāitóu jiù shì guǎnggào, dànmù shuā mǎn “qiàfàn” liǎng gè zì, hǎo zài nèiróng gòu zhāshi, pínglùnqū shuō “zhè fàn qià de xiāng”.
  The video started with a sponsor read and the comment feed filled up with the two characters of 恰饭. The content was solid enough that people admitted the meal went down well.
• 朋友吐槽关注的博主三天两头接广告，我说人家也要恰饭，只要别把测评做假就行。
  Péngyou tǔcáo guānzhù de bózhǔ sān tiān liǎng tóu jiē guǎnggào, wǒ shuō rénjiā yě yào qiàfàn, zhǐyào bié bǎ cèpíng zuò jiǎ jiù xíng.
  A friend grumbled that a creator they followed takes ads every few days; I said everyone has to eat, as long as the reviews stay honest.