人艰不拆

What does 人艰不拆 mean?

人艰不拆 condenses a lyric into four characters: 人生已经如此的艰难，有些事情就不要拆穿, life is already this hard, so some things need not be exposed. It is polite fiction in action. When an acquaintance brags about a salary that clearly does not exist, or a friend shows off a bag everyone recognizes as a knockoff, 人艰不拆 means keep smiling, keep the illusion, spare the embarrassment. It works both as mercy and as mockery, depending on how hard the group is laughing behind the screen.

Where does 人艰不拆 come from?

The line comes from 说谎 (Lies), a 2009 ballad by the Taiwanese singer 林宥嘉, whose lyrics follow two exes meeting again and telling each other lie after lie. Netizens trimmed the saddest line into an acronym, and it settled into the language in 2013, the year shorthand phrases became a genre. People's Daily's site listed it among the 2013 acronym hits in a December 2013 roundup.

How to use 人艰不拆

• 他说自己月入十万，大家相视一笑，人艰不拆。
  Tā shuō zìjǐ yuè rù shí wàn, dàjiā xiāng shì yí xiào, rén jiān bù chāi.
  He said he pulls in a hundred thousand a month. Everyone exchanged a look and let it slide: life is hard enough.
• 朋友晒新包，你一眼看出是高仿，也要牢记人艰不拆。
  Péngyou shài xīn bāo, nǐ yì yǎn kànchū shì gāofǎng, yě yào láojì rén jiān bù chāi.
  When a friend shows off a new bag and you can tell at a glance it is a copy, remember not to call it out.