打工人

What does 打工人 mean?

打工人 means "worker", but with a tired, self-deprecating tone: anyone from a delivery driver to an office employee who grinds for a paycheck. Phrases like "早安，打工人！" ("Good morning, fellow worker!") are half-encouragement, half-joke. Related: 打工魂 ("worker spirit") and 干饭人 ("person who lives to eat").

Where does 打工人 come from?

It went viral in late 2020 through short videos of a creator cheerfully greeting "打工人" every morning, and quickly became a way for young employees to laugh at their own routine.

How to use 打工人

• 早安，打工人！今天也要加油。
  Zǎo'ān, dǎ gōng rén! Jīntiān yě yào jiāyóu.
  Good morning, fellow worker! Keep going today.
• 打工人的周一，只想喝咖啡。
  Dǎ gōng rén de zhōuyī, zhǐ xiǎng hē kāfēi.
  A worker's Monday: all I want is coffee.