Chinlingo Podcast: What is ‘北京瘫’?

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Zuì jìn, zài Zhōng guó, "tān" chéng le yí gè liú xíng cí yǔ. 

最近，在中国，"瘫"成了一个流行词语。

Recently, Chinese word "瘫(tān)" goes viral on the Internet in China.

Tān, yuán běn zhǐ de shì shēn tǐ bù néng dòng, xiàn zài duō yòng lái xíng róng yì zhǒng jiè yú zuò hé tǎng zhī jiān de zī shì. Xǔ duō nián qīng rén biǎo shì fēi cháng xǐ huān zhè yàng de zhuàng tài.

瘫，原本指的是身体不能动，现在多用来形容一种介于坐和躺之间的姿势。许多年轻人表示非常喜欢这样的状态。

"瘫", a word meaning "paralysed body", is now often used to refer to a posture in perfect harmony between sitting and lying. Many young people show great affection to that kind of resting state.

Tān zài shā fā shàng, shén me shì dōu bú zuò, ràng rén gǎn jué fēi cháng fàng song, tè bié shì zài yán rè de xià tiān, tān zuò zài jiā, chuī zhe kōng tiáo, hǎo xiàng shì jiè shàng méi yǒu bǐ zhè gèng shū fú de shì qíng le. 

瘫在沙发上，什么事都不做，让人感觉非常放松，特别是在炎热的夏天，瘫坐在家，吹着空调，好像世界上没有比这更舒服的事情了。

Sinking to the sofa without doing anything makes people feel rather relaxing. Especially in hot summer, nothing is more comfortable but lying at home with the air condition on.

Jù shuō, zhè shì Běi jīng rén zuì xǐ huān de zī shì zhī yī, tā men wú lùn zài nǎ lǐ, dōu huì cǎi yòng zhè yàng de zuò zī, suó yǐ, zhè gè zī shì yě bèi chēng wéi "Běi jīng tān". 

据说，这是北京人最喜欢的姿势之一，他们无论在哪里，都会采用这样的坐姿，所以，这个姿势也被称为"北京瘫"。

It is said to be one of the most favorite postures for people in Beijing. They will sit down in that way wherever they are, and that's why it is called "Beijing Slouch".

Yǒu rén shuō, zhè yàng de zī shì yǒu hài shēn tǐ jiàn kāng; yě yǒu rén jué de, zhè yàng de zhuàng tài fēi cháng làng fèi shí jiān, yīn wèi bù gōng zuò, bù xué xí, yě bù sī kǎo, duì shēng huó méi yǒu hǎo chù.

有人说，这样的姿势有害身体健康；也有人觉得，这样的状态非常浪费时间，因为不工作，不学习，也不思考，对生活没有好处。

Some people think this kind of posture is bad for health, while others tend to believe it's totally wasting time and not good for life as they do not work, study or think.

Kě shì, zhōng guó rén de shēng huó yā lì yuè lái yuè dà, xǔ duō rén zài yā lì xià huì xuǎn zé táo bì, óu ěr chū xiàn "tān" de zhuàng tài. 

可是，中国人的生活压力越来越大，许多人在压力下会选择逃避，偶尔出现"瘫"的状态。

However, many people will choose to escape from life when they deal with increasing pressure, getting stuck in the "paralyzed state".

Qí shí, zhǐ yào bǎo chí lè guān jī jí de tài dù, gǎn jué yā lì hěn dà de shí hòu, yě ké yǐ shì dàng de "tān" yí xià ràng zì jǐ fàng sōng xīn qíng, zhè cái shì "tān" de zhèng què dǎ kāi fāng shì. 

其实，只要保持乐观积极的态度，感觉压力很大的时候，也可以适当地"瘫"一下让自己放松心情，这才是"瘫"的正确打开方式。

In fact, with the positive attitude, you might just relax yourself when feeling stressed. That's how the posture "瘫" should be done.‍‍‍‍

[Key Words]

瘫 (tān), palsy/slouch

姿势 (zī shì), posture

压力 (yā lì), pressure