Our phrase of the week is: “full-time children” (全职儿女 quán zhí ér nǚ)
Context
An internet slang phrase which became popular two years ago has resurfaced in media discussions over the last few weeks.
It describes a growing number of young adults who’ve stopped looking for work altogether, and instead have moved back in with their parents.
They are “employed” to keep their parents company, help out around the house, maybe even work in the family business. In return, these young adults have their daily expenses covered by mum and dad.
In recent years, as property prices have soared, it’s already become the norm for parents to support their kids financially to buy a house, dipping into savings accumulated during China’s boom years.
That parental support is now extending further. With many parents are agreeing to “employ” their children at home rather than let them grind away in a low-paid job that barely covers rent and living expenses in the big city.
And with that trend comes a new phrase:
“Full-time children is a new buzzword for young adults who, instead of seeking traditional employment, stay at home to provide emotional support and help with household chores, while their parents cover their living expenses.”
这两年有个名词很火，叫”全职儿女”，顾名思义就是孩子不找工作，全职在家，给父母提供情绪价值或者一些基本的劳动力保障，然后自己的日常经济开销由父母提供。
And with that, we have our Sinica Phrase of the Week.
What it means
“Full-time children” (全职儿女 quán zhí ér nǚ) is an internet buzzword. Breaking it down: “full-time” (全职), “children” (儿女).
It describes young adults who have left, or never made it into, the workforce. They move back in with their parents, take on household duties, and provide emotional support in exchange for having their living expenses covered.
The phrase is a new twist on an older slang term, “parasite generation” (啃老族), borrowed from Japanese internet culture. As the imagery suggests, that earlier term is negative.
“Parasite generation” first became a common expression in Japan during the economic crash of the 1990s, a period described as the “lost thirty years” (失去的30年). At that time many young people became trapped in low-paying jobs, unable to afford to buy a home. Large numbers gave up working and moved back in with their parents, living off family savings.
“Full-time children” carries a different, slightly more positive meaning. These young people are not simply taking, like so-called parasites. They provide real services to the household: cooking, cleaning, caring for ageing grandparents, and offering the kind of daily companionship that parents value.
For many, it also makes more financial sense than enduring the punishing “involuted” (内卷) conditions of big-city employment, with long hours, low pay, and the high cost of urban living.
And with elderly parents increasingly in need of support, and young people increasingly unable to find stable work or afford to buy a house, staying home and being “employed” by the family is a win-win for both.
So “full-time children” has become one way of naming, and perhaps even normalising, a reality many families are already living.
Andrew Methven is the author of RealTime Mandarin, a resource which helps you bridge the gap to real-world fluency in Mandarin, stay informed about China, and communicate with confidence—all through weekly immersion in real news. Subscribe for free here.
