I was venting to a Chinese friend about my toxic workplace recently—long story short, I ended up quitting because they refused to let me take leave for my sister's wedding. He schooled me on the slang "牛马" (niú mǎ). Literally, it means "Ox and Horse," but in modern slang, it refers to workers who are exploited and treated like cattle or beasts of burden. It’s the perfect word for how I felt: working hard, being nice, and getting treated like a doormat. I was basically a 牛马 for this company.
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Edit: Adding some cool context from the comments!
A few people mentioned another similar slang term: 社畜 (shè chù). It’s a combination of "Company" (会社/社会) and "Livestock" (家畜). This one originated from the Japanese term "Shachiku" (corporate slave). Someone pointed out a really interesting nuance: while both terms describe exploited workers, 社畜 has a bit more of a "literary" or written vibe, whereas 牛马 feels much more raw and conversational.
Thanks to everyone for the mini linguistics lesson in the comments.🙌✨📖
这个词不错 不知道英文有没有类似的表达 也许会直接用slave之类的？
是的，类似的表达有wage slave, corporate salve, corporate zombie
中文里还有一个类似slang“社畜”，combining "Company" (会社/社会) and "Livestock" (家畜).
Haha, my friend mentioned that word too! But the second character is way too hard for me to remember lol. I’ll stick with 牛马, it’s much simpler!
Even though they are both slang terms, 社畜 has a more literary or written vibe, whereas 牛马 is earthier and more conversational.
我觉得这个词很可能是来自日语的 因为日语的会社刚好对应中文的公司 而中文实际上很少使用会社这个词汇了 一般都是日本韩国所谓株式会社 对应中国的有限公司 才有这个词
I’ve heard that toxic work culture in Japan and South Korea is on a whole different level, likely because of those deep-rooted social hierarchies and the "seniority" complex. It seems that in those cultures, "endurance" and "obedience" are viewed as forms of professional ethics, which add so many moral shackles on top of a simple employment contract.
I assume this comes from the 成语 做牛做马 which translates pretty aptly into English as "to work like a horse".
Great, I just learned a new 成语, even if the meaning behind it is pretty grim lol.
If i remember correctly, the expression of 做牛做马 somewhat influenced from Buddism beliefs: people believe that there are 6 realms of existence in the cycle of reincarnation, ranging from heavenly realm of gods to hellish realm. After death, all beings are reborn into one of these realms according to the karma they accumulated in their past lives. A decent individual will continue to reborn as another human. Those who have more sins will be demoted to a lower one, and the one right below human is animal realm. Hence, when you just saved someone else from drowning, they might say 如果有来世，我愿做牛做马驮着你 meaning they're so thankful to the point that they are willing to reborn as a cattle, just to serve you to repay the debts and kindness they owe
其实以前的说法是“长工”，指解放前作为雇工为地主干活的人，他们一般会遭受残酷的剥削。但是因为距离那个年代逐渐久远，这个词现在不太用了。
That’s a cool history lesson! I had no idea about the term 长工 before. It’s funny how language evolves. The names change, but the feeling of being a wage slave seems pretty universal across history😂
我不认为长工可以和牛马等同 长工已经完全是个历史名词了 就类似佃农一样 只有在学术或者历史讨论的语境下才能看到这种词汇 而牛马能流行是因为它通俗易懂 接地气 能生动地刻画当代打工人的悲惨遭遇
关于这方面 相关的词汇还有内卷 这个词汇同样也非常常见 虽然一开始它的含义和现在常用的含义基本上关系不大 从卷这个语素甚至还衍生出了卷王之类的更多的词汇 还是挺有意思的
I don't think Chang Gong is equivalent to Niu Ma. It has been a total historical term like Dian Nong, which only appear in historical or academic contexts. Niu Ma has gone viral due to it is very descriptive and vivid to illustrate the miserable life of contemporary office slaves.
Concerning this topic the word Nei Juan has occured to me as well. It is also very common and has derived a lot from its original meaning. The morpheme Juan also leads to more other words like Juan Wang, the process of which truly allow me to find entertaining.
怪不得： 中国老板最喜欢剥削工作人员。你干嘛在这样的公司上班呢？也许这跟公司所在地有关系：如果中国公司位于你的祖国，他们就不敢违反你的权利，因为你可以向劳动局抱怨。
我在美国工作，我觉得坏老板不分国家 Exploitation is a universal issue in business, not limited to any specific country. Just look at the working conditions in US tech companies or warehouses. It’s more about corporate greed than where the boss is from.
The US has a pretty bad reputation for workers rights among 1st world countries. The horror stories I hear from people trying to take sick leave or personal leave make me never want to venture working there.
You were right to stand up for yourself, I'm sure you can find a better employer mate.
Oh, I thought u were in China.
Actually, if u are in ur home country u can fight for ur rights and if u are abroad, it's very difficult.
We have Labour inspection, so if the boss exploit u, u can go there and complain.
When I worked in Chinese company in my country, the boss didn't violate my rights though he exploited his Chinese employees.
Honestly, I’ve been tired of this job for a while and just want to move on without any more drama. I think this is the perfect chance for me to make a fresh start.
Another saying i really like is: 下一个会更好
加油！
不如狗一樣。Is more common. To be treated not as well as a dog.
That is 1, not the right way to say that and 2, not the same thing as 牛马
公司里的牛马
我在公司里不如狗
有很大的区别吗
是的有区别。在公司做牛马是个地位问题。你是牛马，你的同事都是牛马，你的上司可能也是牛马。但是“不如狗”的待遇可就不只是地位问题了，它就不是指你工作有多累，有多无止境了。你要是说你的待遇不如狗，你一定是受到了什么侮辱或人生攻击的。你要是敢说“我在公司不如狗，我同事都不如狗，”你信不信你同事来揍你
You can’t directly translate “they worked me like a dog” into Chinese. Comparing someone to a dog is a lot more offensive in Chinese culture and is always associated with heavy humiliation or insult.
Just wanted to say I really appreciated how you wrote out your comment and explained it in depth. I was able to understand all of it and it contained a surprising amount of words I’ve just learned recently.
Oh haha you’re welcome, but you being able to understand is more a sign of your improvement than anything I did
I think it's all about the level of insult! 😂
牛马 (ox & horse) is basically saying "we are all tired wage slaves". It’s something you can laugh about with your coworkers.
But 不如狗 (worse than a dog)? That’s not a joke anymore. It implies you're being humiliated or stripped of your dignity. You can’t really translate "worked like a dog" directly into Chinese because the "dog" comparison is way more offensive in China than in the West.