Snail dwelling tribe

蜗居族 (wō jū zú): snail dwelling tribe

After the greatly popular television drama “Snail-Dwellers” aired, "snail-dwelling tribe" quickly became a favorite phrase. The neologism became one of the hottest phrases on the internet because countless urban citizens have difficulty finding housing. The term woju, or snail-dwelling, can be a noun indicating a cramped residence; it can also be a verb meaning to live in cramped housing. “Snail-dwelling tribe,” then, indicates the group of people who live in cramped housing. Related terms include “ant tribe,” which indicates college graduates who are unable to find work, or who work for a low income, and live together in group housing in suburban areas. Another related term is mortgage slave.

Example of usage: Actually, at the end of the day, the snail-dwelling tribe is still better off than the ant-dwellers: at least they have small nests of their own.

蜗居族最新网络流行词，反映当代白领供房艰难的热门电视剧《蜗居》的热播是其成为网络热词的重要原因，该片中的许多台词也已成为网络流行语。蜗居一词，既可作名词，比喻狭小的住所（现代汉语大词典）；也可作动词，意为在狭小的房子里居住，居的意思是居住。