What do Chinese netizens mean when they refer to each other as “light,” “dense,” and “stealthy”?
While once Chinese netizens used the MBTI test to reveal their personalities, now they have their own categories. The most recent “new internet personas (新的互联网人设 xīn de hùliánwǎng rénshè),” as social media users have dubbed them, are two distinct categories: “light (淡 dàn)” or “dense (浓 nóng).”
Originally referring to a dense, thick, or strong color or taste, netizens use 浓 to refer to outgoing, enthusiastic, lively personalities. “Dense people (浓人 nóngrén)” are “kings of involution (卷王 juǎnwáng)” at work and masters of “crazy literature (发疯文学 fāfēng wénxué).”
By contrast, 淡 means something light, pale, or bland. Netizens now use it to refer to individuals who embrace a detached attitude toward life and rarely show strong emotions.
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