割韭菜

• Pinyin: gē jiǔ cài
• Hanzi breakdown: 割 (cut/harvest) + 韭菜 (exploited people) -> profit by exploiting a crowd.

Meaning

To exploit ordinary people for profit, especially through hype, scams, or unfair markets. It suggests repeated harvesting of the same crowd.

割韭菜 is common in discussions of stocks, crypto-like speculation, paid courses, and influencer products. It is a strong criticism of predatory monetization.

Examples

1. 这个课程定价太高，像在割韭菜。 This course is priced far too high; it feels like 割韭菜.
2. 别被概念股割韭菜了。 Don't get 割韭菜 by hype stocks.
3. 粉丝经济也可能变成割韭菜。 Fan economy can also turn into 割韭菜.

Usage Guide

Context: finance, consumer criticism, fandom

Tone: critical, cynical

Do Say

• 高价低质产品容易被骂割韭菜。（Overpriced low-quality products get accused of exploiting buyers.）
• 投资前先判断是不是割韭菜。（Check whether it is predatory before investing.）

Don't Say

• 没有证据就指控商家割韭菜。（It is a strong accusation.）

Common Mistakes

• Using it for any expensive product; it implies exploitation or hype.

Origin & History

Based on cutting Chinese chives, which grow back and can be cut again.

Cultural Context

Era: 2010s onward

Generation: Finance-aware internet users

Social background: Investing, e-commerce, and creator economy audiences

Regional notes: Very common in Mainland discussions of hype-driven monetization.