斜杠青年

• Pinyin: xié gàng qīng nián
• Hanzi breakdown: 斜杠 (slash “/”) + 青年 (young person) -> young person with slash-separated identities.

Meaning

斜杠青年 means a young person with multiple roles, skills, or career identities.

It often describes someone who is, for example, designer/photographer/blogger. The term can sound aspirational, but also reflects unstable work and side-hustle pressure.

Examples

1. 她白天做策划，晚上拍片，是斜杠青年。 She plans campaigns by day and shoots films at night; she's a 斜杠青年.
2. 斜杠青年要会管理时间。 斜杠青年 need to be good at managing their time.
3. 别把忙乱兼职都美化成斜杠青年。 Don't dress up chaotic side jobs as if they make someone a 斜杠青年.

Usage Guide

Context: careers, creative work, self-branding

Tone: aspirational, flexible, sometimes pressured

Do Say

• 多职业身份可说斜杠青年。（It fits multiple roles.）
• 创作者介绍自己常用斜杠青年。（Creators use it for self-branding.）

Don't Say

• 把被迫打零工都叫斜杠青年。（It can hide precarity.）

Common Mistakes

• Do not use it for one ordinary job; multiple identities are central.

Origin & History

Borrowed from the slash in multi-title descriptions such as writer / designer / creator.

Cultural Context

Era: 2020s

Generation: Millennials and Gen Z in urban career discourse

Social background: Creative workers, freelancers, and side-hustlers

Regional notes: Common in Mainland career and lifestyle writing.