Bilibili Announces 2021 Bullet Chat of the Year: "Po Fang Le"

SHANGHAI, Nov. 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bilibili, the leading video community for young generations in China, announced on Nov. 29, that the term "Po Fang Le" (literally translated as "this broke down my defenses") is "Bilibili's 2021 Bullet Chat of the Year".

Bullet chat, the live commenting function pioneered by Bilibili, has become an essential part of the video-watching experience. With the number of monthly active users reaching over 267 million and with growing user interaction, the company also announced that it reached a milestone of 10 billion total bullet chats sent.

The term "Po Fang Le" originally came from the gaming community; gamers use the term when they are attacked and their defenses are broken down. The term, similar to the English phrases, "this really got me" or "I'm shook" is now used beyond gaming and has become a catch phrase that young people use to express something has left them emotionally vulnerable or shaken by strong feelings, for example, when deeply touched by a moving story or feeling helpless under immense stress.

The bullet chat "Po Fang Le" can be found in various Bilibili videos, ranging from the touching moments of peoples' daily lives to major events happening in society. Users have sent this bullet chat in videos of a teacher teaching his last class before leaving his job; of athletes competing at the Tokyo Olympic Games; and of rescue teams saving citizens trapped during the Henan floods.

"The popularity of the term 'Po Fang Le' reflects an increased empathy in the young generations of China," said Sun Ping, deputy director of the Institute of Journalism and Communications at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "This particular bullet chat vividly demonstrates how young people have emotional passion and cultural resonance."  

This is the fifth consecutive year for Bilibili to announce the "Bullet Chat of the Year". The 2020 winner was "my youth is making a comeback" ("Ye Qing Hui" in Chinese), a phrase that expresses nostalgia of one's youth. "AWSL", a simple way of saying "this is killing me" in Chinese, ranked number one in 2019. This phrase is often used when seeing extremely cute or exciting videos. The winning bullet chat of 2018, "real", expresses how users feel when seeing situations that seem close to their real-life experiences.

"Bullet chats have become a symbol of the digital age, recording the emotional changes of young generations in different cultural contexts. They express the richest emotions in the simplest way," Sun commented.

Many popular bullet chats on Bilibili have also become buzzwords on the Chinese Internet and are frequently used by netizens and media in many ways.

By providing a platform for viewers to share their interests and thoughts with each other in real-time, bullet chat has transformed the video-watching experience from a one-way content display to a highly interactive experience. The emotional bonds formed through bullet chat communications also provide each user with a sense of belonging, making the Bilibili community more engaging.

ABOUT BILIBILI INC

Bilibili is an iconic brand and a leading video community with a mission to enrich the everyday life of young generations in China. Bilibili offers a wide array of video-based content with All the Videos You Like as its value proposition. Bilibili builds its community around aspiring users, high-quality content, talented content creators and the strong emotional bond among them. Bilibili pioneered the "bullet chatting" feature, a live commenting function that has transformed the viewing experience by displaying thoughts and feelings of other audience viewing the same video. It has now become the welcoming home of diverse interests for young generations in China and the frontier to promote Chinese culture across the world.

SOURCE BILIBILI