<ol>
<li><p>&quot;Buddha-like youngsters/youth&quot; is a loyal translation which has found widespread use in the news. &quot;Buddhist youth&quot; is also found, but without context people may take it literally as youths of the Buddhist religion, which is unideal. I believe you may want to consider the above if translating <code>佛系青年</code> as a set phrase.</p>
</li>
<li><p>You may consider adjectives such as &quot;unambitious&quot;, &quot;reclusive&quot;, or &quot;indoorsy&quot; (informal) if translating <code>佛系</code> alone. Personally, I find &quot;que-será-será&quot; (or &quot;whatever-will-be-will-be&quot;; hyphenation is required, see <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compound_modifier" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>) captures the nuance of <code>佛系</code> best. However, unlike &quot;Buddha-like&quot;, these adjectives are only explanatory and thus heavily context-dependent.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Some proposed adjectives such as &quot;tranquil&quot; or &quot;geeky&quot; are in my opinion inaccurate.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>References:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/1214/c90000-9304484.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/1214/c90000-9304484.html</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/2166781/are-chinas-affluent-buddha-youth-turning-their-backs" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/2166781/are-chinas-affluent-buddha-youth-turning-their-backs</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.cityu.edu.hk/edge/grant/tdg/projects/projects_abstract/6000696.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.cityu.edu.hk/edge/grant/tdg/projects/projects_abstract/6000696.pdf</a></li>
<li><a href="https://kknews.cc/essay/meplla9.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://kknews.cc/essay/meplla9.html</a></li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-13T02:08:18.540Z
"Que-será-será" is good. Also from popular culture. Recent enough. Accurate.
Winfred Huang
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-12T01:07:20.777Z
2021-04-12T01:07:20.777Z
L Parker
<p>佛系： Buddha style</p>
<p>佛系男孩：Buddha style boy (apparently originally from Japan)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-12T12:55:05.557Z
2021-04-12T12:55:05.557Z
Pedroski
<p><strong>Zen</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E4%BD%9B%E7%B3%BB" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Wiktionary</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>佛系</strong><br />
(slang, neologism, of a person) carefree, calm and easygoing</p>
<ol>
<li>(supposedly resembling a practitioner of Zen Buddhism); zen; chill<br />
佛系青年  ―  fóxì qīngnián  ―  zen youth (slang)</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-12T13:15:58.963Z
2021-04-12T13:15:58.963Z
Mou某
<p>Wikipedia (<a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BD%9B%E7%B3%BB" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/佛系</a>) says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>佛系是中文網路新生的流行語，約在2018年左右開始比較頻繁的在中文網路跟媒體出現，在中文的語境裡大致意思是指怎麼都行、看淡一切、無欲無求的一種生活態度。[1]該詞據考證來源於2014年日本的《non-no》[2]，提出所謂的「佛男子」（日语：仏男子）的概念，是指专注于自己的兴趣或工作，不愿花时间与异性交往的男子。[3]</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Google Translation:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Buddhism is a buzzword for Chinese Internet new students. It appeared more frequently in Chinese Internet and media around 2018. In the Chinese context, it roughly means anything that can do anything, look down on everything, and have no desires. Attitude to life. [1] The term is based on research from Japan’s &quot;non-no&quot; [2] in 2014. It puts forward the concept of the so-called &quot;Buddha Man&quot; (Japanese: 仏男), which means to focus on one's own interests or work, and not willing to Men who spend time with the opposite sex. [3]</p>
</blockquote>
<p>How would you translate 佛系 into English?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-12T03:21:23.327Z
个人感觉佛系这个词并不好，佛门的人都说了，佛教里的无为也不是什么都不干。个人感觉还不如说"看淡一切"，regard everything as unimportant.
Zhang
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-12T08:09:36.387Z
佛系 can be translated to "low-energy" in English.
John Z. Li
<translation>
How would you translate 佛系 into English?
# How would you translate 佛系 into English?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-04-12)

Wikipedia ([https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/佛系](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BD%9B%E7%B3%BB)) says:

> 佛系是中文網路新生的流行語，約在2018年左右開始比較頻繁的在中文網路跟媒體出現，在中文的語境裡大致意思是指怎麼都行、看淡一切、無欲無求的一種生活態度。[1]該詞據考證來源於2014年日本的《non-no》[2]，提出所謂的「佛男子」（日语：仏男子）的概念，是指专注于自己的兴趣或工作，不愿花时间与异性交往的男子。[3]

Google Translation:

> Buddhism is a buzzword for Chinese Internet new students. It appeared more frequently in Chinese Internet and media around 2018. In the Chinese context, it roughly means anything that can do anything, look down on everything, and have no desires. Attitude to life. [1] The term is based on research from Japan’s "non-no" [2] in 2014. It puts forward the concept of the so-called "Buddha Man" (Japanese: 仏男), which means to focus on one's own interests or work, and not willing to Men who spend time with the opposite sex. [3]

How would you translate 佛系 into English?

**Tags:** translation

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 个人感觉佛系这个词并不好，佛门的人都说了，佛教里的无为也不是什么都不干。个人感觉还不如说"看淡一切"，regard everything as unimportant.  
> **username_2**: 佛系 can be translated to "low-energy" in English.  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2021-04-12. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

1. "Buddha-like youngsters/youth" is a loyal translation which has found widespread use in the news. "Buddhist youth" is also found, but without context people may take it literally as youths of the Buddhist religion, which is unideal. I believe you may want to consider the above if translating `佛系青年` as a set phrase.
2. You may consider adjectives such as "unambitious", "reclusive", or "indoorsy" (informal) if translating `佛系` alone. Personally, I find "que-será-será" (or "whatever-will-be-will-be"; hyphenation is required, see [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compound_modifier)) captures the nuance of `佛系` best. However, unlike "Buddha-like", these adjectives are only explanatory and thus heavily context-dependent.
3. Some proposed adjectives such as "tranquil" or "geeky" are in my opinion inaccurate.

References:

* <http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/1214/c90000-9304484.html>
* <https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/2166781/are-chinas-affluent-buddha-youth-turning-their-backs>
* <https://www.cityu.edu.hk/edge/grant/tdg/projects/projects_abstract/6000696.pdf>
* <https://kknews.cc/essay/meplla9.html>

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: "Que-será-será" is good. Also from popular culture. Recent enough. Accurate.  

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### Answer by username_5 on 2021-04-12. Score: 0

佛系： Buddha style

佛系男孩：Buddha style boy (apparently originally from Japan)


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### Answer by username_6 on 2021-04-12. Score: 0

**Zen**

[Wiktionary](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E4%BD%9B%E7%B3%BB)

> **佛系**  
> (slang, neologism, of a person) carefree, calm and easygoing
>
> 1. (supposedly resembling a practitioner of Zen Buddhism); zen; chill  
>    佛系青年 ― fóxì qīngnián ― zen youth (slang)


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