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北漂

Mandarin · pinyin běi piāo

to migrate to Beijing or Taipei in search of better job opportunities
migrant worker living and working in Beijing or Taipei without a residence permit

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Characters in this entry

北: běi · north; northern; northward
漂: piào · float, drift; tossed about

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–1 · bei3 piao1

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun

(slang) "Beijing drifter" (person without Beijing registered residence who has migrated to Beijing from other places in China seeking opportunities and a better life; in Taiwan analogously refers to Taipei)

verb

(slang) to migrate to Beijing or Taipei in search of opportunities and a better life

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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