Meaning:

    “啃” means to “bite,” “椅” means “chairs,” and “族” refers to a group of people sharing similarities. This term refers to people, often students or young couples, who occupy a chair or table in fast-food restaurants and spend several hours there reading books, surfing on the Internet or chatting with friends regardless of other customers’ need for a table. Fast-food restaurants see a lot of such people especially in summer, who would order a cup of drink and enjoy the free air conditioning for hours.

    Example:

    A: 今天下班我在你办公室楼下的咖啡店等你。

    Jīntiān xiàbān wǒ zài nǐ bàngōngshì lóuxià de kāfēidiàn děng nǐ。

    I will wait for you at the cafe downstairs from your office after work today.

    B: 还是换个地方吧，附近学校的小情侣们都是啃椅族，下午四点半以后你根本找不到座位。

    Háishì huàn gè dìfāng ba, fùjìn xuéxiào de xiǎo qínglǚ men dōushì kěnyǐzú, xiàwǔ sìdiǎnbàn yǐhòu nǐ gēnběn zhǎobùdào zuòwèi。

    You’d better find another venue. Teenage lovers from the nearby school are seat-squatters, and you won’t be able to find a seat after 4:30 p.m.