Meaning:

“逆风” means “against the wind,” and “翻盘” means “to turn the tide and gain an upper hand, especially in a competition.” Chinese netizens use this term to describe scenarios where an underdog becomes the winner. The saying, used as a slogan for the reality competition show “Produce 101,” became widely known after the show came out as a hit in 2018.

Example:

A: 你还记得我们小学同学当中有个初中毕业去广东打工的女生吗？

Nǐ hái jìdé wǒmen xiǎoxué tóngxué dāngzhōng yǒu ge chūzhōng bìyè qù guǎngdōng dǎgōng de nǚshēng ma？

Do you remember our primary school classmate who went to work as a factory girl in Guangdong after she graduated from junior high school?

B: 记得。

Jìdé。

Yes, I do.

A: 她通过自己的努力开了工厂，现在是一家上市公司的老板了。

Tā tōngguò zìjǐ de nǔlì kāi le gōngchǎng，xiànzài shì yījiā shàngshì gōngsī de lǎobǎn le。

She opened a factory and after years of hard work, she is now the owner of a listed company.

B: 这真是逆风翻盘的人生啊。

Zhè zhēnshì nìfēng fānpán de rénshēng a。

Wow, she turned the tide and became a winner in life.