“Glass salary,” a meme on Chinese social media that surfaced in October last year, is a homophonic play on “玻璃心” (bōlí xīn, “glass heart”), a term that has been used for years to mean “overly sensitive.” The metaphor is apt: glass evokes fragility and the ease with which something can break.

The newer term describes a salary that is as fragile as glass — easy to spend and quick to disappear. It captures the vulnerability of one’s income: apparently stable but highly prone to rapid depletion from everyday spending or unexpected costs.

Younger generations commonly use the term self‑deprecatingly to express their helplessness about the gap between income and expenses, especially during high‑consumption periods such as the Double Eleven (Singles’ Day) shopping festival.

Example:

双十一战果如何？购物车都清空了吧？

How did your Double Eleven haul go? You cleared out your shopping cart, right?

清空是清空了，但我的钱包也彻底“清空”了。哎，玻璃薪实在顶不住这种大促啊。

Sure, I cleared it out — but my wallet is completely empty too. Ugh, my “glass salary” really can’t withstand these big sales.