Chinese overtime
Any form of overtime in which increasing the hours worked reduces the hourly rate.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“My pay drops when I work Chinese overtime.”
“The company requires extra hours without extra pay, which is essentially Chinese overtime.”
“Employees often feel exploited when their increased productivity leads to Chinese overtime, effectively lowering their hourly compensation.”
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Chinese compliment
A pretense of deference; a veiled or subtle insult.
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Chinese green
Synonym of lokao.
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Chinese puzzle
A senseless situation.
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Chinese Wall
An information barrier within an organization, designed to ensure internal confidentiality; frequently used to prevent conflicts of interest.
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Chinese water torture
Any repeated irritation that builds to deliver cumulative damage.
Last updated August 10, 2026