What does 点赞 mean?

点赞 is the social currency of Chinese internet. 点 (click/tap) + 赞 (praise/approval) = the like button. On WeChat Moments, Weibo, Douyin, Xiaohongshu, and every other platform, 点赞 is how you acknowledge someone’s post without composing a full comment.

The social calculus of Chinese liking is more complex than it appears:

• 给老板点赞 (liking the boss’s posts) — borderline expected in many workplaces. Not liking can be noticed more than liking.
• 给前任点赞 (liking an ex’s posts) — a statement. Will be analyzed.
• 秒赞 (instant like — liking within seconds of posting) — signals extreme attentiveness, sometimes warmly (a close friend) and sometimes creepily (a lurker).
• 点赞之交 (like-based acquaintance) — the weakest social tie: someone you only interact with through mutual liking, never actual conversation.

On WeChat Moments, likes are semi-private: only mutual contacts can see who else liked a post. On Weibo and Douyin, likes are fully public. This architectural difference changes the social meaning: a WeChat like is for a limited audience; a Weibo like is a public statement.

The phrase 帮忙点个赞 (help me out with a like) is common — people ask friends to like their posts for visibility or social proof. In some contexts (contests, promotions), likes are explicitly solicited: 求赞 (begging for likes) or 点赞抽奖 (like to enter the prize draw).