6 min read · Start Here
How to Read Bilibili Danmaku and Internet Slang Without Feeling Lost
Danmaku is not a test you have to pass before watching Bilibili. It is a layer of time-synced viewer reactions that moves across the video. Leave it on for a minute, turn it off if it gets in the way, and treat it as atmosphere before you treat it as language study.
If you have ever opened a Bilibili video and thought, Why are people typing 666? Why is the screen full of Chinese? Is this ruining the video or part of it? — this guide is for you.
Find a first video that matches your goal →
Need help with English and subtitles first? →
The short version: Danmaku (弹幕, dànmù) are comments attached to a moment in a video, not ordinary subtitles. They can make a funny, dramatic, or surprising moment feel like you are watching with a crowd. They can also be distracting. You are allowed to turn them off.
What danmaku actually is
On Bilibili, viewers can leave short comments that are attached to a point on a video timeline. When a later viewer reaches that moment, the comments move across the screen. That is why people who watched days, months, or years apart can appear to react together. Researchers often describe this as a form of asynchronous co-viewing: the comments are written at different times, but experienced at the same point in the video.[1]
The name 弹幕 literally suggests a “bullet curtain.” In English, you may also see danmu, danmaku, bullet comments, or bullet screen. The label is less important than the behavior: these are viewer reactions layered over the video, not captions supplied by the creator.[2]
Danmaku can be useful because it tells you when a room full of viewers laughed, got nervous, spotted a detail, or recognized a familiar reference. It can be unhelpful because it can cover the image, repeat jokes, reveal a surprise, or move too quickly to read. Both reactions are normal.
Your first five minutes: the no-pressure method
Do not begin by trying to translate every moving line. Use this small routine instead.
| When | What to do | What you are learning |
|---|---|---|
| Before play | Pick a visual-first video: food, travel, craft, a build, or a short game clip. | You lower the amount of language you must process at once. |
| First 60 seconds | Leave danmaku on. Do not pause to read it. Notice only whether the same short phrase appears repeatedly. | Repetition tells you that the audience has reached a shared reaction. |
| When the screen is crowded | Use the player’s danmaku/comment control to hide or reduce the moving layer. The icon and layout can differ by device and page. | Turning it off is a viewing choice, not a failure. |
| After a key moment | If you are curious, pause and look at one or two short comments. Compare them with what happened on screen. | You learn context before vocabulary. |
| After the video | Read a few static comments below the player, if available. | Static comments are usually easier to inspect or translate than a fast-moving wall. |
For a first session, understanding one repeated reaction is enough. Your goal is not to read the whole screen. Your goal is to understand why the screen changed at that moment.
Six expressions worth recognizing first
These are common online expressions, but their tone depends on the video, the community, and the moment. Read them as clues, not as a fixed dictionary.
| You may see | Literal form | What it usually signals | Closest English feeling | A beginner note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 666 | liù liù liù | Someone did something smooth, skilled, clever, or impressive. | “Nice!” / “That was clean.” | It is especially common around gaming, speed, and practical skill. It may be playful or ironic. |
| YYDS | 永远的神 (yǒngyuǎn de shén) | Very strong praise for a person, moment, work, or joke. | “GOAT.” / “Legend.” | It is deliberately hyperbolic. Do not translate it word-for-word as theology. |
| 高能预警 | “high-energy warning” | A notable, loud, funny, dramatic, or surprising moment may be coming. | “Something big is about to happen.” | It can help, but it may also spoil a surprise. |
| 233 / 233333 | a legacy laughing emoticon reference | Laughter. More 3s usually mean a stronger reaction. | “LOL” / “hahaha.” | You may see different generations of slang in different communities. |
| 泪目 | “eyes full of tears” | A moment feels moving or nostalgic. | “I’m tearing up.” | Often seen in music, reunions, animation, and personal stories. |
| UP主 | UP zhǔ | The uploader or creator behind a channel. | “Creator” / “uploader.” | It is the ordinary Bilibili word for the person who made the video. |
Why these, not fifty more? Because you can connect all six to a visible reaction: skill, praise, anticipation, laughter, emotion, or the person who made the video. Once you recognize those signals, new slang becomes easier to learn from context. Common internet abbreviations such as YYDS and number expressions such as 666 also appear beyond Bilibili, so you may meet them on other Chinese social platforms.[3]
How to tell reaction from information
Danmaku becomes much easier when you stop treating every line as equally useful. Ask one question: Is this line reacting to the moment, or adding information I need?
A flood of 666, laughter, or short exclamations is usually reaction. You can enjoy the mood without translating every word. A repeated phrase near a plot reveal may be a warning, a reference, or a potential spoiler. A longer line that keeps appearing at the same moment may be a quoted meme or an explanation from viewers. If the video is educational, technical, or story-heavy, use the static comments and the video description for slower context instead of trying to read the entire moving layer.
This distinction matters because danmaku is built around a specific timestamp. A conventional comment below a video often evaluates the whole work; danmaku is more likely to react to this exact shot, sentence, mistake, or punchline.[1]
When should you turn danmaku off?
Turn it off whenever it blocks what you came to see. That includes a recipe step, a subtitled scene, a technical diagram, a small craft detail, or the first watch of a story you do not want spoiled. There is no cultural bonus for struggling through visual clutter.
A useful compromise is to watch a new video with danmaku off, then replay a favorite moment with it on. On the second pass, you already know the content, so the crowd reaction becomes easier to enjoy. One fan community has even built guides for replaying videos alongside translated danmaku, which shows how much some viewers value that shared-reaction layer; it does not mean that every viewer needs it all the time.[4]
Three habits that make danmaku more useful
1. Start with a video that survives without dialogue
Cooking, travel, making, visual comedy, and some game clips give you clues even when the words move too fast. Use the Start in English path to find a visual-first entry point. Once you are comfortable with the player and the rhythm of danmaku, move to a more language-heavy topic.
2. Keep the original Chinese visible when you translate
A page or subtitle translator can help with titles, comments, and dialogue. But automated translation can miss slang, sarcasm, game terminology, and references. When possible, view Chinese beside the translation, and use the visual moment as a third clue. Translation is a bridge, not a guarantee that every joke carries over perfectly.
3. Learn one expression from a moment you already understand
Do not memorize a spreadsheet of slang. Pick a moment: a creator completes a difficult build, a game player wins unexpectedly, or a dish comes together beautifully. If 666 fills the screen, you have learned it in a real setting. That memory is more useful than a detached definition.
Can I post danmaku as a newcomer?
You do not need to post anything to participate as a viewer. Start by reading the mood of a video. If you later decide to comment, keep it simple and specific: a short reaction, a thank-you to the creator, or a note tied to the moment you are watching is usually safer than repeating a meme you have not understood.
Account, verification, and posting options can vary by service, device, region, and time. This guide does not provide workarounds for account or regional restrictions. If the platform asks you to complete a requirement, use its current official flow or choose content that is available to you.
Your next step
Choose one route rather than trying to learn Bilibili all at once:
- I want a visual first watch: Start in English →
- I am learning Chinese: Find an appropriate creator →
- I came for games, anime, or internet culture: Explore the games and anime path →
- I saw a phrase we have not explained: Open the glossary →
The best first use of danmaku is not to read everything. It is to notice that someone else laughed, gasped, or felt the same thing at the same second — and to decide whether you want that company on your screen.
References
[1]: Zhang & Cassany, Making sense of danmu: Coherence in massive anonymous chats on Bilibili.com — https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445620940051 [2]: Danmaku subtitling — terminology and time-synchronised comments: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danmaku_subtitling [3]: Chinese Internet Abbreviations: YYDS, 666, and more: https://www.migaku.com/blog/chinese/chinese-internet-abbreviations [4]: Community guide to replaying content with bullet comments: https://www.reddit.com/r/LudwigAhgren/comments/1s3mzsp/how_you_can_watch_youtube_with_bilibilis_bullet/