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‘Duanju’: the Chinese word for micro-dramas is entering English
duanju成专属英文单词
Chinese state and financial media say the pinyin word “duanju”, for one-to-two-minute vertical phone dramas, has become an English word in its own right.
In short
On 4 November 2026 Chinese outlets including Economic Daily and STAR Market Daily reported that “duanju” (短剧, “short drama”), the pinyin name for China’s micro-dramas, has become an English word. They said an overseas online encyclopedia now has a “duanju” entry whose page views have risen sharply since November 2024, as Chinese apps have taken the format worldwide.
What duanju are
Duanju are short drama series made for smartphones. Episodes usually last one to two minutes, are filmed in vertical format and end on a cliffhanger, and a series runs to between 20 and 100 episodes. Stories lean on revenge, romance, wealth and status. In China they are distributed mainly on Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok), Kuaishou and Tencent’s platforms.
English has several names for the format, among them micro-drama, short drama and vertical drama. English Wikipedia files its article on the format under the title “Duanju”.[4]
Why it is in the news
On 4 November several Chinese outlets ran the same story: the pinyin “duanju” has become an English word with its own meaning. STAR Market Daily (科创板日报) reported that an overseas online encyclopedia has added a “duanju” entry, that page views for it have risen sharply over the past two years, and that searching the word now returns many results. The reports did not name a printed dictionary.
Economic Daily (经济日报) put the word’s spread down to the worldwide popularity of Chinese micro-dramas and to the country’s mature production industry.[1][2][3]
How big the business is
STAR Market Daily cited an industry report, the AI-Driven Global Micro-Drama Innovation Development Report, which puts the global micro-drama market at nearly US$18 billion in 2025. China accounted for more than US$14 billion of that, about 78%, and Chinese companies hold about 90% of the market outside China.
The best-known overseas app is ReelShort, which launched in North America in 2022 with local actors. In November 2023 it reached second place among free apps in the US App Store, and it had passed 450 million downloads by August 2026, STAR Market Daily reported. Other Chinese-owned apps include DramaBox and DramaWave.[1][2][4]
Sources
- STAR Market Daily (科创板日报) via NetEase, “Duanju” craze sweeps the world: Chinese micro-dramas get their own English name (4 November 2026, in Chinese) · accessed 4 Nov 2026
- China News Economic (中新经纬) via ifeng, Chinese micro-dramas now have their own English name, “duanju” (4 November 2026, in Chinese) · accessed 4 Nov 2026
- Economic Daily (经济日报) via Sina, “duanju” becomes an English word (4 November 2026, in Chinese) · accessed 4 Nov 2026
- Wikipedia, Duanju · accessed 4 Nov 2026
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