Meaning:
“卡” here refers to “credit card,” and “奴” means “slave.” The term, with a corresponding term in English, refers to a person working to pay off huge debts. These people have spent too much borrowed money that they can pay only the minimum balance against their credit card debt every month. They borrow money from one card company just to pay off the debt on another and are always living on the edge of bankruptcy. A survey conducted by China Youth Daily and www.sina.com earlier this year collected roughly 1,800 ballots and found that 23.7 percent of the people polled were worried about becoming “credit card slaves.”
Example:
A: 最近电商各种促销，你买了什么没有？
Zuìjìn diànshāng gèzhǒng cùxiāo, nǐ mǎi le shénme méiyǒu?
There have been a lot of sales promotions at online retailers lately. Did you buy anything?
B: 上个月刚买了车，不敢买买买，否则就成卡奴了。
Shàng gè yuè gāng mǎi le chē, bùgǎn mǎimǎimǎi, fǒuzé jìu chéng kǎnú le。
I just bought a car last month, and dare not go on a spending spree now. Otherwise, I will become one of those credit card slaves.
(First editor: Debra Li)