ChatGPT Has ‘Goblin’ Mania in the US. In China It Will ‘Catch You Steadily’
OpenAI's model can't stop saying one weird phrase in Chinese, and users are roasting it.
ChatGPT users in China have noticed a strange obsession: the chatbot repeatedly responds with the phrase “我会稳稳地接住你” (I will catch you steadily) in Chinese conversations—whether for math problems or image prompts. The overly affectionate expression feels forced to native speakers and has become a widespread meme, with one developer even creating an open-source tool called Jiezhu (meaning “catch”) as an April Fools' project. OpenAI itself poked fun at the tic in a sample image for its new image model.
The technical cause is a phenomenon called “mode collapse,” explains Max Spero, CEO of Pangram AI. During post-training, AI labs give models feedback that encourages certain phrasing, but without a way to limit overuse. The phrase is likely a mistranslation of “I've got you,” which sounds natural in English but clunky in Chinese. This quirk exposes deeper issues in LLM localization: Western models trained on English data often produce Chinese responses that feel subtly off, even if grammatically correct.
- ChatGPT overuses the Chinese phrase “我会稳稳地接住你” (I will catch you steadily) in almost every response, driving users crazy.
- The phenomenon is called “mode collapse,” caused by post-training feedback that encourages specific phrasing without limiting overuse.
- The meme inspired an open-source project called Jiezhu and even prompted OpenAI to mock the tic in a promotional image.
Why It Matters
Shows how AI models can develop awkward cultural biases, revealing gaps in translation and localization for global users.