What does 充电宝 mean?
A dead phone in China means you can't pay, navigate, or communicate — 充电宝 is survival equipment.
充电宝
Power bank / portable charger — the external battery that keeps your phone alive.
Charge treasure.
Power bank / portable charger — the external battery that keeps your phone alive.
WHEN IT FITS
充电宝 is not a convenience item in China — it is survival gear. Because Chinese daily life runs almost entirely through the phone (payments, navigation, communication, transportation), a dead battery means you are functionally stranded. Every Chinese person knows the low-battery anxiety (电量焦虑 — diànliàng jiāolǜ).
China has built a massive shared power bank infrastructure to solve this. In every shopping mall, restaurant, subway station, and convenience store, you will find 共享充电宝 stations: racks of rental power banks that you unlock by scanning a QR code. Prices are typically 2-6 yuan per hour, capped at a daily maximum. The major brands are 街电 (Jiēdiàn), 小电 (Xiǎodiàn), and 来电 (Láidiàn).
The rental process: scan the QR code → WeChat/Alipay mini-program opens → confirm rental → a power bank pops out → use it → return it to any station of the same brand. The stations are networked, so you can pick one up at a restaurant and return it at a subway station across the city.
The social etiquette: asking a friend 有没有充电宝 is normal and expected. Bringing your own is ideal. The phrase 借一下充电宝 (lend me your power bank for a bit) is common among friends. At restaurants, staff will sometimes lend you one if you ask nicely and leave a deposit.
HOW PEOPLE ACTUALLY SAY IT
我手机快没电了，有没有充电宝？
My phone's almost dead — do you have a power bank?
Asking friends or at a venue扫个充电宝，一小时三块钱。
Rent a power bank by scanning — it's 3 yuan per hour.
Using shared power bank stationsCHOOSE BY SITUATION
共享充电宝
Shared power bank — the rental power banks in public stations.
Specifically the rental ones you find in malls and restaurants没电了
Out of battery / dead.
The crisis that 充电宝 prevents — 我手机没电了 = my phone is dead