‘屁事’ (pì shì) is a colloquial, mildly vulgar noun meaning ‘nonsense’ or ‘a trivial, insignificant matter’. Literally, 屁 (pì) means ‘fart’, and 事 (shì) means ‘matter’ or ‘affair’—so the compound evokes something as meaningless and fleeting as flatulence. It’s used to dismiss something as unimportant, absurd, or unworthy of attention, often with impatience or sarcasm.

This term is common in informal spoken Chinese, especially among friends or in heated exchanges. While not extremely coarse, it’s unsuitable for formal writing, professional settings, or polite conversation with elders or superiors. Its tone is dismissive and sometimes humorous, depending on context and intonation. The word reflects how Chinese uses bodily imagery metaphorically to express judgment about value or relevance—similar to English expressions like ‘bullshit’ or ‘nonsense’, though milder than the former and more emphatic than the latter.