What Does 'You Pretty, He Ugly, You Swan, He Frog' Mean? The Viral Meme Explained

A hilarious viral comment has leaked from the Chinese blogging site Xiaohongshu to X / Twitter this month that's taking over the platform. The phrase is "You swan, he frog," and it's being used to compare two people of varying levels of attractiveness in a tongue-in-cheek way. But where did the phrase come from and what does it mean? Here's what you need to know.

What Does 'You Pretty, He Ugly, You Swan, He Frog' Mean?

At the beginning of August 2024, Chinese blogger YourKris posted a photo of herself and her boyfriend to the Chinese blogging site Xiaohongshu. The photo shows the blogger with tears in her eyes embracing her boyfriend as they part ways at the airport. Some of the site's users thought the two were going through relationship troubles and started firing off insults at YourKris' boyfriend in the comments.

The comments were extremely brutal towards YourKris' boyfriend but very complimentary of YourKris. For example, many compared the boyfriend to a monkey and encouraged YourKris to find someone better. However, one comment reading, "you pretty , he ugly , u swan , he frog !" really struck a chord with users.

The post and its comments spread to English-speaking X users later that month, who became obsessed with the phrase, which is an Engrish take on the Chinese allegory, "a toad wishing to eat swan meat."

How Is 'You Pretty, He Ugly, You Swan, He Frog' Used In Memes?

The story gained viral spread online, with many finding the "you swan, he frog" comment particularly iconic. This inspired a flurry of memes on X in which users post the phrase alongside images of people or characters who fit the "swan" and "frog" labels. Essentially, the phrase is being used to call out closely associated people or characters as pretty (swan) or ugly (frog).

The meme has mostly taken off on X, where new examples of the format keep going viral. The meme has also spread to TikTok, with one user even reading the phrase in Chinese to over 2 million views.

For the full history of "You swan, he frog," be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.