Why Chinese People Say "Close fan"

[EN] How it spread: The phrase “Close fan” began as grassroots Chinglish—heard in Chinese offices, dorms, and classrooms. It first became visible on Chinese social media like Weibo (in posts about funny English mistakes) and QQ groups for English learners. Around 2018, it was featured in compilation videos and “Chinese English signs” galleries on Bilibili. Internationally, it appeared on Reddit’s r/Chinglish and language‑learning blogs. It has not gone massively viral like some other Chinglish phrases (e.g., “add oil”), but it enjoys a steady niche recognition among language enthusiasts and is often used as a teaching example. Current status: still occasionally shared in casual lists of “Chinese English mistakes” and used humorously by ESL teachers. [中文] 传播路径：该短语最初在中国职场、宿舍和课堂上零散出现。早期在微博（#中式英语# 话题下的英语错误帖子）和QQ英语学习群中流传。约2018年，出现在B站搞笑英语合集视频和“中国式英语招牌”图集中。国际传播通过Reddit的r/Chinglish板块和语言学习博客实现。它没有像“add oil”等短语那样大规模走红，但在语言爱好者圈子里保持小众知名度，常被当作教学案例。目前状态：仍偶尔出现在“中式英语错误”盘点中，被英语教师用作幽默教学举例。