YYDS emerged from Chinese esports commentary in 2020 when League of Legends player Uzi retired and fans flooded Bilibili and Weibo with '永远的神' tributes. The pinyin acronym (Y-Y-D-S from yǒng-yuǎn-de-shén) caught on because typing four letters was faster than four characters. Within months it escaped gaming entirely — food bloggers called hotpot YYDS, students called their favorite teachers YYDS, and it became China's default hyperbolic compliment.

The term is notable as one of the few pinyin-initial acronyms to cross into mainstream spoken Chinese. Unlike text-only slang, people actually say 'Y-Y-D-S' out loud. It was so pervasive that Chinese state media published editorials asking young people to use 'proper Chinese' instead. This backlash, predictably, only made it more popular. By 2021 it was voted one of China's top internet buzzwords.