Are You Dead?: The viral Chinese app for young people living alone
《死了么》：一款在中国独居青年中爆红的应用程序
一份报告指出，到 2030 年，中国的独居家庭数量可能高达 2 亿户
A new bleak-sounding app has taken China by storm.
一款听起来颇为丧气的新应用在中国爆红。
Named Are You Dead? the concept is simple. You need to check in with it every two days – clicking a large button – to confirm that you are alive. If not, it will get in touch with your appointed emergency contact and inform them that you may be in trouble.
这款名为《死了么》的应用，概念非常简单。你需要每两天点击一次大按钮进行签到，以确认自己还活着。如果未按时签到，应用会联系你指定的紧急联系人，告知对方你可能遇到了麻烦。
It was launched in May last year to not much fanfare but attention around it has exploded in recent weeks with many young people, who live alone in Chinese cities, downloading it in droves.
它于去年 5 月上线，起初反响平平，但最近几周热度却突然飙升，许多在中国城市独居的年轻人纷纷下载。
This has propelled it to become the most downloaded paid app in the country.
这使它一跃成为该国下载量第一的付费应用。
According to research institutions, there may be up to 200 million one-person households in China by 2030, Chinese state media outlet Global Times reports.
据中国官方媒体《环球时报》报道，研究机构预测，到 2030 年，中国的独居家庭数量可能高达 2 亿户。
And it’s those people that the app – which describes itself as a “safety company companion… whether you’re a solo office worker, a student living away from home, or anyone choosing a solitary lifestyle” – is trying to target.
而这款应用程序的目标受众，正是这些人群。该应用将自己定位为“安全公司伴侣”，宣称“无论你是独居的上班族、离家在外的学生，还是选择独居生活方式的任何人”，它都致力于为其提供服务。
“People who live alone at any stage of their life need something like this, as do introverts, those with depression, the unemployed and others in vulnerable situations,” said one user on Chinese social media.
“一位中国社交媒体用户表示：‘无论处于人生的哪个阶段，独居者、内向者、抑郁症患者、失业者以及其他身处困境的人都需要这样的应用。’”
“There is a fear that people living alone might die unnoticed, with no one to call for help. I sometimes wonder, if I died alone, who would collect my body?” said another.
“有一种恐惧是，独居者可能会在无人察觉的情况下死去，甚至没人能帮忙求救。我有时会想，如果我孤独地死去，谁来收我的尸？”
这款应用要求你每天点击一个大按钮，确认自己还活着
Wilson Hou, 38, who lives around 100km (62 miles) from his family, says that is exactly why he downloaded the app.
38 岁的威尔逊·侯（Wilson Hou）住在离家人约 100 公里（62 英里）远的地方，他表示这正是他下载这款 App 的原因。
He works in the capital Beijing. He returns home to his wife and child twice a week, but says he has to be away from them at the moment to work on a project and he mostly sleeps on site.
他在首都北京工作，每周会回家两次与妻儿团聚。不过他表示，眼下为了完成一个项目，不得不暂时与家人分离，大部分时间都睡在工作现场。
“I worry that if something happened to me, I could die alone in the place I rent and no-one would know,” he said. “That’s why I downloaded the app and I set my mum as my emergency contact.”
“他说道：’我担心如果自己出了什么事，可能会独自死在租住的房子里，没人会知道。所以我下载了这款应用，并把妈妈设置为紧急联系人。'”
He also added that he downloaded the app quickly after its release, fearing it would be banned because of the negative connotations around it.
他还补充说，由于担心该应用会因负面含义而遭到封禁，他在发布后第一时间就下载了。
Some have been quick to bash the app’s less than cheery name – saying that signing up for it might bring ill fortune.
有人迅速抨击这款应用的名字太过晦气，认为注册使用可能会招来厄运。
Others have called for it to be changed to something with a more positive spin, like “Are you ok?” or “How are you?”.
也有人呼吁将其改为更积极正面的内容，比如“你还好吗？”或“你好吗？”。
And though the success of this app must be, in part, because of its catchy-sounding name, the company behind the app, Moonscape Technologies, has said it is taking on board the criticism of the current title and weighing up a potential name change.
尽管这款应用的成功，部分原因肯定在于其朗朗上口的名字，但其背后的公司 Moonscape Technologies 表示，已注意到针对当前名称的批评，正在认真考虑是否更名。
该应用会向指定的紧急联系人发送此类警报提醒
The app, which is listed internationally under the name Demumu, ranks in the top two in the US, Singapore and Hong Kong, and top four in Australia and Spain for paid utility apps – possibly driven by Chinese users living overseas.
这款应用在国际上以 Demumu 的名称上架，在美国、新加坡和香港的付费工具类应用中均位居前二，在澳大利亚和西班牙也排在前四名——这可能是受居住在海外的中国用户所推动。
The current name is a word play on a successful food delivery app called “Are you Hungry?”. In Chinese, “Si-le-ma” sounds like the name of the food app “E-le-ma”.
目前的名称是在模仿一款成功的外卖应用“饿了吗”的文字游戏。在中文里，“死了吗”的发音与外卖应用“饿了吗”很相似。
First launched as a free app, the app has now made its way into the paid category – albeit at the low price of 8 yuan ($1.15; £0.85).
这款应用最初以免费形式推出，现已转为付费——不过价格相当亲民，仅需 8 元人民币（约合 1.15 美元或 0.85 英镑）。
Little is known about the founders of Are You Dead?, but they say they are three people who were born after 1995 who built the app from Zhengzhou in Henan with a small team.
关于《死了么》的创始人外界知之甚少，但他们表示自己是三名 95 后，与一个小团队在河南郑州开发了这款应用。
It has certainly grown in value now. One of these men, who goes by the name Mr Guo, told Chinese media that they intended to raise money by selling 10% of the company for a million yuan. That is a lot more than the 1,000 yuan ($140) they say it cost to build the app.
如今它的价值无疑已大幅上涨。其中一位自称“郭先生”的人向中国媒体透露，他们计划出售公司 10%的股份以筹集 100 万元人民币。这笔资金远高于他们当初开发该应用所花费的 1000 元人民币（约合 140 美元）。
And they’re also looking to grow their target audience – saying they are exploring the idea of a new product specifically designed for the elderly in a country where over one-fifth of its population is over the age of 60.
他们还希望扩大目标受众，表示正在考虑为老年人专门设计一款新产品。在这个国家，超过五分之一的人口年龄在 60 岁以上。
In an indication that it was seriously looking at this option, it posted over the weekend, “we would like to call on more people to pay attention to the elderly who are living at home, to give them more care and understanding. They have dreams, strive to live, and deserve to be seen, respected and protected.”
这表明官方正在认真考虑这一选项。本周末他们发文称：“我们呼吁更多人关注独居老人，给予他们更多关怀与理解。他们心怀梦想，努力生活，值得被看见、被尊重、被保护。”