TikTok’s latest trend has users obsessively labeling everyday quirks and imperfections as “wabi-sabi.” While some find it sweet, others say the trend has already been ruined.

First, what is wabi-sabi?

Wabi-sabi, ever heard of it? If not, wabi-sabi is a Japanese aesthetic philosophy centered on finding beauty in imperfection, impermanence, and the incomplete.

It celebrates the natural wear, asymmetry, and irregularity that give objects (and people) character. Wabi-sabi can often be found in ceramics, with a golden glue-like substance keeping the pieces together:

Now, TikTok creators are using the audio from a white cartoon boy who hails from Texas, USA, to describe anything and everything—as if literally all things are beautiful thanks to their imperfections. And now they’re kind of getting slammed for it.

The audio fueling the trend comes from a King of the Hill clip where Bobby Hill explains to his dad that the slightly imperfect rose he wants to enter in a contest “has wabi-sabi.” In the original scene, Bobby uses the Japanese aesthetic concept—finding beauty in imperfection—to justify why his off-center entry deserves appreciation.

“I like how mine’s a little off center. It’s got wabi-sabi,” he said.

How TikTok embraced the ‘wabi-sabi’ trend

TikTok creators began using the clip in November 2025 to express their adoration for partners, pets, facial features, body stuff, absurd actions…anything really. While some call the trend “low-key adorable,” others say it’s already corny. 

Either way, the hashtag #wabisabi quickly exploded across the platform, resonating with users who are tired of perfection culture and want permission to find beauty in the imperfect. But after only a few days, many creators say the term has devolved into yet another meaningless TikTok buzzword.

One creator summed it up in a single line: “We lost the whole plot.”

Why creators say TikTok already ruined ‘wabi-sabi’

In a parody clip with 1.2 million views, creator @ynb_ha mocked the trend for turning into “sneak disses and excuses.” She repeatedly described unrelated—or outright negative—qualities as “wabi-sabi,” like “being a piece of [expletive]” or believing “my boyfriend hates me.”

@ynb_ha Turned into sneak disses and excuses 🫩#wabisabi ♬ Chopin Nocturne Op9-No2(989973) – Satoru Saito

The parody resonated with commenters who seemed to agree. “They ruined it so fast,” one user wrote. “Some baby had a cleft lip and the top comment was ‘it has wabi-sabi ❤️,’” another added.

Other creators echoed the sentiment.

In a clip from Nov. 18, 2025, @tweaktitanium announced, “It will never fail to impress me how fast shit can become, like, quote unquote corny on TikTok.”

@tweaktitanium said he initially thought the audio was wholesome. “I thought it was kind of funny, seeing that clip of Bobby being low-key a philosopher go viral,” he said. “And I actually thought it was kind of a positive thing at first. Like, people using the audio to point out imperfections that they find beauty in.”

@tweaktitanium new tiktok buzz word just dropped #tweaktitan #wabisabi ♬ original sound – Tweak TITANIUM (alt)

But then the term spread everywhere, applied to things that made no sense. “It became the new TikTok buzzword everyone was saying,” they said. “And it got really annoying. It’s crazy to me how fast TikTok can ruin [expletive] like that.”

“Wabi sabi quickly became popular girl humor 😔✌️”

“Haters are gonna hate…” but sometimes they have a point.

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The post “It’s got wabi-sabi”: Social media turns a “King of the Hill” clip—and ancient practice—into a viral trend appeared first on The Daily Dot.

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