{"id":52978,"date":"2021-12-09T17:39:59","date_gmt":"2021-12-09T22:39:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=52978"},"modified":"2021-12-11T07:19:25","modified_gmt":"2021-12-11T12:19:25","slug":"chinese-fuzzwords-and-slanguage-of-the-year-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=52978","title":{"rendered":"Chinese fuzzwords and slanguage of the year 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you want to get an idea of what preoccupies Chinese people, one good way is to take a gander at current lingo. SupChina provides a convenient compilation from two authoritative sources.\u00a0 In the past, I've been disappointed by many Chinese words of the year lists because they seemed to have been blatantly chosen by government bureaus with a political bias in mind.\u00a0 The lists assembled below strike me as more genuine and less skewed toward the wishes of authorities.\u00a0 That is to say, they match well with my own perception of what people are thinking and talking about on a daily basis, and the words they use to express themselves.\u00a0 So here goes:<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\"<a href=\"https:\/\/supchina.com\/2021\/12\/08\/chinas-top-buzzwords-and-internet-slang-of-2021\/\">China\u2019s top buzzwords and internet slang of 2021<\/a>\"<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"post__excerpt serif-jumbo red-links thin-links\" style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>Two year-end lists of popular slang words and internet catchphrases were published this week. The words offer a glimpse into what\u2019s on the minds of Chinese internet users and Chinese government officials. Here are all 16 words on the lists. <\/em><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Andrew Methven, SupChina (12\/8\/21)<\/p>\r\n<p>The fact that four of the expressions appear on both lists is reassuring that they represent actual preferences of Chinese citizens.<\/p>\r\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\r\n<div class=\"uncontainer post__content-wrap\">\r\n<div class=\"row\">\r\n<div class=\"post__content col-12 serif-feature red-links thin-links rt\">\r\n<div class=\"post__chunk\">\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The National Language Resources Monitoring and Research Center at Beijing Language and Culture University yesterday published its annual list of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sohu.com\/a\/506077565_114988\">top 10 internet buzzwords of 2021<\/a> (2021\u5e74\u5ea6\u5341\u5927\u7f51\u7edc\u7528\u8bed).\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u201cBig data analysis\u201d of over a billion online posts and forum discussions from the Chinese internet in 2021 was reportedly used to decide on the final list, but it\u2019s clear from the selection that the artificial intelligence tool used has a good understanding of socialism with Chinese characteristics.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Separately, the magazine Y\u01ceow\u00e9n Ji\u00e1oz\u00ec (\u54ac\u6587\u56bc\u5b57) published its <a href=\"https:\/\/mp.weixin.qq.com\/s\/XbPZ64YLnQUM6S0hpAU73Q\">year-end list of \u201cpopular buzzwords\u201d<\/a> (2021\u5e74\u5341\u5927\u6d41\u884c\u8bed). Yaowen Jiaozi is a magazine founded in 1995 that publishes <a href=\"http:\/\/laodanwei.org\/wp\/magazines\/gnawing_at_language_biting_the_1.php\">stories about the the misuse and abuse of language in Chinese society<\/a>. Its name is variously translated as \u201cCorrect Wording,\u201d \u201cVerbalism,\u201d and \u201cChewing Words.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p>y\u01ceo w\u00e9n ji\u00e1o z\u00ec \u54ac\u6587\u56bc\u5b57 (lit., \"bite words and chew \/ masticate characters\", i.e., \"literarism; chop logic; pay excessive attention to wording and choice of characters; to bite words and chew characters\u200b; punctilious about minutiae of wording; to nitpick like a <a title=\"grammar Nazi\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/grammar_Nazi\">grammar Nazi<\/a>; to talk pedantically\")<\/p>\r\n<p>This colorful expression dates back about a millennium, making it fairly young in the whole of the Sinitic lexicon.\u00a0 When I learned it half a century ago, the third character was pronounced ju\u00e9, making it hard for me to pronounce as ji\u00e1o.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The Yaowen Jiaozi list does not claim to be created by big data, but rather from reader suggestions, online polling, and selection by specialists.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">It is a more interesting list.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Below are the words in both lists, with the phrases or words that made it to both lists at the top. Each entry shows which list it\u2019s in: The <a href=\"http:\/\/cnlr.blcu.edu.cn\/\">National Language Resources Monitoring and Research Center<\/a> is abbreviated to CNLR, and <a href=\"https:\/\/yaowenjiaozi.zazhi.com.cn\/\">Yaowen Jiaozi<\/a> to YJ.<\/p>\r\n<p>VHM:\u00a0 A number of these items were discussed in various Language Log posts during the year 2021 or before.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h3 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><b>Double Reduction Policy <\/b><b><br \/><\/b>\u53cc\u51cf shu\u0101ngji\u01cen\u00a0<\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><i>List: CNLR, YJ<\/i><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The Double Reduction Policy is the shorthand name for the policy announcement <a href=\"https:\/\/supchina.com\/2021\/07\/23\/chinas-after-school-tutoring-crackdown-goes-nuclear\/\">made in July<\/a>, \u201cSuggestions on further reducing the burden of homework and off-campus training for students in compulsory education.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">It aims to increase the quality of education but reduce the pressures on overworked school kids.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Even though its 30 measures to rein in the education sector were announced nearly six months ago, the Double Reduction Policy was a trending word as recently as this week while its implications continue to play out in China\u2019s education sector.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<h3 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><b>Lying flat <\/b><b><br \/><\/b>\u8eba\u5e73 t\u01cengp\u00edng<\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><i>List: CNLR, YJ<\/i><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Lying flat, or lying flat-ism (\u8eba\u5e73\u4e3b\u4e49 t\u01cengp\u00edng zh\u01d4y\u00ec), first appeared on the Chinese internet in June this year as a reaction of China\u2019s youth to another social phenomenon in China \u2014 involution (\u5185\u5377 n\u00e8iju\u01cen), or intense economic competition for ever scarcer resources.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.whatsonweibo.com\/the-top-10-buzzwords-in-chinese-online-media-in-2020-%e5%92%ac%e6%96%87%e5%9a%bc%e5%ad%97\/\">N\u00e8iju\u01cen was a top 10 internet buzzword of 2020<\/a> and has remained prevalent on social media and in society in 2021.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">To lie flat is to choose to escape involution and high-pressure city life, to disengage from the intense social competition of China\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/supchina.com\/tag\/996\/\">996 work culture<\/a>, and to opt for a life of low consumption and little social interaction.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The sting of the implicit social criticism of the word is removed in the National Language Resources Monitoring and Research Center\u2019s buzzword list, which describes t\u01cengp\u00edng as more of a temporary pause, rather than complete disengagement, an opportunity to gather energy before taking off again.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">T\u01cengp\u00edng is also in the Yaowen Jiaozi list. Its take on the word is similar \u2014 as a way to \u201crecharge and prepare to fight better tomorrow.\u201d But it also adds that t\u01cengp\u00edng is a way for young Chinese to vent their frustrations at the pressures of life and the high levels of \u201cinvoluted\u201d competition, and that \u201clying-flatters\u201d (\u8eba\u5e73\u65cf t\u01cengp\u00edngz\u00fa) understand that lying down is no way to win.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<h3 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><b>Overwhelmed <\/b><b><br \/><\/b>\u7834\u9632 p\u00f2f\u00e1ng\u00a0<\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><i>List: CNLR, YJ<\/i><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Originally from the gaming world, p\u00f2f\u00e1ng refers to breaking through or tearing down the opponent\u2019s defenses.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The word has evolved to mean being emotionally overwhelmed, a reaction to a piece of bad news that has an impact to the point of someone losing all control of their emotions. Although it is not normally linked to t\u01cengp\u00edng or n\u00e8iju\u01cen, it can be seen as part of the choice \u2014 either take the competition, lie flat, or break down.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<h3 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><b>Metaverse<\/b><b><br \/><\/b>\u5143\u5b87\u5b99 yu\u00e1n y\u01d4zh\u00f2u\u00a0<\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><i>List: CNLR, YJ<\/i><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">This is the only non-Chinese import in this year\u2019s top 10 list \u2014 both in terms of its origin and why it became a buzzword in China this year.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u201cMetaverse\u201d was first coined in Neal Stephenson\u2019s 1992 science fiction novel, <i>Snow Crash<\/i> (\u96ea\u5d29 xu\u011bb\u0113ng), in which humans interact with each other as avatars and with software.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The word has been a top trending term on Chinese social media, and in entrepreneur and investor circles, since late October, when Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg announced the rebranding of Facebook as Meta.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<h3 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><b>Profound changes unseen in a century<\/b><b><br \/><\/b>\u767e\u5e74\u672a\u6709\u4e4b\u5927\u53d8\u5c40 b\u01ceini\u00e1n w\u00e8iy\u01d2u zh\u012b d\u00e0bi\u00e0nj\u00fa<\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><i>List: YJ<\/i><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">In December 2017, X\u00ed J\u00ecnp\u00edng \u4e60\u8fd1\u5e73 said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chinanews.com.cn\/gn\/2017\/12-29\/8412268.shtml\">in a speech<\/a>: \u201cLooking at the world, we are facing a major change unseen in a century\u201d (\u653e\u773c\u4e16\u754c\uff0c\u6211\u4eec\u9762\u5bf9\u7684\u662f\u767e\u5e74\u672a\u6709\u4e4b\u5927\u53d8\u5c40). He has used the phrase <a href=\"https:\/\/supchina.com\/2019\/06\/22\/u-s-targets-chinese-supercomputing-amd-intel-and-nvidia-to-lose-business\/\">several<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/supchina.com\/2020\/08\/25\/xi-says-china-must-develop-domestic-market-and-tech-to-withstand-external-shocks\/\">times<\/a> since then to emphasize that China faces both unprecedented opportunities and unprecedented challenges.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The sense of an enormous transformation was echoed in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/09\/09\/world\/asia\/china-li-guangman.html\">essay that was widely republished by state media<\/a> in August titled \u201cEveryone can sense that a profound transformation is underway!\u201d (\u6bcf\u4e2a\u4eba\u90fd\u80fd\u611f\u53d7\u5230\uff0c\u4e00\u573a\u6df1\u523b\u7684\u53d8\u9769\u6b63\u5728\u8fdb\u884c!).<\/p>\r\n<h3 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><b>Chicken babies<\/b><b><br \/><\/b>\u9e21\u5a03 j\u012b w\u00e1<\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><i>List: YJ<\/i><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">In recent years, the term \u201cchicken baby\u201d (\u9e21\u5a03 j\u012bw\u00e1) has become popular in China, with the increase of obsessive middle-class Chinese parents in megacities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou wanting, and competing fiercely for, the best for their kids.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u201cChicken\u201d comes from the colloquial expression d\u01cej\u012bxi\u011b \u6253\u9e21\u8840, which translates literally to \u201cinject chicken blood.\u201d <a href=\"http:\/\/laodanwei.org\/wp\/health-care-and-pharmaceuticals\/chicken_blood_injections.php\">Chicken blood treatment<\/a> was a fad during the Cultural Revolution, mostly in the countryside. People waited in line, rooster in hand, to receive fresh chicken blood \u2014 the cure-all for countless ills, from baldness to infertility to cancer. It was allegedly a great victory for the people, not so much for young roosters. Once the golden age for health gurus passed, the madness over chicken blood subsided \u2014 but the phrase survived as an expression to refer to agitation or hyperactivity.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Nowadays, d\u01cej\u012bxu\u00e8 is a popular term that can mean giving yourself a pickup, motivating yourself or someone else, or plucking up the courage to do something you\u2019d rather not.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">For parents and their kids, injecting chicken\u2019s blood is to muster the courage to take the competitive pressures of schooling in China.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u201cKids in the past had extracurriculars as well, but it didn\u2019t serve any purpose except to cultivate hobbies or fun,\u201d said Lansing Jia, a high school teacher in Shanghai. \u201cToday, chicken babies play chess to improve cognitive skills, participate in Math Olympiad for logical reasoning, sports to prevent myopia\u2026Everything has to serve one purpose: to be good at school.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><i>The above is excerpted from a SupChina article by Han Chang published in June this year: <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/supchina.com\/2021\/06\/22\/chicken-parenting-is-chinas-helicopter-parenting-on-steroids\/\"><i>Chicken parenting is China\u2019s helicopter parenting on steroids<\/i><\/a><i>.<\/i><\/p>\r\n<h3 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><b>We are ready to build a powerful China<\/b><b><br \/><\/b>\u5f3a\u56fd\u6709\u6211 qi\u00e1nggu\u00f3 y\u01d2u w\u01d2<\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><i>List: CNLR<\/i><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u201cWe are ready to build a powerful China\u201d is the second part of a solemn oath taken by the students who attended the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) held at Tiananmen Square on July 1 this year.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The full oath is \u201cPlease rest assured, we are ready to build a powerful China\u201d (\u8bf7\u515a\u653e\u5fc3\uff0c\u5f3a\u56fd\u6709\u6211 q\u01d0ng d\u01ceng f\u00e0ngx\u012bn, qi\u00e1nggu\u00f3 y\u01d2u w\u01d2), which could be translated literally as \u201cParty, please don\u2019t worry, a strong country has me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The phrase is supposed to capture the aspiration, courage, and confidence of the younger generation in the CCP and China\u2019s future.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<h3 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><b>Wild consumption<\/b><b><br \/><\/b>\u91ce\u6027\u6d88\u8d39 y\u011bx\u00ecng xi\u0101of\u00e8i<\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><i>List: YJ<\/i><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">In July 2021, there was a flood in Henan Province that killed 71 people and displaced hundreds of thousands. A struggling Chinese sports clothing brand, Erke, <a href=\"https:\/\/supchina.com\/2021\/07\/27\/flood-relief-donation-lifts-struggling-chinese-brand-out-of-financial-funk\/\">announced that it would donate 50 million yuan<\/a> ($7.68 million) worth of supplies for disaster relief.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Yaowen Jiaozi says that internet users \u201cwere deeply moved\u2026and poured into the brand\u2019s live broadcast room to place orders to express their support for the caring company. The anchor urged everyone to consume rationally, while internet users shouted, \u2018I want wild consumption!\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Although \u91ce\u6027 y\u011bx\u00ecng \u201crefers to an unruly temperament, and \u2018wild consumption\u2019 means unconstrained consumption,\u201d Yaowen Jiaozi reassures readers that the phrase is actually good for society because it encourages young people to \u201cdo charity without asking for rewards,\u201d and it is also part of a trend of domestic brands becoming popular (\u56fd\u6f6e gu\u00f3 ch\u00e1o).<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The opposite of \u201cwild consumption\u201d is \u201crational consumption\u201d \u7406\u6027\u6d88\u8d39 l\u01d0x\u00ecng xi\u0101of\u00e8i. This phrase was repeated constantly by livestream ecommerce celebrities during the Double 11 shopping festival last month, reminding their fans to shop but not go wild.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<h3 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><b><i>The Age of Awakening<\/i><\/b><b><br \/><\/b>\u89c9\u9192\u5e74\u4ee3 ju\u00e9x\u01d0ng ni\u00e1nd\u00e0i\u00a0<\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><i>List: CNLR<\/i><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><i>The Age of Awakening<\/i> is a <a href=\"https:\/\/supchina.com\/2021\/09\/14\/age-of-awakening-chinese-revolutionary-drama\/\">historical drama series and one of this year\u2019s biggest TV hits in China<\/a>. Produced to accompany the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the drama tells the story of the group of intellectuals based around Peking University that would become key founding members of the Chinese Communist Party.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">It is notable for its popular, commercial success, which previous propaganda shows have failed to achieve.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<h3 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><b>Xiaokang \/ moderately prosperous <\/b><b><br \/><\/b>\u5c0f\u5eb7 xi\u01ceok\u0101ng<\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><i>List: YJ<\/i><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Moderately prosperous society, basically prosperous society, or xiaokang society (\u5c0f\u5eb7\u793e\u4f1a xi\u01ceok\u0101ng sh\u00e8hu\u00ec) is an old Chinese term that was introduced back into popular use by D\u00e8ng Xi\u01ceop\u00edng \u9093\u5c0f\u5e73 in 1979 as a goal of China\u2019s \u201cFour Modernizations.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The goal was endorsed by subsequent leaders Ji\u0101ng Z\u00e9m\u00edn \u6c5f\u6cfd\u6c11 and H\u00fa J\u01d0nt\u0101o \u80e1\u9526\u6d9b.Now under X\u00ed J\u00ecnp\u00edng \u4e60\u8fd1\u5e73, Jiaowen Yaozi notes, at the celebrations for the centenary of the founding of the CCP, Xi <a href=\"http:\/\/www.xinhuanet.com\/politics\/leaders\/2021-07\/03\/c_1127620307.htm\">solemnly declared<\/a> that China, under his watch, has built a \u201cxiaokang society in an all-round way.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<h3 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><b>A quest to take on the challenges of a generation <\/b><b><br \/><\/b>\u8d76\u8003 g\u01cenk\u01ceo<\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><i>List: YJ<\/i><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">G\u01cenk\u01ceo meant to take the examinations to enter the civil service system in Imperial China. (Here, \u8d76 g\u01cen means to travel a long distance to take the exam, not to rush to get there, which the character can also mean.)\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">This system, based on merit (or at least test-taking ability), was how candidates were selected for the state bureaucracy. Starting during the mid-Tang dynasty (618\u2013907), it became dominant during the Song dynasty (960\u20131279) and lasted until it was abolished in the late Qing dynasty reforms in 1905.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">In March 1949, M\u00e1o Z\u00e9d\u014dng \u6bdb\u6cfd\u4e1c reportedly said: \u201cToday is the day we enter Beijing and take the national examination\u201d (\u4eca\u5929\u662f\u8fdb\u4eac\u8d76\u8003\u7684\u65e5\u5b50) at Xibaipo \u897f\u67cf\u5761, a township in Hebei Province, where the Communist Party\u2019s army gathered its forces before the final assault on Beijing in 1949.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">In July 2013, Xi Jinping traveled to X\u012bb\u01ceip\u014d \u897f\u67cf\u5761, where he recalled Mao\u2019s words, saying that although China had made great strides, and \u201cstood up\u201d in the intervening 60 years, there were still great challenges on the road ahead (\u8d76\u8003\u4e4b\u8def g\u01cenk\u01ceo zh\u012bl\u00f9) that were far from over. In his speech for the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CCP on July 1 this year, Xi again spoke of the need to maintain the spirit (\u8d76\u8003\u4e4b\u5fc3 g\u01cenk\u01ceo zh\u012bx\u012bn, or \u8d76\u8003\u7cbe\u795e g\u01cenk\u01ceo j\u012bngsh\u00e9n) of taking on \u201ctests\u201d facing the next generation.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<h3 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><b>Peak carbon and carbon neutral<\/b><b><br \/><\/b>\u78b3\u8fbe\u5cf0\uff0c\u78b3\u4e2d\u548c t\u00e0nd\u00e1f\u0113ng, t\u00e0nzh\u014dngh\u00e9<\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><i>List: YJ<\/i><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">In September 2020, at the UN General Assembly, Xi Jinping spoke about China\u2019s ambitious targets of hitting peak carbon by 2030, and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Although Beijing\u2019s commitment to achieving carbon neutrality, including in its Belt and Road investments abroad, is sometimes questioned, the Chinese government does not question the science behind climate change, rhetorically at least, and is completely on board to switch moves to cut carbon emissions.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">T\u00e0nd\u00e1f\u0113ng and t\u00e0nzh\u014dngh\u00e9, as with any top-down but still quite vague policy framework, have also been trending words among entrepreneurs and investors in China looking for the next big opportunity.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<h3 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><b>The GOAT (greatest of all time)<\/b><\/h3>\r\n<h3 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">YYDS\u00a0<\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><i>List: CNLR<\/i><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">YYDS is an acronym for the Chinese phrase \u201ceternal god\u201d (\u6c38\u8fdc\u7684\u795e y\u01d2ngyu\u01cen de sh\u00e9n). Internet users use it to praise their favorite athletes or celebrities in a way similar to the American slang \u201cGOAT\u201d (Greatest of All Time).\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">YYDS was a trending word on social media during the Tokyo Olympics this summer, celebrating the wins of Team China, including the country\u2019s first gold won by Y\u00e1ng Qi\u00e0n \u6768\u5029, the three stunning \u201cperfect 10\u201d dives of 14-year-old Qu\u00e1n H\u00f3ngch\u00e1n \u5168\u7ea2\u5a75, and the sprinting performance of S\u016b B\u01d0ngti\u0101n \u82cf\u70b3\u6dfb (a.k.a. \u201cGod Su\u201d \u82cf\u795e s\u016b sh\u00e9n).\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">YYDS is not liked by some commentators as it\u2019s seen as not real Chinese.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Confusingly, YYDS can also mean \u201cforever single\u201d (\u6c38\u8fdc\u5355\u8eab y\u01d2ngyu\u01cen d\u0101nsh\u0113n) in internet slang, so context is important!<\/p>\r\n<h3 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><b>Abso absolutely<\/b><b><br \/><\/b>\u7edd\u7edd\u5b50 ju\u00e9ju\u00e9zi<\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><i>List: CNLR<\/i><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The neologism \u7edd\u7edd\u5b50 ju\u00e9ju\u00e9zi became a popular trending comment during the Chinese boy band talent show <i>CHUANG 2021<\/i> (\u521b\u9020\u84252021 chu\u00e0ngz\u00e0o y\u00edng \u00e8r l\u00edng \u00e8r y\u012b), which aired in China between February and April this year.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Produced by Tencent, the reality show pitted 90 male contestants from China and other countries against each other, with the 11 finalists forming the boy band group INTO1.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The word can be used to express admiration and awe, but it can also be used to mean that something is unbelievably awful, depending on the context.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<h3 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><b>It doesn\u2019t hurt, but it\u2019s really embarrassing\u00a0 <\/b><b><br \/><\/b>\u4f24\u5bb3\u6027\u4e0d\u9ad8\uff0c\u4fae\u8fb1\u6027\u6781\u5f3a sh\u0101ngh\u00e0i x\u00ecng b\u00f9 g\u0101o, w\u01d4r\u01d4 x\u00ecng j\u00ed qi\u00e1ng<\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><i>List: CNLR<\/i><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u201cNot that harmful but extremely embarrassing\u201d started life early in 2021 as a comment on a Douyin clip of two men and one woman eating a hot pot together. The comment described the woman, sitting in the middle, who appears to be left out as the other two affectionately pass food to each other with their chopsticks.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The phrase has come to mean a situation that appears benign at first but is actually really bad.<\/p>\r\n<h3 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><b>I didn\u2019t get it, but I was in awe <\/b><b><br \/><\/b>\u6211\u770b\u4e0d\u61c2\uff0c\u4f46\u6211\u5927\u53d7\u9707\u64bc w\u01d2 k\u00e0n b\u00f9d\u01d2ng, d\u00e0n w\u01d2 d\u00e0sh\u00f2u zh\u00e8nh\u00e0n<\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><i>List: CNLR<\/i><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u201cI didn\u2019t get it, but I was in awe\u201d is how Taiwanese-American film director Ang Lee (\u674e\u5b89 L\u01d0 \u0100n) described his reaction when watching the 1960 movie <i>The Virgin Spring<\/i> in an interview for a 2013 documentary about its director, Ingmar Bergman.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">In the documentary <i>Trespassing Bergman<\/i>, a group of filmmakers, including Ang, visit Bergman\u2019s house on the remote Swedish island of Faro to discuss his legacy.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The phrase has crossed over into mainstream use in China, describing confusion, shock, or being totally lost.<\/p>\r\n<p>From these combined lists, we can see that language matters.\u00a0 It reflects what is going on in society, but it also influences what is going on in society.\u00a0 Keep an eye and an ear on language change, and you'll have a fairly good idea of what has been happening, is happening, and will be happening in the near future.<\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<p><b>Selected readings<\/b><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>\"<a title=\"Permanent link to Chinese Buzzwords of the year 2019:  plagiarism \/ stealing a shtick\" href=\"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=45700\" rel=\"bookmark\">Chinese Buzzwords of the year 2019: plagiarism \/ stealing a shtick<\/a>\" (1\/8\/20)<\/li>\r\n<li>\"<a title=\"Permanent link to \" href=\"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=39690\" rel=\"bookmark\">'Skr', the latest Chinese buzzword<\/a>\" (8\/21\/18)<\/li>\r\n<li>\"<a title=\"Permanent link to Chinese pentaglot rap\" href=\"http:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=35963\">Chinese pentaglot rap<\/a>\u00a0\" (12\/28\/17)<\/li>\r\n<li>\"<a title=\"Permanent link to Greasiness, awkwardness, slothfulness, despondency \u2014 Chinese memes of the year\" href=\"http:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=35994\" rel=\"bookmark\">Greasiness, awkwardness, slothfulness, despondency \u2014 Chinese memes of the year<\/a>\" (12\/31\/17)<\/li>\r\n<li>\"<a title=\"Permanent link to Duang\" href=\"http:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=17913\" rel=\"bookmark\">Duang<\/a>\" (3\/1\/15)<\/li>\r\n<li>\"<a title=\"Permanent link to More on \" href=\"http:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=18265\" rel=\"bookmark\">More on 'duang'<\/a>\" (3\/19\/15)<\/li>\r\n<li>\"<a title=\"Permanent link to \" href=\"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=41940\" rel=\"bookmark\">'Rondle it!'<\/a>\" (2\/25\/19)<\/li>\r\n<li>\"<a title=\"Permanent link to Chicken baby\" href=\"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=43717\" rel=\"bookmark\">Chicken baby<\/a>\" (7\/20\/19)<\/li>\r\n<li>\"<a title=\"Permanent link to \" href=\"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=49709\" rel=\"bookmark\">'Involution', 'working man', and 'Versailles literature': memes of embitterment<\/a>\"<\/li>\r\n<li>\"<a title=\"Permanent link to Involution, part 2\" href=\"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=49750\" rel=\"bookmark\">Involution, part 2<\/a>\" (12\/25\/20)<\/li>\r\n<li>\"<a title=\"Permanent link to Lying flat\" href=\"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=51123\" rel=\"bookmark\">'Lying flat' and 'Involution': passive-aggressive resistance<\/a>\" (6\/4\/21)<\/li>\r\n<li>\"<a title=\"Permanent link to \" href=\"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=51294\" rel=\"bookmark\">'Lying flat' and 'Buddha whatever' (part 2)<\/a>\" (6\/24\/21)<\/li>\r\n<li>\"<a title=\"Permanent link to Tribes\" href=\"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=18108\" rel=\"bookmark\">Tribes<\/a>\" (3\/10\/15)<\/li>\r\n<li>\"<a title=\"Permanent link to All-purpose word for \" href=\"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=52312\" rel=\"bookmark\">All-purpose word for 'glamorous woman'<\/a>\" (10\/16\/21)<\/li>\r\n<li>\"<a title=\"Permanent link to Writing Mandarin phrases with Roman letter acronyms\" href=\"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=52339\" rel=\"bookmark\">Writing Mandarin phrases with Roman letter acronyms<\/a>\" (10\/24\/21) &#8212; yyds<\/li>\r\n<li>\"<a title=\"Permanent link to The mind-numbing official-speak of the CCP\" href=\"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=34281\" rel=\"bookmark\">The mind-numbing official-speak of the CCP<\/a>\" (8\/29\/17)<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<p>[Thanks to Mark Metcalf and Don Keyser]<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you want to get an idea of what preoccupies Chinese people, one good way is to take a gander at current lingo. SupChina provides a convenient compilation from two authoritative sources.\u00a0 In the past, I've been disappointed by many Chinese words of the year lists because they seemed to have been blatantly chosen by [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[82,255,329,190,250,310],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-idioms","category-jargon","category-memes","category-neologisms","category-slang","category-word-of-the-year"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=52978"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52978\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52994,"href":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52978\/revisions\/52994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=52978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=52978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=52978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}