A grim 2020: COVID-19 reshapes our language as well as our life
Print Edition
The top 10 Chinese buzzwords have been announced by Yao Wen Jiao Zi, a monthly periodical of Chinese culture and language.
鈥淭he year 2020 has been a rough year due to COVID-19, and this year鈥檚 list of 10 Chinese buzzwords has been largely influenced by the fight against the pandemic, the country鈥檚 economic recovery, and people鈥檚 lives amid COVID-19,鈥 says the periodical.
Its top words:
1. People first, life first (浜烘皯鑷充笂锛岀敓鍛借嚦涓)
The COVID-19 pandemic has posed grave dangers to lives and health, and almost everyone was mobilized to join the fight. 鈥淧eople first, life first, and they should be secured at all costs,鈥 President Xi Jinping announced at the Third Session of the Thirteenth National People鈥檚 Congress in May.
2. Heroes in harm鈥檚 way (閫嗚鑰)
閫嗚鑰 literally means to go the opposite direction, the road less traveled. In 2020, 閫嗚鑰 refers to the brave frontline medical workers, disease control personnel, police officers and social workers who put themselves in great danger to save others. The front-line heroes showed their grit and fearlessness, and some even died.
3. Spirited (椋)
椋 was originally used to describe the sound wind makes. In a modern context, it means someone who is attractive, neat and determined, especially women. The word grabs everyone鈥檚 attention, for about half of the front-line doctors and more than 90 percent of the nurses in the fight against COVID-19 are women.
4. Rising wave (鍚庢氮)
The word comes from a Chinese saying 鈥淎s in the Yangtze River waves urge waves, the new generation will excel the old.鈥 But rising wave only became a buzzword when a video starring actor He Bin went viral on China鈥檚 video-sharing platform Bilibili. In the video, He delivers a speech praising the younger generation, those born after the 90s and 2000s in China, describing them as the rising wave.
5. Godly beast(绁炲吔)
Mythological creatures in Chinese folklore, or godly beast literally. In the first half of 2020, most schools in China were closed due to COVID-19, resulting in the children having classes at home. To their parents鈥 dismay, these kids were not as disciplined as they were at school. And many parents were not prepared for having to deal with their children for this extended period.
6. Livestreaming sales (鐩存挱甯﹁揣)
Livestreaming has taken China by storm. It has relieved many physical stores of the burden of fewer customers, and overstocked inventory amid COVID-19. Many celebrities and influencers have been able to achieve staggering sales.
7. Dual circulation (鍙屽惊鐜)
鈥楧ual circulation鈥 refers to a development strategy in which the domestic economic cycle plays a leading role while the international economic cycle remains its extension and supplementary.
8. Laborer (鎵撳伐浜)
鎵撳伐浜 originally meant migrant workers or someone who does physical work. It became a widely-used self-mocking term among office workers, employees and physical laborers alike after a user posted a series of short videos to a video-sharing app, Kuaishou, in which the user called himself and his followers laborers to implore them to take their jobs more seriously.
9. Involution (鍐呭嵎)
This obscure word used by anthropologists to describe the development hiatus of a society or a culture, usually due to irrational internal competition. In the second half of 2020, a picture of a man using his laptop while cycling suddenly become Internet-famous.
10. Versailles literature (鍑″皵璧涙枃瀛)
A style of speech and writing on social media seemingly modest, self-critical, meant to draw attention to one鈥檚 admirable qualities or achievements. So, a person uses Versailles literature to humblebrag. It got its name from a Japanese manga series, The Rose of Versailles, featuring the luxury lifestyle of 18th century French aristocrats.
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