Top 10 online phrases of 2021 revealed... Do you know what they mean?
The top 10 online phrases for 2021 have been announced by China's language resources monitoring and research center.
The annual release offers insight into societal changes during the year.
As the phrases are mostly used by youngsters, they also reflect their attitude toward topical events.
The buzzwords come from a wide range of fields, including historical scenes, national policies, film and television dramas, and online slang.
A swathe of popular Internet users donated their brainwaves which refreshed the culture and indicated the state of China's Internet in 2021.
For example, "YYDS," literally meaning "eternal God," is an acronym of a four-word pinyin term "Yong Yuan De Shen" and an expression which does not belong to any kind of language.
Originating from the eSports community, it used to be a niche phrase but it now can be found on almost all online platforms and has entered mainstream media.
YYDS, the pinyin abbreviation of Chinese "永远滴神"
YYDS originated from eSports player Shiny Ruo when he shouted out "Uzi, 永远滴神!" to his idol Uzi, a retired Legend of League player.
The expression, literally meaning "forever the God," illustrates one's feeling when they find something or someone godlike, awesome, and exceptional. The equivalent in the English-speaking context is GOAT, the abbreviation of "the greatest of all time."
The Chinese delegation to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games is praised to be "YYDS."
Ge Shuang, 28, often uses "YYDS" in her daily life.
"A recent occasion happened when I was watching a variety show about doctors," she told Shanghai Daily. "A scene that moved me involved a PowerPoint made by a female doctor, Liu Chang, that showed the analysis and treatment of a rare disease."
Rare diseases are those that affect a small percentage of the population. They often result in serious health conditions and may require lifelong treatment. "Even for these small groups of people, the Chinese doctors never give up treating them," said Ge.
The drugs used to treat such rare diseases used to cost 40,000 yuan (US$6,284) to 50,000 yuan per bottle, a price that could be reduced to 20,000 to 30,000 yuan with commercial insurance. But it's still a huge burden on a family.
"Thankfully, our country has included some costly drugs in the medical insurance cover. And that touches me. I feel that the country is always ensuring the rights of health and life for its people and have to say 'China YYDS!'"
破防 Something that has breached my defenses, or "this really got me!"
The phrase originally meant that a physical defense has been broken or breached, normally in a game or sporting event. In the Internet context, it can also mean someone has watched something so moving that it broke their psychological defense.
破防了("Po Fang Le")is the Bullet Comment of the Year at video-sharing site bilibili.com.
Another term, "Po Fang," meaning breaking down defenses, is also originally from gaming. Gamers use it when they are attacked and their defenses have been broken.
Now it has become a catch phrase that young people use to express the sentiment that something has "touched" them and made them feel overwhelmed. Similar phrase "Po Fang Le" ("le" indicates the completion of an action) has been selected as online video platform Bilibili's 2021 Bullet Comment of the Year.
It can be applied to different circumstances, such as the late agronomist Yuan Longping's dream about a successful large-scale cultivation of a hybrid rice, Chinese athletes winning gold metals at the Tokyo Olympics and a first-day-at-work doctor spending six hours kneeling on the ground to treat victims of the Henan flooding.
It can also be used when a person suffering from overwork exhaustion receives a parents' warm greeting.
躺平 Lying flat
To "lie flat" is a term to describe young people giving up the rat race and doing just the bare minimum to get by. This mentality is a way for young people to relieve stress and adjust their mindset.
Young people use "lying flat" to show their mentality of giving up on ambition and doing just the minimum to get by.
But unlike the classics, the Internet language can die rapidly. People remember poems of the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), but maybe they can't remember the online phrases of five years ago.
It is still meaningful, however, to record online phrases because they reflect people's stories and emotions at different moments. Sometimes different people can have different views of one phrase.
Ye Xin, 30, who has been a Netizen for 14 years and a gamer for 22 years, told Shanghai Daily that among 10 phrases, the one he uses most frequently is "Tang Ping," or lying flat. It refers to a person who surrenders under increased pressure and gives up fighting.
"As a post-1990 single 'corporate slave,' I face the deadlines set by my boss at work and being urged by my parents to get married in life. So every day, I give myself a short period of time to 'lie flat,' keep away from work and 'empty myself'," he said.
"With the time spent 'lying flat,' I can adjust myself to the best condition and make a plan for the next day," Ye said.
"So my understanding of this term is that it doesn't mean one avoids or gives up the current situation in his or her life. Instead, it indicates that one can adjust him or herself, set a goal and save energy for it, so that he or she can start a new journey."
觉醒年代 The Age of Awakening
"The Age of Awakening" is a critically-acclaimed TV drama revolving around Chen Duxiu and other co-founders of the Communist Party of China. It was China's most popular film or TV show in the first half of 2021, according to review platform Douban.
A poster of TV drama "The Age of Awakening"
双减 Double reduction
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Education issued a series of "double reduction" policies in order to ease excessive homework and off-campus tutoring for primary and middle school students.
Students do calisthenics in a Beijing primary school in 2020.
元宇宙 Metaverse
The future integration of the Internet, gaming, virtual reality, digital artwork, and others to establish "a universe."
绝绝子 Awesome, marvelous, amazing, brilliant
The phrase was first used in online variety shows to praise contestants and root for them. It can mean awesome, marvelous, amazing, brilliant, splendid, etc.
伤害性不高,侮辱性极强 Not harmful, but utterly embarrassing
A phrase used by Netizens to tease something that was utterly embarrassing although not substantially harmful.
Chinese director Ang Lee says: "I don't understand it. But I was shocked." in the documentary film.
我看不懂,但我大受震撼 "I don't understand it, but I was shocked."
A quote from Chinese director Ang Lee in the documentary film "Trespassing Bergman." Lee said: "I don't understand it, but I was shocked by it." It is used by Netizens to express disbelief, confusion, and shock about something.
强国有我 Young people are committed to building a stronger China
This was an oath taken by young students at the ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China at Tian'anmen Square. It means that the Party can be assured that young people are committing to building a stronger China.
Students perform at the ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China at Tian'anmen Square in Beijing on July 1, 2021.
