As every year, the list of the ten words or expressions that marked the year the most in Japan as well as the winning word for 2021 were unveiled in December. For non-Japanese people, this list probably helps, in a sense, to familiarize themselves with current societal trends in the country.
Every year, the Jiyû Kokumin-sha publishing house publishes a long-awaited collection of neologisms, entitled “Basics of Contemporary Terminology” (Gendai yô go no kiso chishiki), which contains the words that have marked the year the most in all areas.
Grand Prize of the year: Real Nitro-ryû /Sho-time
Ohtani Shôhei, the star of the Angels baseball team in the United States, is revolutionizing the sport by breaking records in the two positions deemed antagonistic for one and the same player: 46 home runs and 9 victories as a pitcher this year. season. Which earned him the nickname of Real Nitô-ryû (“The true master with two sabers”). When he plays as both a starting pitcher and designated hitter, it is sho-time (“Shô’s moment of spectacle”, playing with the English expression show time) and the next day is the main topic of conversation in town. Always smiling towards the other players, both partners and opponents, respectful towards the referees, he picks up the rubbish in the stadium at the end of the match, not arrogant during the interviews… a pearl!
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Gender byôdô (gender equality)
In February 2021, Mori Yoshiro, chairman of the Tokyo Olympic Games Organizing Committee, caused an uproar by saying that if there were more women on the JOC board, the meetings would never end. He resigned the following month. This reinforced the debate that the issue of “gender equality” was the weak point of Japan, lagging far behind the rest of the world on this issue.
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Ussee wa (the farm !)
The song Ussee wa, by singer Ado was released for streaming in October 2020. Ado was in his third year of high school at the time, and his powerful voice and his lyrics loaded with anger and negative emotions struck a chord with the young of his generation. As of September 2021, the song had been viewed over 200 million times.
Oya gatcha (parents gatcha)
Gatcha Originally designates a gaming machine in which we put a coin, we turn a handle (gatcha is an onomatopoeia which translates the noise made by the handle) to release a plastic capsule in which is a toy, a soft toy, a random figurine in a given category. The term has evolved and today also refers to randomly assigned objects in social games. The expression “gatcha parents” refers to the inability of children to choose their parents. You run into good parents, or bad parents, it’s just a matter of luck. With new variants: “The teacher gatcha” or “the boss gatcha”.
Gon-zeme / bitta bita (daring blow / stack where it is needed)
Skateboarding was an Olympic discipline for the first time this summer at the Tokyo Olympics. During the events broadcast live, certain terms used by a young commentator caused a sensation: “gon-zeme” means tackling a difficult object, a balustrade or stairs, head-on. Bitta bita means “to fall back exactly at the intended spot”. Terms of skateboarder jargon that have proven to be formidably effective in showing all the richness of this sport to people who did not yet know it.
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Jinryû (human logistics)
This is the word linked to the health crisis for 2021. In Japanese, jinryû is opposed to but suryû (“Streams of objects”), a very common word for the movement of commercial commodities, in other words “logistics”. Except that here it is about human displacements. And this year we have seen all kinds of attempts to regulate human logistics, states of emergency, requests to catering companies to no longer serve alcohol, to avoid too strong stations for too long groups, to avoid crossings. , maintain distance …
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Sugimu-rising
In the Paralympic sport of boccia, players must approach their weighted leather balls (red or blue) as close as possible to a white ball called a “jack” or “cochonnet”, on the same principle as pétanque. Sugimura Hidetaka won the individual gold medal and the team bronze medal by performing the difficult “mounted” technique, whereby he places his ball on top of other balls already close to the “jack”. It requires absolutely extraordinary control and precision. The technique has been dubbed Sugimu-rising in homage to his virtuosity.
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Sugimura Hidetaka shows his joy after winning the individual gold medal in boccia at the Tokyo Paralympic Games on 1is September 2021 at the Ariake Gymnastics Center. (Jiji)
Z sedai (generation Z)
The term refers to the generation born between the second half of the 1990s and the 2000s. Today as adolescents or young adults, they were born in a way where the Internet is evident from their early childhood, where the smartphone is the common tool. to search for information or connect with friends. The first “digital natives”.
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Bottakuri danshaku (Baron Scam)
The health crisis has upset the organization of the Tokyo Olympics. The preparation process was rushed when it appeared that it was necessary to go through the will of the President of the IOC, Thomas Bach, that the Washington Post nicknamed “Baron von Ripper-off”. The Japanese translation of this expression has spilled some ink …
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Mokushoku (eat in silence)
The fight against the spread of oral aerosols potentially laden with Covid-19 has forced catering companies to invite their customers to eat (食, SHOCK) en silence moku). A new word mokushoku (黙 食) appeared to describe these conversationless meals.
Banner photo: Baseball player Ohtani Shôhei. Reuters and Jiji)
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