Top 10 Chinese buzzwords of 2024 Illustration: Yaowen Jiaozi

Yaowen Jiaozi (whose name literally translates as “biting phrases and chewing characters”), a language and literature magazine based in Shanghai, released 2024's top 10 Chinese buzzwords on Monday. 

The top 10 buzzwords are “Shuzhihua” (meaning digital intelligence),” Zhineng Xiangshan” (meaning intelligence with goodwill or be smart and do good), “Weilai Chanye” (Future industry), “city bu city,” (literally means city or not city, questioning whether the place has the fashionable style and atmosphere of a big city), “Ying Kong” (a hard control), “Shui Lingling de” (used to describe someone energetic or something shiny), “Ban Wei” (the state of being at work), “Songchigan” (a state of relaxation),Yinfa Liliang” (power of the elder generation, or more literally, “Silver hair power”) and “Xiaohai Ge/ Xiaohai Jie” (used to refer to young but talented people). 

Huang Anjing, editor-in-chief of the magazine, noted that in the process of selecting the buzzwords, the magazine’s editors have kept in mind its long-standing principle, that is, these words are supposed to adhere to the evaluation criteria of linguistic "sociological value."

Language mirrors the society, Huang said. This year, the popular words reflect the typical characteristics of our times fairly clearly – the fact that the intelligent era is here, and that the younger generations, especially Generation Z, are stepping into the limelight of our society, while at the same time, the elder generations are becoming the driving forces of social development. More elderly friends are participating in volunteer services, cultural education and other activities, and continue to play an active role in society. 

Global Times