Chinese magazine Yao Wen Jiao Zi (literally meaning "Biting Words") on Wednesday released the Top 10 Words of the Year on social media.
A community of shared future
The phrase originates from the term "a community with shared future for mankind" that is frequently seen in speeches of Chinese leaders since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
The building of "a community with shared future for mankind" has drawn the attention of all countries and gained global recognition. It has become an international consensus for the reform of the global governance system and the building of a new type of international relations.
Koi fish
Koi fish, a common carp, represents good luck and wishes for a happy life. Chinese people's craze has driven millions to repost koi-related tweets in hopes of attaining wealth and better health.
It started with an online lottery scheme sponsored by Alipay mobile payment system in October. "Xinxiaodai," a 26-year-old IT engineer based in Beijing, who won the lottery, was dubbed as the "national koi." The tradition continues on the internet, as "reposting koi" has become a trend on Weibo.
Dian Xiaoer
The literal meaning of Dian Xiaoer refers waiters who worked at a restaurant or inn. But it now refers to officials or governmental departments who handle economic development and offer sound service for companies.
Officials from the Shanghai stressed that "the government should strive to do a good job as a Dian Xiaoer." The spirit of "Dian Xiaoer" is the new role of government departments and cadres, and is a concrete measure to comprehensively deepen the reform in the new era.
Going by the book
The term refers to being "standard," "classic" and "perfect" in English. It started in May in a video, which records a Shanghai police who acted by the book to forcibly demand a driver's license.
Since the video went viral on social media, it has been frequently used to describe something done rather perfectly, for example, "a performance by the book" and "a design by the book." On many occasions, the term was used to depict something was done perfectly wrong, such as "a deception by the book."
Official announcement
The phrase came when Chinese actress Zhao Liying announced that she has married Chinese actor Feng Shaofeng by posting her marriage certificate on her Sina Weibo account on October 16 with the caption "official announcement."
Since then, the term was largely use by media or organizations to announce official information. The word "official" refers to government but it is meant to stress the authenticity of the released information when being used by non-official organs.
Confirmed by eyes
Picked from the lyric of a song by Singaporean singer JJ Lin, the term means "checked" and "examined," but it not necessarily means gazing into someone's eyes.
The phrase was used by net users during the Spring Festival to complain about the small Red Envelop that people from Guangdong Province received. The frequent use of the term demonstrates people's willingness to make their information confirmed or identified.
Withdraw from a group
Group refers to groupchat in Chinese social media. But it has been used in a broader context politically. Since Donald Trump took office as U.S. President, the U.S. has withdrawn from several international organizations, such as Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement TPP, Paris Agreement, Universal Postal Union and UNESCO.
Buddha-like
The term originated from Japan by a magazine to describe Buddha-like males who live alone and focus on their own hobbies. The term became popular in December 2017 when an article depicting the Buddha-like lifestyle of the first batch of people born after the 1990s.
Being Buddha-like denotes a lifestyle of being plain, does not care about winning, losing or anything and taking things as they are. The adjective can combine with almost any noun, such as Buddha-like teens, Buddha-like passenger, Buddha-like parents or Buddha-like shopping. The wide use of the term shows the passive and listless attitude of teenagers.
Giant infant
Adults who are self-centered, disobey rules and overact when things go beyond their expectations are called giant infants. Their irrational behavior always results in disastrous outcomes.
For example, in August, a man pretended to be disabled to occupy another passenger's window seat on a Beijing-bound high-speed train. His behavior drew fierce criticism online.
Argumentative person
The word represents someone who argues for the sake of arguing. People who are dubbed as a "Gang Jing" in Chinese take to the internet to argue or express dissent.
