German Youth Word of the Year 2018 revealed
November 16, 2018
Every year since 2008, the German publisher Langenscheidt, specializing in dictionaries, has been selecting the "Jugendwort des Jahres" (Youth Word of the Year).
This year's winner is "Ehrenmann/Ehrenfrau," the publishing house revealed on Friday. It's roughly the equivalent of "gentleman" or "lady," but means someone who does something special for you. But it can also have a negative connotation, like someone thinking they are more noble than they actually might be.
Among the candidates were "verbuggt," which means full of mistakes, erring, wrong. Others were "glucose-haltig" (containing glucose, i.e. "sweet"), "Ich küss dein Auge" (I kiss your eye, i.e. "I like you a lot" or "thanks super much"), and "Snackosaurus" (a hoggish person, a glutton, a greedy pig).
More than a million votes
Teens are invited to submit their favorite terms each year, and 30 of them were pre-selected as potential winners. Since the end of August, people have put in their bids online for the top 10 favorites. On the online platform, "verbuggt" was the most popular expression.
The final decision, however, was made by a jury of 21 members, who consisted this year of journalists, bloggers, pupils and even a police inspector.
Some 1.5 million people voted online this year, up half a million from previously, Langenscheidt said. Last year's winner was "I bims," a variation of "Ich bin," or I am.
The gallery above reviews the terms that have been chosen since the beginning of the initiative. You can find out more about the words that were popularized last year by clicking through the gallery below.
als/eg (with dpa)