Russia's “Vibe” To Japan's "Inappropriate" — A World Tour Of Words Of The Year

PARIS — Taking the world's pulse, as it is customary to do when nearing the end of the year, can assume several shapes and forms. We can, for instance, look at the best or most poignant photographs taken this year, or remember the most striking videos, look at the most popular Google searches, etc.

But there's another, maybe less traditional way of gauging our planet's mood as 2024 draws to a close — and that is as international as pictures, videos and Google searches: words of the year.

We may tend to think of this competition of sorts as being mostly an Anglo-Saxon affair (hello, Merriam-Webster's and Oxford Dictionary), but many countries, in many different languages, take the time to establish, each year, which has or have been the words of particular interest over the past 12 months.

Let’s see how the rest of the world tried to make sense of this rollercoaster year — one word at a time.

Dutch linguistic battleground

Of course, in this messy world of ours, even seemingly innocuous linguistic selections have become battlegrounds: In the Netherlands, the Van Dale dictionary company scrapped its public vote for word of the year after social media erupted over its shortlist.

With entries like pieperaanval (a nod to the pager explosions in Lebanon) and transitiespijt (regret over transitioning genders), the Dutch contest turned into a polarizing spectacle. Van Dale publishing house released a statement that said the election had been “kidnapped,” and the messages surrounding these words “has turned into a very unpleasant discussion, far removed from the aims of the election.”

Instead of the usual vote, Van Dale made the executive decision to fall back on Merriam-Webster’s 2024 Word of the Year and declare polarisatie ("polarization") as the winner, ironically capturing not just the controversy but also the spirit of our divided times.

Brain rot and brat in the UK

Oxford University Press chose "brain rot" to represent 2024, a word “used to capture concerns about the impact of consuming excessive amounts of low-quality online content,” especially on social media. Brain rot saw an increase in usage frequency by 230% between 2023 and 2024. Initially gaining traction on TikTok and now being used in mainstream journalism, the phrase encapsulates greater concerns of content overconsumption in the digital age.

Cambridge Dictionary, in the meantime, took a more elusive approach to their word of the year, "manifest." From vision boards to social media trends, to manifest is all about the power of positive thinking — or at least trying to convince the universe to cooperate. This unproven idea grew out of a 100-year-old spiritual philosophy movement where you imagine achieving something you want, in the belief that doing so will make it more likely to happen. Doctor Sander van der Linden, author of The Psychology of Misinformation and Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Cambridge, said “Manifesting is what psychologists call ‘magical thinking.’’

Finally, Collins Dictionary awarded their word of the year to "brat." Inspired by English singer songwriter Charli XCX’s summer 2024 album, brat transformed into a way of life. Newly defined in 2024 as "characterized by a confident, independent and hedonistic attitude," brat isn’t just a word — it’s a mindset. People around the world used Charli XCX’s songs as an anthem for being unapologetically "you."

Australia embraces enshittification

The Macquarie Dictionary, Australia's oldest dictionary of Australian English chose “enshittification,” a term referring to the “gradual deterioration of a service or product brought about by a reduction in the quality of service provided, especially of an online platform, and as a consequence of profit-seeking.”

This word gained popularity as Australians (and others around the world) noticed the decline in quality of major online platforms. Enshittification encapsulates the frustration many feel about digital platforms that were once simple and reliable but have become riddled with ads, clunky updates and less intuitive designs.

Whether it’s Instagram’s feed being riddled with ads, the new Apple photos update that makes it impossible to find anything or TikTok’s infiltration of TikTok Shop promotions, Australians have officially given a name to the digital decay we all know too well. This is both a warning and a reminder that, sometimes, things just seem to go to sh*t!

Vibes in Russia

More than 400 philologists across Russia voted in the word of the year contest organized by Russian online dictionary Gramota.ru, and chose "Вибе," meaning "vibe," as the winner. Although it’s been used in Russian youth slang for some time, вибе emerged as the top choice, reflecting the evolving cultural lexicon.

Capturing the mood or atmosphere that emanates from a person, place or situation, it can be used to describe anything from a “cool” vibe to a more “tense” or “hostile” one. The word — interestingly, an anglicism — has gained popularity in Russia over recent years; was already familiar in global youth culture, commonly used in social media circles to convey a sense of energy or aura.

Japan's "inappropriate" veering off baseball

Publisher Jiyū Kokumin Sha chose ふてほど (Fute hodo), the nickname of the popular Japanese comedy drama series Futekisetsu nimo hodo ga aru! ("Extremely Inappropriate!"). This year’s winner took most by surprise, as it marked the first time Japan’s most popular buzzword wasn’t linked to baseball — although the main character is the advisor of a baseball team.

Written by screenwriter Kankuro Kudo, the series centers on a typical middle-aged man from Japan’s Showa era, played by Sadao Abe, who travels forward in time to the current Reiwa era. This drama series was one of the big hits this year because instead of portraying the views of the past as backward or the modern era as misguided, the television show strives to show that in all ages the key to mutual understanding is opening up to one another.

Austria's returns to nature

The Society for Austrian German in Graz selected renaturierung, or "renaturation", referring to the process of returning areas — often once used for agriculture or industry — back to their natural state. It’s a process that’s both environmental and political, especially after Austria’s push for a European "Nature Restoration Law".

This word symbolizes the ongoing battle between environmental restoration and political tensions. With renaturierung winning word of the year with 24% of the votes — beating AI favorite ChatGPT — the jury emphasized that it is a “politically highly charged word."

Renaturierung became a hot-button issue due to its connection to Austria’s Environmental Minister, Leonore Gewessler (Green Party), who championed the Nature Restoration Law. The political fallout was immediate, with the ÖVP (Austria’s People’s Party) accusing the law of breaching the constitution, sparking criminal complaints that ultimately went nowhere. So, this word became a symbol of the clash between environmental progress and political resistance.

Germany's turns off traffic light

In Germany, where the ruling Traffic Light coalition collapsed in November, the Association for German Language (GfdS) chose Ampel-Aus, or "traffic light shutdown," as its word of the year. The term uses Ampel (traffic light) to symbolize the coalition’s colorful composition and Aus (end) to signify its dissolution, marked by Chancellor Olaf Scholz dismissing Finance Minister Christian Lindner, followed by the resignation of almost all other FDP cabinet members.

The political drama surrounding the breakup of the Traffic Light coalition dominated German politics in 2024. What makes Ampel-Aus particularly interesting linguistically is the use of ‘"aus’"(out) as a noun, which is a common tabloid style of wordplay.

This phrase not only captured the end of a highly anticipated political alliance but also echoed past German political collapses, like Jamaica-Aus (the collapse of a coalition in 2017 as well as the 2017 German word of the year). It was a bombshell moment that eclipsed other significant news, like the U.S. presidential election outcome, proving just how impactful this political fracture was.

Polarization in the United States

In the United States, Merriam-Webster (aka "America's Most Trusted Dictionary") also chose — like the Dutch publisher Van — the word "polarization," explaining that it means "that we are tending toward the extremes rather than toward the center.”

The choice by the country's oldest dictionary publisher, comes as the U.S. reflects political and social divides like never before. Polarization underscores the intense and pervasive division that has marked political and social life in recent years, particularly following the divisive 2024 U.S. presidential election.

Multilingual Switzerland's four words

In Switzerland, which has four official languages, a team of researchers at Zurich's ZHAW School of Applied Linguistics determined the country's first Word of the Year in German and French in 2017, with Italian being added in 2018 and Romansh in 2019. This year's words were:

• Unterschriften-Bschiss, a German term referring to a political scandal where signatures and identities were falsified in signature collections for political initiatives. This year commercial signature collectors allegedly falsified signatures and identities on petition sheets for initiatives on a large scale. Politicians are calling for measures and the federal government wants to test electronic signature collections. Switzerland needs a sustainable solution here because: Bschiisse gilt nöd (fraud is unacceptable)!

• Cessez-le-feu, a French term meaning "ceasefire", reflecting global discussions, particularly in the context of armed conflicts, such as in the Middle East and Ukraine and Russia. Cessez-le-feu represents the growing international urgency for peace and conflict resolution, focusing on the humanitarian need for ceasefires in conflict zones.

• Non binario, which in Italian refers to non-binary gender identity, and defined by the Oxford dictionary as “denoting, having, or relating to a gender identity that does not conform to traditional binary beliefs about gender, which indicate that all individuals are exclusively male or female.” In Switzerland, there are currently no genders recognized outside of male or female. The Swiss Government rejected the idea of introducing a third gender option or no-gender option for official records in December 2022, arguing that the binary model of gender continued to be “strongly anchored” in Swiss society. Advocates in Switzerland continue to fight for gender acceptance and rights to be implemented into Swiss law.

• Segundimorant.a in Romansh translates “second home” and refers to people who live in Switzerland part-time or own second homes, often contributing to the influx of tourism and gentrification in rural areas. Segundimorant.a points to the social impact of second homes in Swiss communities, which are often associated with changing demographics and economic pressures in rural areas. Switzerland has a Second Homes Act that has been in place since 2015 and stipulates that no new secondary residences may be permitted in municipalities with a proportion of secondary residences over 20 percent to combat over-tourism, crowding and negative economic impact.