More than a million young people from Germany voted.
The current winner landed in second place last year.
Stuttgart - "Cringe" is the youth word of the year 2021. The term, which stands for the feeling of foreign shame, received 42 percent of the votes in an online voting process among young people, as the Langenscheidt-Verlag announced on Monday in Stuttgart.
An embarrassing situation is called "cringy".
Literally translated, the word means “to wince” or “to shudder”.
“The term is part of the active language of ten to 20 year olds,” explained the publisher, which has been organizing the election since 2008.
This is evident not least from the fact that "cringe" was already in second place last year.
Youth word 2021: "sus" and "sheesh" fall short of first place
In the current vote, “sus” came in second.
The abbreviation for "suspect" or the English "suspect" is used when something appears "suspicious".
Third place went to “sheesh”, an expression that is supposed to express astonishment.
The word is used either before or after a sentence to dramatize what is said.
The youth word was selected in a three-stage online voting process - young people could suggest terms and then vote on their favorites.
Around 1.2 million young people took part in the election.
Langenscheidt procedure for the annual youth word reformed
According to Langenscheidt, this has been completely in the hands of the young people since the last vote.
A publishing committee only ensures that the terms have no discriminatory or sexist reference.
Last year "lost" was chosen as the youth word.
"Lost" literally means "lost".
What is meant by this is someone who is “clueless, insecure or indecisive”.
(AFP / frs)
