Every year the youth word of the year is voted on. When it comes to this year’s winner, many people probably think of the cartoon character of the same name.
Munich – “Lost”, “Cringe” and “Smash” – these were the youth words of the past few years. The youth word of the year 2023 has now been determined. “Goofy” ultimately took first place in the Langenscheidt publishing house’s voting.
“Goofy” is the youth word of the year – the publisher has recorded the highest voter turnout to date
“Goofy” won a total of 39 percent of the votes. The result was announced live at the Frankfurt Book Fair on Sunday. According to the publisher, participation in this year’s vote was higher than ever before. It was in the high six-figure range.
These ten words were available to choose from:
- On lock
- Can he do that?
- Digga(h)
- goofy
- guy
- NPC
- Rizz
- Side eye
- Slay
- Yolo
The term “goofy” comes from English and describes a strange or clumsy person or strange behavior. This is easy to remember because the Disney cartoon character of the same name is pretty much the epitome of what this word means.
The term “side eye” came in second place. “NPC” secured third place. That these three terms are the favorites for the youth word 2023had been known since September.
Some youth words enter common language usage
Sometimes youth words manage to be more than just a trend. Some of them come back after a while, like the word “Yolo” this year. This was very popular a few years ago. Other words, such as “cringe,” even make the leap from youth language into common usage. At the latest, it’s good if you know exactly what that means.
It is no coincidence that “cringe” has made this leap, says Petra Schulz, professor of German as a second language at the Goethe University in Frankfurt. She says: “The term ‘cringe’ caught on because it filled a lexical gap.” (sp)
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