2017汉语年度字词盘点揭晓啦！Key word and character for China in 2017

智 'intelligence' and 人类命运共同体 'a shared destiny for mankind' have been chosen as International Chinese Character(汉字) of the Year and International Chinese Wor(词) of the Year, in a competition organized by China's Ministry of Education and the Commercial Press.

昨天,国家语言资源监测与研究中心、商务印书馆等联合主办的“汉语盘点2017”揭晓仪式在京举行。“智”、“人类命运共同体”分别当选年度国际字、国际词。

The month-long competition, which ended on Wednesday, saw two characters and two words chosen by experts(专家) and netizens(网民) to showcase the charm of the Chinese language.

Since 2006, this annual competition has been a recor(记录) of changes(变化) to both the Chinese language(语言) and Chinese society(社会).

Yu Dianli, general manager of the Commercial Press, said that Artificial Intelligence (AI,人工智能) emerged as a key topic(热门话题) in 2017, which is why 'intelligence' was chosen as the International Chinese Character of the Year.

Yu said that the choice of 'a shared destiny for mankind' (人类命运共同体) as the International Chinese Word of the Year was driven by the growing awareness of the Chinese people of their fundamental role(角色) in the international community. Chinese President Xi Jinping mentioned(提到) the word in his keynote speech(演讲) at the United Nations at Geneva on January 18, 2017. The word was also mentioned in Xi's speech at the 19th session of National Congress of the Communist Party of China in October 2017.

Alongside the International Character and International Word of the year, 享 'share' was seleced as the National Character of the Year, and 初心 'original aspiration' was picked as the National Word of the Year.

“享”、“初心”分别当选年度国内字、国内词。

Yu Dianli said that the character 享 'share' is a reflection(反映) on the spirit(精神) of the Chinese people. 初心 'original aspiration' means being true to one's aspirations while at the same time being open to new ideas. The word highlights the intellectual energy of the Chinese people and their determination(决心) and confidence(自信) to follow the path led by the Communist Party.

During the competition, citizens from around China shared their own understandings of the chosen characters and words. When asked about what 初心 'original aspiration' means to her, Beijing citizen Lu Yan said, "Although our dreams of the future may change as we grow, we should always remember our heartfelt aspirations."

词汇 Words:

[zì] 字 character
[cí] 词 word
[yǔ yán] 语言 language
[biàn huà] 变化 change
[shè huì] 社会 society
[jué sè] 角色 role
[jīng shén] 精神 spirit
[jué xīn] 决心 determination
[zì xìn] 自信 confidence
[jì lù] 记录 record
[tí dào] 提到 mention
[fǎn yìng] 反映 reflection

重点词汇 Key word:

字 <名词 n.>

     Word;character
    E.g. Tā yī gè zì yě méi shuō。
    她一个字也没说。
    Not a word fell from her lips.

    Style of calligraphy; style of handwriting
    E.g. Tā xiě yī shǒu piàoliang de zì。
    他写一手漂亮的字。
    He writes elegant characters.

    Name
    E.g. Wǒ zài wénjiàn shàng qiān le zì。
    我在文件上签了字。
    I put my name to the document.