“Where’s my pookie to yap with?” No, there are no typos in that sentence. Loosely translated, it says: where is my buddy to chat with? These words, together with seven others, have been nominated as Children’s and Teen Word of the Year.
Ketnet received more than 60,000 entries for the Children’s and Teen Word of the Year. “A record,” says Karreweet-anchor Maurane Cheers. Nine words were ultimately nominated (one of which was double, for both Children’s and Teen Words). “From words that have been around for a while, such as alwaysto words they know from Tiktok, such as glamour. Children and teenagers are so different from us, the adults. I am very happy that we are equally welcome in that world. In any case, the winner will be a word that the entire society must get to know.”
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Nominees for Kinderwoord
- Sigma: to be cool and popular. “I really look up to him, he is so sigma”
- Skibidi: has no specific meaning, if something strange or noticeable happens. “What the skibidi, why are you walking into that door now?”
- Mega: the max or a lot. “There’s a new game and from what I’ve seen it’s mega!”
- Glamour: stylish (often extravagant clothes, leopard print or bow ties). “That outfit is glamour!”
- Always: as an exclamation when something goes wrong. “I just couldn’t score just now. Aina!”
No keepers
Say skibidi, yapping of noncha you nothing? “That’s how it should be,” confirms linguistics professor Freek Van de Velde (KU Leuven). “Children’s and teenage words serve to exclude adults. They use the words as code language. These are often words that do not really have a meaning in themselves, but do express an emotion. Other words are a surplus: they were not created out of necessity for a new object or phenomenon, but extra words for things for which we in principle already have terms. And preferably they are words that stand out, so that teenagers and children can indicate that they belong.”
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Nominees for Teen Word
- Noncha: or ‘casual’, chill, carefree, relaxed. “I had to remain noncha.”
- Aura: being cool, someone’s vibe or atmosphere, karma. “How much aura did I lose when I…?”
- Glamour: stylish (often extravagant clothes, leopard print or bow ties). “That outfit is glamour!”
- Yapping: chatting, gossiping, talking about nothing, continuing to talk without silence (can be both positive and negative). “He keeps yapping.”
- Pookie: best friend, sweet, someone you can be yourself with. “I can tell her anything, she really is my pookie.”
Striking: also sigma was nominated and is known to children as another word for ‘cool’. Yet in the internet sphere the word seems to refer mainly to the ‘chief executive’. Controversial influencer Andrew Tate, among others, presents himself as a ‘sigma man’. According to other sources, sigma is also used ironically and is part of a broader internet culture full of satire and exaggeration.
How skibidi of always Its exact origins are not really clear. “These are words that do not necessarily come from another known word. They come from social media such as Tiktok or are launched by influencers, but it is still unclear where exactly those people get those words from. Sometimes certain series are responsible or they come from another language through wanderings to here. What is especially characteristic is that the words only belong to the youth language very temporarily. They are often not keepers and they are gone quickly.”
The winning Children’s and Teen Words will be announced on December 2.
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