Selected by Germany's youth as their trendiest slang of the year, the word "aura" has been given new meaning by quantifying cool.
The kids talk about "aura points" when defining a person's special energyImage: Alberto Pezzali/AP Photo/picture alliance
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When teens in Germany and around the world use the word "aura," it is not a wholly new take on the original, which is the distinctive atmosphere or essence surrounding a person.
But Generation Z and Generation Alpha have given aura a slightly new twist by using the term as a positive expression of being cool or doing good deeds.
The 2024 German Youth word of the year, which was announced at the Frankfurt Book Fair on Saturday, can also be expressed as "aura points."
"Your aura is the sum of your aura points," explained TikTok teacher of youth slang, Mr Lindsay, in a recent post. "What is the cool energy that [someone] puts off and what is it you could do, or not do, that's going to add or take away from your aura?"
The contemporary use of the term among youth worldwide is said to originate from a 2020 article in The New York Times about star Dutch footballer Virgil Van Dijk: "Solutions Are Expensive. An Aura Is Priceless."
"Aura" subsequently became a buzzword in sport before being adopted in youth parlance. These days it's common to quantify someone's aura.
Germany's youth words of the year since 2010
So smash, cringe and goofy: Teen talk is annually recognized by expert linguists and Langenscheidt publishers. Check out German youth words of the year from this year and years past.
Image: Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection/picture alliance
Goofy
Everyone knows the Walt Disney cartoon anthropomorphic dog who is clumsy and a bit foolish. Young Germans have adopted the term to describe someone who is silly, eccentric or awkward — usually in an affectionate way. It has now been named German Youth Word of the Year 2023.
Image: Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection/picture alliance
2022: Smash
The English verb "smash" was chosen as German Youth Word of the Year 2022. It roughly means "starting something with someone," "picking someone up" or "having sex with someone." It comes from the dating game app "Smash or Pass," where potential partners are either accepted as a "smash" by swiping right or rejected as a "pass" by swiping left, inspired by the dating app Tinder.
Image: ROBIN UTRECHT/picture alliance
2021: Cringe
The English word "cringe" was selected as the German Youth Word of the Year 2021. Just like in English, German teens use it to describe a person or situation they find extremely embarrassing. But the German language also has its own term to express the feeling of being embarrassed because someone else has embarrassed themselves (without noticing): "fremdschämen" — secondhand embarrassment.
Image: Colourbox
2020: Lost
The German Youth Word of the Year in 2020 was also an English word, "lost." German teens don't use it in the sense of having lost their way, but to express a lack of perspective, or of not knowing what to do. They might also use the term in a math class for instance as a way of saying "I don't get it." (2019 marked a year when the "Youth Word of the Year" was not chosen.)
Image: Antonio Guillem/Panthermedia/Imago Images
2018: Ehrenmann / Ehrenfrau
Man or woman of honor: that's the German Youth Word of the Year for 2018 (no word was selected in 2019). It refers to a person you can always count on and who's loyal to his friends and family. It can also be used ironically as an insult, when someone claims to have strong principles but doesn't apply them in real life. German rappers often use "Ehrenmann" in their lyrics.
Image: REUTERS
2017: I bims
To be or not to be? Germany's young people would answer Shakespeare's most famous existential question with "I bims," derived from "Ich bin" — I am. It was chosen as the German Youth Word of the Year in 2017.
Image: DLA Marbach
2016: am Fly sein
When a person is flying high and ready to, say, party all night, German teens will highlight this energy by borrowing from US hip-hop slang, literally saying "you're on fly." In English, "I'm so fly" is a rapper way of saying you're cool. It was embodied by the main character in the film "Super Fly" from 1972, with its famous Curtis Mayfield soundtrack.
Image: Frank Bienewald/imageBROKER/picture alliance
2015: Smombie
Do you check your phone while you're walking and run into things? Then apparently you have something in common with German teens. The 2015 German Youth Word of the Year was "Smombie" — a cross between smartphone and zombie. Walking while checking for a new like, follow or message can be hazardous. Perhaps Germany should adopt this phone lane idea spotted in China.
Image: HPIC/dpa/picture alliance
2014: Läuft bei dir
"Läuft bei dir" basically means "things are going well with you." But as with most of the youth words of the year, this one can also contain traces of irony depending on the context. It's perhaps always a question of perspective: Despite the mud, the heavy metal fans in this picture taken at the Wacken open air festival still seem to think everything rocks.
Image: Christian Charisius/dpa/picture alliance
2013: Babo
Who's the leader of the pack among your friends? Chances are, they're the babo: that is, the boss, the ringleader, the head honcho. German rapper Haftbefehl (pictured) may also like to see himself as the babo. In 2013, he released a track called "Chabos know who the babo is." While "chabos" (roughly, guys) is derived from Angloromani, babo comes from Turkish.
Image: Geturshot/azzlackz/dpa/picture alliance
2012: YOLO
In 2012, an English abbreviation won German Youth Word of the Year. YOLO stands for You Only Live Once. In that case, live it up. Maybe that means launching your singing career on YouTube, getting a colorful tattoo or just dancing in the streets with your friends.
Image: Boglarka Bodnar/AP Photo/picture alliance
2011: Swag
It's not surprising that teen speak is heavily influenced by the music scene. Swag was borrowed from the American rap scene and made it over to Germany around 2010, becoming popular thanks to Austrian rapper Money Boy's track "Turn My Swag On." If you've got swag, you radiate coolness.
Image: Uli Deck/dpa/picture alliance
2010: Niveaulimbo
Ever played limbo? Then you know there's a limit to how far down you can go — even if you're really good. "Niveaulimbo" — literally, limbo level — refers to the ever-sinking quality of something. That could be a TV show, a joke or a party that starts getting out of hand.
Image: Klaus Rose/dpa/picture-alliance
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'Talahon' and 'Schere' a very close second and third
The second and third placed youth words this year included "Talahon," which is derived from Arabic and originally means "come here."
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"Talahon" has been embraced on social media like TikTok by young people of color who often wear fake designer clothes branded under Gucci or Lacoste, and perform rap or boxing moves to songs by German rappers like Hassan.
But the word Talahon can be a derogatory term among some mostly white TikTok groups, who use it to mock people based on their appearance and behavior, and sometimes stigmatizing them as migrants and criminals.
Meanwhile, the latest take on the word "Schere," or scissors, comes from the gaming world and expresses an admission of guilt or a confession.
A still from a TikTok video shows youth engaging in talahon in CologneImage: @talasohn/TikTok
Kids keen to show off their new slang
Voting for the youth slang word of year reached new heights in 2024, with submissions increasing by 11% compared to the previous year for the final stage of the ballot.
"Active participation by young people to shape their own language is increasing," said Patricia Kunth, marketing manager at Langenscheidt and project manager of the youth word campaign.
The Langenscheidt publishing house has been choosing the youth word of the year since 2008, but young people between the ages of 11 and 20 have exclusively decided since 2020.
"We are once again experiencing how lively youth language is," said Nikolas Hoenig, head of marketing at Langenscheidt. "It was the right decision to put the choice in the hands of young people."
Last year, the youth word of the year was "Goofy," with Germany's younger generation using the term to tell their friends they find them silly or eccentric.
