Last year saw a lot of new Japanese terminology pop up in conversations about the 新型コロナウイルス (shingata koronauirusu, novel coronavirus). Below are a few examples of what has been seen in headlines during the first three months of 2021:
- 下げ止まり (sagedomari, bottoming out) — A compound verb of 下がる (sagaru, to fall) and 止まる (tomaru, to stop), meaning something that has been decreasing has come to a halt. You’ll hear the media use 下げ止まり to describe the stagnation of coronavirus cases. Ex.: 首都圏4都県では感染者数の減少ペースが下げ止まっている (Shuto yon-todōfuken de wa kansenshasū no genshō pēsu ga sagedomatte-iru, The number of coronavirus infections has bottomed out in four prefectures and in [the Tokyo] metropolitan area).