“Shо̄taimu” ("Sho-Time") and “riaru nitо̄ryu” ("real two-way player") — two phrases referring to baseball phenom and 2021 American League MVP Shohei Ohtani — topped the list of 2021's buzzwords of the year on Wednesday.
While the lion's share of winning buzzwords from 2020 were related to COVID-19, in 2021 many of the top 10 phrases selected from 30 nominations were related to sports and the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Among the top 10 words was “Sugimuraijingu” ("Sugimu rising"), the nickname for a technique performed by Paralympic boccia athlete Hidetaka Sugimura. Then there was “gonzeme” ("performing aggressively") and “bittabita” ("performing perfectly") — phrases that went viral after NHK broadcaster and skateboarding champion Ryo Sejiri used them while commentating on the skateboard competition at the Games.