I’m a huge fan of 今年の漢字 (kotoshi no kanji, kanji of the year), which is announced every December at Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto. Last year’s kanji was 令 (rei, order; splendid) a nod to the new 令和時代 (Reiwa Jidai, Reiwa Era).

We’re just past the halfway mark for 2020 and while I can’t think of what kanji will be selected to represent this year, I’d be willing to bet that the word of the year will be コロナ (korona), short for 新型コロナウイルス (shingata koronauirusu, novel coronavirus). Maybe the kanji will be 病 (yamai; byō, disease) or 禍 (wazawai; ka, calamity), which has been getting attached to コロナ to speak about the コロナ禍 (korona-ka, coronavirus crisis).

Another candidate is 新 (shin, new), which is seen in 新型 (shingata, new strain) and 新たな日常 (aratana nichijō, new normal). Publishing company Shogakukan’s focus is on 新 as well, but in its case it is looking for 新語 (shingo, new words) as part of its monthly 大辞泉が選ぶ新語大賞 (Daijisen ga erabu shingo taishō, the awards for new words selected by Daijisen), Daijisen being a general-purpose dictionary that Shogakukan publishes.