Lianhe Zaobao readers pick the word 'pan' to represent 2021

LIANHE Zaobao readers have picked the word "pan" (hope) to best represent 2021 in the Chinese daily's annual poll for the Word of the Year.

Ten words were nominated by a panel of nine representatives from all walks of life.

Besides "pan" , the other 9 shortlisted words were "bian" (change), "deng" (wait), "gong" (common), "jia" (home), "ju" (gather), "kun" (trapped), "shi" (food), "xian" (limit) and "yi" (perseverance).

The poll by the SPH Media Trust flagship Chinese newspaper garnered more than 12,000 votes during the period of Nov 22 to Dec 12, with over 3,300 votes going to the winning word. Just over 2,100 voters picked "bian" (change) while "ju" (gather) took the third position with almost 1,100 votes.

The winning word was unveiled during a virtual event on Wednesday (Dec 15).