Polish youth word of the year named as “rel”, short for “relatable”

The slang word “rel” – an abbreviation of the English word “relatable” – has been chosen as Poland’s youth word of the year. Second place in the public vote went to “sigma”, meaning a lone wolf, with “oporowo”, meaning “intensely”, placing third.

The term “rel” is used by young Poles to express agreement with something or indicate that they relate to someone’s experiences.

“On the one hand, it means approval of what the previous speaker said, on the other, it illustrates the harmonious cooperation of participants in dialogue,” said Anna Wileczek, an academic linguist and chair of the jury that created a shortlist of words from public submissions which was then put to a public vote.

“It’s friendly, as it creates an atmosphere of positivity by conveying meanings such as: ‘I agree with you’, ‘I feel the same way’, ‘I affirm’, ‘right’,” she added.

The youth word of the year contest has been organised since 2016 by PWN, publisher of Poland’s leading dictionary. It claims to be the largest such poll of its kind in Europe, attracting 140,000 votes this year, 19,000 of which were case in favour of “rel”.

Wileczek explained that “rel” has all the necessary characteristics of a “linguistic hit”: it is international, short, popular among young people, and functions as a stand-alone abbreviation for a quick and punchy response.

Meanwhile, “sigma”, which finished second in the vote, means “an independent, self-confident, admired and successful person, a lone wolf”, says PWN. Third-placed “oporowo” does not have a direct English equivalent but could be translated as “intensely”, “for a long time”, or “to the limits of imagination”.

Previous winners of the title include “essa”, meaning something that comes easily or an expression of joy, in 2022; “śpiulkolot”, meaning a place to sleep, in 2021; and the international emoticon “xD” in 2017.

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Agata Pyka

Agata Pyka is an assistant editor at Notes from Poland. She is a journalist and a political communication student at the University of Amsterdam. She specialises in Polish and European politics as well as investigative journalism and has previously written for Euractiv and The European Correspondent.