Dutchies chose “Climate adhesive” as their word of the year (and we kinda love it, here’s why)

After a two-week battle, the Van Dale Word of the Year 2022 goes to klimaatklever (Climate adhesive), and we think it’s fanta-stick!

What is a “Climate adhesive”, you may ask? Well, it describes “activists clinging to an object of symbolic value to draw public attention to climate change.”.

Over one-quarter of the 15,000 voters chose “klimaatklever” as the winner for 2022.

Tough competition

While we’re loving klimaatklever, we really love the Dutch innovation for the word that came in second place: sevenvinker

Sevenvinker (Seven Ticker) is someone who ticks off seven items on an imaginary list:

✅ Man (man)
✅ Blank (white)
✅ Hetero (straight)
✅ Afgerond VWO (above-average high school education)
✅ Universitaire opleiding (university education)
✅ Autochtone vader of moeder (native father/mother)
✅ Rijke of hoogopgeleide ouders (wealthy or highly-educated parents)

And yes, we do know a lot of sevenvinkers in the Netherlands. 🙄

Meanwhile, third place went to energietoerisme (energy tourism), which describes someone who travels to a warmer country in the winter to escape the rising energy prices.

Be right back, gotta book flights. ✈️

Previous Dutch Words of the Year

Like those Dutch words? Here are the winners of recent years: 

  • prikspijt (jab regret) in 2021
  • Anderhalvemetersamenleving (one-and-a-half-metre society) in 2020
  • boomer (boomer) in 2019

Woman of the year?

In the United States, Dictionary.com’s Word of the Year was “woman.”. According to the website, the word depicts “how the intersection of gender, identity, and language dominates the current cultural conversation and shapes much of our work as a dictionary.”

“Inflation”, “quiet quitting,” and “democracy” also made the American list. 

All in all, great words, but klimaatklever ready does stick the best. 😉

What do you think of the word of the year? Tell us in the comments below.

Feature Image:Depositphotos
Eva Gabriella
Eva Gabriella
After calling Malaysia her home for 19 years, Eva moved to Amsterdam to study literary and cultural analysis. Well, that was the academic theory — in reality it was more like “cultural shock.” Eva’s mastery of life in the Netherlands involved initiation into the richness of nocturnal hangouts, canals, cuisine, and upright and forthright cyclists (who she now rings her bell back at.) When she is not speeding her way through books, she is winding and weaving down endless straatjes, often finding herself, not so quite by chance, in a gezellig music bar!

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