Who’s using the term “netizen” anyway?

Native English-speakers may notice something strange as they browse K-pop news sites. These sites will regularly discuss the outrage, joy, or surprise “netizens” are experiencing all over the internet. They drop this term so regularly and so casually that, to Americans, it feels like you missed a memo about a new ubiquitous term. Where is this coming from?

 

In Mandarin Chinese, the terms wǎngmín (a literal translation of “netizen” or “net folks”) and wǎngyǒu (literally “net mate” or “net friend”) are both commonly used terms. Because of the literal translation into English, English language media outlets based in mainland China use this term a lot. Although the term works in English and is surprisingly intuitive, it’s not widely used among native English speakers and feels… uh… lame. Or at the very least nerdy and out of touch.

 

Sadly, this term has left mainland China and entered into other English language media outlets based in Asia. 

 

Will it ever be completely adopted into non-Asian English media outlets? Not on our watch.