Jiong

The Chinese word jiong (囧), which literally means brightness, is now widely used as an Internet emotional expression that stands for sadness, depression, despair or embarrassment. It became popular in 2005 on a mainland bulletin board system and spread to Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The new use of the word, which resembles a sad facial expression, sparked debate among linguists. Some think people should stick to the original meaning of the characters because they were designed by ancestors carefully, while others insist it was a creative idea to popularize a rare word with a new meaning.