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Bilibili’s top bullet comment of 2023 is “ah?” as users expressed surprise 13 million times this year
- The streaming platform popular with Millennials and Gen Z said the comment ‘ah?’, an expression of surprise, is the ‘most representative’ of 2023
- Bilibili has grown from a niche anime streaming site to a cultural powerhouse known as a trendsetter for internet vernacular
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Ann Caoin Shanghai
Chinese video streaming platform Bilibili’s word of 2023 is a single-character question of shock: Ah?
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The word, written simply as a in pinyin, was used as an interrogative clause 13.2 million times on the platform this year, flooding viewers’ screens in Bilibili’s famed “bullet comments”, which whisk by in horizontal streams atop videos as people watch.
The Shanghai-based company called the word, expressed with a question mark, the “most representative bullet comment” of 2023 in a post to its official WeChat account on Friday.
Coupled with different punctuation, “ah” is often used in Chinese to express feelings of excitement, surprise or disbelief. When posed as a question, it translates roughly as, “Huh?”
Young users – the prime demographic for Bilibili – often use it in response to videos showing people with unique skills or major scientific and technological breakthroughs, the company said.
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Bullet comments originated in Japan but became popular in China after Bilibili adopted the style. Other domestic video platforms eventually followed suit, including Baidu’s iQiyi and Tencent Video.
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