Internet catchwords become an important new phenomenon refl ecting Internet users’ attitudinal changes and social development. In recent years, the renovation of Internet technologies and the rising Internet culture result in remarkable changes of Chinese words and expressions. This paper investigates Chinese Internet catchwords that appeared between 2015 and 2016 to describe their new features as well as possible new rules for usage. The research fi nds that (1) many Internet catchwords are originated from commonly used words and sometimes the Internet users manipulate the form of the words and give them new meanings; (2) Internet users become the main players in the rapid spread of Internet catchwords; (3) most Internet catchwords are used by the mass media and state authoritative institutions; (4) new Internet environments are crucial for the creation, circulation, and popularization of Internet catchwords. Understanding the features and the usage rules of Internet catchwords can be important for scholarly research as well as for policy makers in designing and implementing new regulations and policies in the domains of language planning, information safety and beyond.
