An analysis of the internet buzzword XX Dazi

In 2023, the term dazi was included in Yao Wen Jiao Zis Top 10 Buzzwords of 2023. Expressions such as meal dazi and basketball dazi have become widely popular on social media and in everyday life. Based on Fuyi Xings Small Triangle theory, this study analyzes XX dazi from three perspectives: the linguistic form, semantic content, and pragmatic value, employing a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. The study shows that dazi frequently collocates with disyllabic words; in addition to Chinese characters, some English words, numbers, and their combinations can also form collocations. Semantic evolution indicates that dazi first appeared during the Song Dynasty and exhibits the features of [+companionship], [+purpose], [+arbitrariness], and [+association]. Pragmatically, dazi serves functions including role identification, interpersonal relationship signaling, and emotional indication.