近日，日本汉字能力检定协会（the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation）在京都市的清水寺公布了最能反映2021年世态民情的年度汉字。

The Japanese kanji for kin,meaning gold,was voted character of the year on Monday in honor of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics,which were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

日本汉字“金”当选年度汉字，以纪念因新冠疫情延期一年举办的东京奥运会。

评选组织方表示：

The Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics became bright news,a ray of light for a society that had been in the dark,suffering from the coronavirus pandemic for a long time.

东京奥运会和残奥会成为振奋人心的新闻，为长期受新冠疫情困扰、深处黑暗当中的社会带来一丝光亮。

今年在223773张投票中，有10422票选择了“金”字。

This is the fourth time for the character to come out on top in the voting,following its selection in 2000,2012,and 2016—all Olympic years.

这是“金”字第四次当选年度汉字，此前曾在2000年、2012年和2016年当选，而这些年份都是奥运会的举办年份。

Voting for the kanji takes place via postcard,in person at bookstores and libraries,and on the internet.The winning kin barely edged out the second-place finisher this year,taking 10,422 votes to the 10,304 received by rin,meaning“ring”—another Olympic-inspired choice that was the winner in 2013,the year when Tokyo was tapped to host the 2020 games.

年度汉字的评选可以通过明信片、亲自前往书店或图书馆，以及在线等方式投票。“金”字以10422票的微弱优势击败同样与奥运会有关的“轮”字，成功当选。“轮”字获得的票数为10304票。2013年东京获得奥运会主办权的那一年，“轮”字曾经当选为年度汉字。

日本的年度汉字自1995年开始评选以来，今年已经是第27次进行。

The top kanji character last year was mitsu,which means dense,crowded and close,describing the three situations people in Japan were urged to avoid in order to prevent infection.

去年的年度汉字是“密”，即“密接、密集”的“密”，指日本民众为防止感染尽量避免“密闭场所、密集人群、密切接触”的情形。