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Duolingo's Phrase of 2022 Is Honestly Pretty Depressing

The company also released its third global language report on Tuesday.

Zachary McAuliffe Staff writer
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Duolingo language education app logo

In 2021, Duolingo's phrase of the year was, "I am mentally exhausted."

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Duolingo, the language learning app and a CNET Editors' Choice award pick for 2022, on Tuesday announced its Most 2022 Phrase. The winning phrase, "Please don't cancel my plans," is hard to read without feeling a little sad. If you squint, you can almost see the pleading emoji at the end of that sentence.

In a release, Duolingo said it chose the phrase because 2022 saw a record number of flight cancellations, numerous natural disasters in vacation spots and high travel costs. In August, almost 1,500 flights from Texas to the East Coast were canceled in one day, causing some passengers to complain on social media, according to The Washington Post

Duolingo also released its third annual global language report, which showed how global events shaped language learning. According to Duolingo, more than 1.3 million people started learning Ukrainian in 2022 in response to the Russian war in Ukraine.

"The global response to the war was united," Duolingo wrote in a blog post. "Countries receiving the largest numbers of Ukrainian refugees saw substantial growth."

Duolingo said there were fewer people learning a new language for travel reasons in 2022. It said more people vacationed closer to home where they wouldn't need to study a new language beforehand.

Duolingo's report showed the most studied languages across the globe included English (most studied language in 119 countries), Spanish (most studied in 34 countries) and Korean (most studied in four countries).

Duolingo said it plans to add more learning features and advanced content to its biggest language courses, as well as auditing the effectiveness of its courses, in 2023. 

For more, check out the eight changes Duolingo made in 2022 for easier language learning, and CNET's picks for the best language learning apps.

Watch this: Qapla'! Learn Klingon on Duolingo