Watch out when talking about Omicron.. depending on your audience, you might be heard to say "exterminate the CCP" instead of the name of the new Covid 19 variant. In 我滅共 wǒ miè gòng the last character 共 is read as short form, as in "I exterminate the 中共", the communist party of China.
For clarity, in simplified characters that would be 我灭共. The official transliteration is something else, as you'd expect: 奥密克戎. (baike baidu link)
On Nov. 30, illustrator Germ Sir (細菌先生) uploaded an illustration onto his Facebook page in which he imagined an exchange between Tedros and his "big boss," Chairman Xi, represented by Winnie the Pooh. In the illustration, Tedros eagerly reports to Pooh that the WHO has already passed over the Greek letters Xi and Nu to designate the latest COVID variant.
He then informs the "Tubby little cubby all stuffed with fluff" that the new name is "Omicron." Tedros barely finishes pronouncing the name when Pooh quizzically responds by pronouncing it "Wo mie gong?" (我滅共).
Word for word, the pronunciation of the Greek letter in Mandarin sounds like "I exterminate CCP," thus crushing Tedros' plan to appease his pudgy overlord.
