Me has been voted the most irritating Dutch word of the year in the annual poll carried out by the Dutch lexicology institute.

The use of me in place of mijn, as in me moeder or me fiets, received 30% of the online vote, the institute said. In second place was diervriendelijk vlees (animal friendly meat), which took 20%. In total, 25,000 people took part.

‘Many people say me rather than mijn but it does not mean we need to follow this through into print,’ one person commented.

Last year’s winner was oudjes – oldies.