Gen Z Slang
Modern slang and expressions from Gen Z
bet
A compressed affirmation where delivery determines meaning—enthusiastic for genuine agreement, flat for skeptical doubt.
fam
An informal term for someone in your close circle—chosen family rather than blood, carrying warmth and trust.
güey
An informal address among friends in Mexican Spanish that signals familiarity and comfort, ranging from affectionate to frustrated depending on tone.
bussin
An exclamation of genuine delight when food exceeds expectations — involuntary praise that announces satisfaction too intense for regular compliments.
no cap
An emphatic declaration of complete honesty, used to signal that what you're saying contains no exaggeration or lies.
omo
A Yoruba-rooted exclamation Nigerians use to mark surprise, emphasis, or casual camaraderie — emotionally versatile but never vulgar.
grave
French youth transformed "serious" into an intensifier meaning really or very — pure emphasis that marks you as inside contemporary spoken French.
raga
An informal group greeting among young Italians that signals casual belonging — you'd use it with friends arriving somewhere, never with strangers or elders.
pana
An informal address that signals comfort and belonging — used with friends, acquaintances, and strangers in casual conversation throughout Venezuelan Spanish.
gas
A command to act immediately or increase intensity — the social equivalent of pressing the accelerator pedal.
de lulu is the solulu
A self-aware mantra declaring that maintaining unrealistic optimism is a valid coping strategy — acknowledging the delusion while embracing it anyway.
sana all
A Filipino expression for being genuinely happy for someone's good fortune while wishing you had it too — envy without bitterness.
fixin to
Southern speech marker for immediate future action with preparation already underway — stronger than intention, not quite in motion.
charot
A Filipino discourse marker that retracts what you just said—verbal punctuation meaning 'just kidding' that softens bold statements while keeping them in play.
chido
An enthusiastic marker of approval — anything that impresses, satisfies, or exceeds expectations gets called this.
sapa
The Nigerian expression for being genuinely broke, carrying solidarity and humor rather than shame about financial hardship.
wahala
Wahala means trouble or problems, but carries Nigerian versatility — acknowledging genuine difficulties while allowing playful, even affectionate uses depending on tone and context.
hella
An intensifier meaning 'very' or 'extremely' that immediately identifies you as being from Northern California—locals use it naturally, outsiders feel the weight of regional belonging.
daş daş
An expression of masculine respect for boldness or daring actions, rooted in anatomical slang but softened through repetition into street-level approval.
crodie
Toronto street slang for a close friend that signals belonging to the city's Caribbean-influenced youth culture.
대박
An exclamation of amazed delight at something unexpectedly good — shouted with enthusiasm that refuses to be contained.
en vrai
A sincerity marker that signals authentic opinion — the phrase French speakers use to cut through politeness and say what they genuinely think.
two twos my word
An intensifier meaning something happened instantly or unexpectedly fast, emphasizing the sudden speed of an action.
chamo
An informal Venezuelan address term carrying warmth and ease, used with anyone you're comfortable around — from close friends to familiar strangers.
j'avoue
Parisian youth slang that flips confession into emphatic agreement — validates truth rather than admits guilt, marking belonging through ironic formality.
mid
A dismissal for anything that disappoints expectations—not terrible, just forgettable and overhyped.
slay
An exclamation celebrating exceptional style, confidence, or performance—recognition that someone completely dominated a moment.
やばい
An all-purpose Japanese intensifier for anything extremely good or extremely bad — context and tone decide which.
mzae
Nairobi youth slang for father that signals urban identity and generational belonging—affectionate in some mouths, confrontational in others, possibly already fading among the youngest speakers.
fome
Chilean slang for anything that fails to deliver excitement — applied freely to tedious gatherings, uninspiring people, or disappointing experiences.
boss
A greeting that flips authority into equality, though locals can always tell when the warmth is real versus strategically deployed.
킹받다
Extremely annoyed but in a playful way — frustrated by something that's simultaneously irritating and somehow endearing.
poa
A relaxed Nairobi expression that handles everything from describing good situations to answering that you're doing fine.
fiti
A Kenyan affirmation that everything's satisfactory — the person, the situation, the moment — flexible enough to work as greeting, response, or compliment.
noma
A word where chaos means both trouble and excitement—the same instability that creates problems also creates possibility.
pata
The person you walk beside as an equal—rooted in the Quechua word for foot, carrying warmth and the weight of shared paths.
weón
Chilean Spanish's chameleon word where tone determines everything — the same sound signals warmth, insult, or surprise depending on delivery.
carrete
Chile's word for informal gatherings where loosening up is the entire point — spontaneous nights centered on drinking and socializing, never formal celebrations.
chale
A conversational marker where tone determines everything — warm delivery signals closeness, frustrated delivery vents emotion, both signal you belong.
kuja in
A casual invitation into physical or social space, blending languages the way urban Kenyans naturally speak when formality isn't required.
yaani
A verbal pause button that shifts from clarification to emphasis to surprise depending entirely on how you stretch or place it.
verarschen
German slang for being deceived or mocked — ranges from playful teasing among friends to serious accusations of betrayal, depending entirely on tone.
billig
A documented Berlin variant of 'billo' that exists primarily in dictionaries rather than actual conversation among young people.
kɔsiɛ
An insult for foolishness that transforms completely based on delivery—warm tone signals affection between friends, harsh tone cuts deep.
afadhali
The standard Swahili word for expressing preference or superiority when comparing choices — essential everyday vocabulary, not slang.
roche
The sharp discomfort of witnessing someone else's social awkwardness—secondhand embarrassment as a distinct emotional state requiring its own word.
boof
Cannabis slang marking disappointing quality—weed that fails to deliver on appearance, potency, or value expectations.
tutuliyaanga
A casual farewell that promises future contact, used among Nairobi youth to signal belonging to the city's constantly evolving street language culture.
mbogi
Your inner circle in Kenyan youth culture — the crew you navigate the city with, carrying identity and belonging in a single word.
pe
A sentence-ending particle that adds emphasis, warmth, or casual familiarity—the linguistic fingerprint that immediately marks a speaker as Peruvian.