It is unbelievable how language can change from the hot new phrase to an archaic term before your eyes. New words and phrases spread rapidly through social media platforms like tiktok. It can be incredibly difficult as a parent to keep up with all of the new lingo. Maybe you can get a bit closer to understanding what your teen means by “bet! That plan sounds lowkey lit.”
Warning: simply using the word won’t always do the trick, some slang can only be used in the correct situations with the right pronunciation. You may be mocked by your teen even if you use the word in the right context.
A List of Teen Slang Words
Salty/Salty: I’m upset
Lowkey: implies a more relaxed attitude, something subtle
Highkey: implies great importance
Bet: yes!
Sipping tea: understanding gossip
Spilling tea: gossiping to friends
To sleep on: when one sees something as underrated, Ex: “People sleep on This is Us, that show is so good.”
Deada$$: for sure, serious
Bruh: OMG are you serious?
GYATT: A voluptuous butt. Abbreviated version of the exclamation “god damn”
Cross-Faded: both drunk and high
Ship: I want them to be a couple
Yeet: yikes
Sus: suspect
Fam: used when referring to a close group of friends
Bae: before anyone else
Lit: means fun but can also be used to refer to getting drunk and high
Beef: we’re fighting over a problem
Woke: to be aware politically and socially of your surroundings
Extra: Over the top
Turnt: similar context as lit,
Roasted: verbally attacked
Plug: refers to an individual who provides drugs and alcohol
Gucci: That’s cool
I’m dead: I can’t believe it
Geeking: laughing to the extent of freaking out
Thirsty: desperate
Netflix and chill: implies sex
Throw shade: to put down, insult
Dope: cool (can refer to drugs and other activities)
Bye Felicia: I don’t need you in my life, goodbye
Finna: I’m about to or going to do something
Tight: cool
Peeps: closest friends or family
Vlog: a video-based blog
Talk smack: to belittle someone
Brodown: boys night out
Frenemy: friend that sometimes hurts your feelings.
That’s clutch: That’s cool
Are you going to roll up?: Are you going somewhere?
Player: Male who is good and/or active with the girls
Hook up: To be physical with someone without a long term commitment. It can mean having sex with that person or not. The definition varies among ages and groups.
Friends with benefits: Similar to “hooked up” above
Body count: the amount of people someone has slept with
I’m down: I agree
Basic: unoriginal, mainstream
Clout: a person’s online influence
Finsta: fake Instagram
Mood: relatable
Shook: shocked
Dank: high quality (this was originally slang used to describe weed, but often refers to memes)
Sus: suspicious
Rizz: the ability to successfully attract the preferred gender
Bussin: very good (usually food)
Glow up: a makeover, an improvement (either physically or emotionally)
Drip: clothing or fashion sense, specifically if you are fashionable
Fit: outfit
Hits different: better than normal
Ghost/ghosting: Ending a relationships by abruptly ceasing all communication
Karen: A rude or aggressive middle-aged woman
Ok, boomer: A disparaging response to something that teens consider outdated
Stan: A fan of a celebrity, often intense or overzealous
Rager: A huge party, often with alcohol
Mid: Mid-tier, AKA below average or boring
Za: Slang word for marijuana. It is an abbreviation of the word “exotic”
Teen Texting Slang
That was just conversations – texting is a whole new world of acronyms and slang words. Here’s our introduction into the dictionary of teenager texting slang.
B: admiration for an individual, could be used in the context “hey b!” or “you got it b.” It is used in more dramatic terms as “bb.”
BF/GF: boyfriend/girlfriend
IDK: I don’t know
JK: Just kidding
LMAO: laughing my a** off
BTW: by the way
WTH: what the he**
WTF: what the f**k
LOL: laughing out loud
IDEK: I don’t even know
RN: right now
TN: tonight
G2G/GTG: got to go
TL;DR: too long; didn’t read (this is usually a summary at the end of a long social media post)
AF: as f**k
FOMO: fear of missing out
GOAT: greatest of all time
ILY: I love you
IRL: in real life
KYS: kill yourself
NP: no problem
OMG: oh my god
OMFG: oh my f**king god
TBH: to be honest
TF: the f**k (as in “what the f**k”)
WYD: what’re you doing?
SMH: shaking my head (disapproval)
OG: original gangster (basically just means original)
RT: Retweet
HBU: how ’bout you?
WBU: what ’bout you?
V: very
IYKYK: If you know, you know (an inside joke)
EMOJI MEANINGS
Plenty of emojis mean just what you think they mean. But many other emojis have secret meanings that you may not immediately recognize. Here are some of the most popular ones we’ve found.
– Upside down smiley face emoji, either passive aggressive or frustration/frustrated resignation.
– Face with tears of joy emoji, signifies laughing-crying, aka something funny enough to cause tears of laughter
– Winking face emoji, usually used in a flirtatious manner
– Smiling face with hearts emoji, usually used to show love or adoration for friends
– Man standing emoji, usually meant to show awkwardness or discomfort. (“I’m literally just standing here.”)
– Skull emoji, essentially same as the “face with tears of joy” emoji, signifies something is hilarious
– Eggplant emoji, usually a stand in for a “body part with a similar shape”
– Peach emoji, usually a stand in for “posterior”
– Sweat droplet emoji, often used in a sexual way to represent various…fluids
– Smiling face with horns emoji, sometimes meant to represent naughtiness, but often used to denote sexual inuendo (get it? It’s…horny.)
– Hot face emoji, also almost exclusively used in a sexual context to mean arousal
– Tongue emoji, another emoji that’s often used sexually, this one to refer to oral sex
– Woozy face emoji, most often to signify being drunk but can signify other things like sexual arousal
– Right and left pointing backhand Index finger emojis, meant to show shyness
️ ️ – “It is what it is,” a collection of emojis meant to represent stunned shock
– Hundred emoji, usually used in agreement or approval
– Thinking face emoji, meant to show that you’re thinking about something, often used sarcastically to show skepticism
– Loudly crying face emoji, can show either extreme sadness or extreme joy, depending on context
– Flushed face emoji, can mean anything from embarrassed to flattery to surprise
