Your handy guide to understanding Gen Z and Gen Alpha slang

If you’re the parent of a younger Gen Z or an older Gen Alpha kid, then chances are that there’s times when it seems like they’re talking a completely different language to you. Which is, basically, because they are. 

All generations have had their own slanguage. Remember when bad meant good and being sick at something was actually a positive thing? 

Some of the newer slang terms seem to have originated with Gen Z, but are still used by Gen Alpha. Others are relevant just to each demographic. So it’s all rather confusing for us Millennial and Gen X parents who can hardly even walk into a room without forgetting what we were going in there for.

That’s why we’ve compiled a list of some of the Gen Z and Gen Alpha slang words they use – so you can try and understand what the hell the younger generations are talking about.

Good luck, bruh!

Gen Z Slang

1. Dank – High quality or excellent.

2. Fit check – Used to bring attention to one’s outfit to get an opinion on it.

3. Bussin’ – Excellent or extremely good.

4. Ick – A sudden feeling of disgust or repulsion towards someone you were attracted to previously.

5. Cook – Someone is performing or doing well.

6. Glaze – To compliment someone so much that it becomes excessive and annoying.

7. Lit – Good, fun, or exciting (can also mean being drunk)

8. Mid – Mediocre or average. Sometimes used in an insulting way.

9. No cap – “I’m not lying.”

10. Rizz – Derived from the word charisma. A person’s charm or seduction skills.

11. Vibe Check – Used to gauge someone’s mood or attitude.

12. Finna – “I’m going to.”

13. Cheugy – Used to describe something that isn’t cool or is out of date.

Gen Alpha slang

1. Skibidi – A nonsense word used to, depending on the context, express a wide range of emotions.

2. “What the sigma?” – “What the hell?”

3. Fanum Tax – Stealing food from a friend without their permission.

4. Ohio – Used to describe something that is weird, awkward, cringeworthy, or undesirable.

5. Bet – “Ok” or “Sure”

6. Noob – Someone who is new to an activity and inexperienced at it (especially in gaming or computing)

7. Delulu – Short for delusional.

8. “Just put the fries in the bag, bro.”  – A way of telling someone to get to the point or to tell someone to shut up.

9. “It’s giving” – Meaning something or someone has a particular vibe, energy, or style.

10. Mogging – To be extremely more attractive than someone else.

11. Sussy baka – A suspicious fool

12. Low vibrational – Someone or something that is considered boring, and brings down the mood.

13. Drip – Cool, stylish or fashionable.

Image Wikimedia Commons