And I oop! Gen Alpha slang is straight from Ohio. Let’s break down how to use and interpret these 30 common terms and phrases.
There are a couple of things to remember about Gen Alpha as we proceed on this journey into their minds and mouths.
First of all, they’re like, ten years old. Well, officially – and this is subject to change – they were born on or after 2010, so they are approximately 14 years old and younger at the time of this writing.
Secondly, they are heavily influenced by social media and streaming videos. Many words and phrases they’ve absorbed into their lexicons are lifted from viral videos. So, don’t expect them to make logical sense.
Still, I find it valuable to understand what the kids-these-days are saying. But here’s a caveat: With viral videos as the linguistic development system, things change really fast—just something to keep top of mind.
You thought Gen Z slang sounded like a foreign language? You’re about to get nostalgic for 5 years ago.
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Rizz: You may have heard this one. And that’s good because it’s important. It basically means “swagger”, although it’s been described for me (by a nine-year-old) as “an ability to get the ladies”. There is some argument online as to whether it is short for charisma or not. But it has become a root word for some other slang terms so this is a useful one to know.
Rizz up: This is a verb. Millennials would say “chat up”. It means to use your rizz on a potential romantic partner, to charm them into giving you their attention.
Rizzler/Rizzer: I’ve seen this term used with and without the “l”. A rizzler or rizzer is someone with rizz – a charismatic person who is attractive to potential partners.
Dogwater: When something is dogwater, it just sucks. It’s stupid or boring or lame. No good.
Munch: I believe this term has origins that pertain to oral sex, but I don’t think most kids use it that way. It seems to be typically a man who sacrifices his dignity to spend time with women.
Zygote: A zygote is someone naive or inexperienced. They don’t know what they’re doing. A millennial would say a “noob.”
Baka: A baka is an idiot. It’s a Japanese word scooped from anime. It’s often Americanized to sussy baka, with the addition of the Gen Z favorite, sus, which is short for suspicious. This gives it a literal translation of “suspicious idiot” but is typically used to say someone is acting silly or weird.
Ohio: This means something is dumb or boring (like the state, apparently). But it’s tricky because you can look like a real baka if you use it wrong. For instance, you would not say, “This movie is Ohio.” Instead, say something like, “They watch this movie in Ohio,” or “This movie was filmed in Ohio.” Got it?
Sigma: Sometimes “sigma male“, this is a person who is not an alpha male (which is generally considered good), nor a beta male (generally bad), but is an entirely different greek-letter-male. A sigma just does their own thing and is cool in their own right.
Delulu: This seems to be short for delusional. It’s basically a crazy person or someone acting crazy.
Ratio’d: Gen Z was definitely using this one some time ago but it’s a common term nowadays. To be ratio’d is to get more criticism than praise. Online, it is usually specifically referring to a post that got more comments than likes. It can also mean a negative comment got more likes than the original post.
Skibidi: This is a nonsense word. It came from a viral video that is super strange, and Gen Alpha loves the bizarre. I expect that over time, the meaning of skibidi will coalesce into something more specific, but for now, it’s just pure mumbo jumbo. It may be used as an exclamation, and it is also used as an adjective that is most likely synonymous with “weird”.
Fanum Tax: This sounds like “phantom tax”, which is convenient because its meaning is not far off from what you may intuitively guess a “phantom tax” would be. Its origins are with a streamer named Fanum who popularized the term. It means taking bites of someone else’s food. But I have also heard it used less specifically, referring to minor stealing of any old thing, including your time or your ideas.
Gyatt: Sometimes spelled with only one “t”, this word originated as an acronym of “girl your ass thicc”, similar to the Gen X slang, phat (“pretty hot and tempting”). But has been simplified to an exclamation, similar to “goddamn!” when seeing a smoking hot, and especially voluptuous woman. But I have also heard it used as a non-specific exclamation referring to anything, and I’ve even seen it used as an exaggerated “got”, as in, “you have gyatt to be kidding me.” So I’d say it’s a flexible and evolving term.
Mogging: This is simply being especially attractive. If you are the best-looking person in your friend group, you’re mogging. It might be something you do intentionally, as in looksmaxxing in order to mog others.
Looksmaxxing: Gen Alpha seems to be unfortunately preoccupied with appearance. Looksmaxxing is directed mainly at young men but can be applied to women, as well. The term is pretty much what it sounds like – maximizing your looks. It runs the gamut from “softmaxxing“, like getting a great haircut or using moisturizer, to “hardmaxxing“, which may include steroids or even plastic surgery.
Mewing: Mewing is a “softmaxxing” technique that refers to pressing your tongue to the roof of your mouth in order to present a defined jawline. It can be used as an exercise to build the jaw muscles and redefine your face shape, or it might just be something you do while posing for a pic. Mewing is another alpha slang word that has a specific meaning, but may be losing that specificity for something more general. You might hear it used to refer to general posing or trying to look good.
Goated: This is derived from the term GOAT, as in Greatest of All Time. It seems like it should be used as a past tense verb, but don’t do that! It’s an adjective. It means something is awesome. “That video is goated,” for example.
Ate: Like goated, this means something is awesome. “That trick totally ate!” You might see Gen Alpha get a little mathy with this one. “That trick was 4 + 4!” Or even, depending on their skill level, “That trick was 2 cubed!” But you’ll know what they mean. Wink.
Blud: Short for blood brother. This is a homey of the highest order. Gen Z used “fam”.
Clout chaser: This is pretty much what it sounds like. Someone chasing popularity, usually in a desperate way. It’s derogatory. Don’t be a clout chaser.
Unt unt: This means definitely not. No way. Not gonna happen. It’s basically “uh uh”, with extra emphasis.
NPC: This is a gaming term that has leeched out into non-gaming space. NPC is short for non-playable character. It’s like the little dog that follows you around in a role-playing game. Outside of a game, this is a person who is a follower or a lackey.
Furda: Short for “for the boys”, this term refers to self-sacrifice. But like many others, this term is used in a variety of ways. It may be used as a please, as in, “Can you spot me some cash? Furda?” Or it may be more of a thank you, as in, “That was furda of you to spot me the cash.” But it can also be used to describe a boy more interested in hanging with the boys and can be used as either an adjective or a noun. “He won’t go to the show with me, he’s a furda,” or perhaps, “He won’t go to the show with me, he’s too furda.”
Grind: Grind has been a slang term for many generations, but its meaning changes with each one. For Boomers, it was a tedious work routine. For Gen X, it was sexually explicit dancing. I’m pretty sure it was coffee for Millennials. For Gen Alpha it’s a verb that means practice. When you grind, you’re doing something over and over again to get good at it.
Cold: This is something that’s really great. It just extra super cool.
Lore: The slang here is not too different from the literal word meaning. For Gen Alpha, it is backstory information about a person, place, or thing. If your parents divorced, if there was once a murder at that Red Lobster, if a show got canceled and then picked up by another streaming service, that’s all lore.
And I oop: This is another weird one that was lifted from a viral video. In the video, the streamer was speaking on camera when all of a sudden, mid-sentence, they said, “…and I, Oop,” and froze, shock-faced. After a moment, they admitted to having hit their balls, causing the sudden pause. It has now become a general exclamation of surprise.
Sweat: Don’t be fooled into thinking this is a verb. It’s a noun. A sweat is a person who tries too hard but is generally unsuccessful. It’s similar to a Gen X “wannabe.”
Straight: This poor word means so many different things. Context clues are critical. If Gen Alpha tells you they’re straight, don’t think sexual orientation. They are simply saying they are doing fine. How are you? I’m straight.
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As I finish writing this post, I feel entirely certain there will be a follow-up Gen Alpha slang post to highlight corrections, updates, and additions. Gen Alpha is young, they’re evolving rapidly, and they take their cues from mega-popular influencers.
Since this is a Generation X in Midlife website, I’ve compared Gen Alpha slang to Gen X slang in a Gen Alpha to Gen X Translation Guide. If you haven’t already seen that, check it out.
Also, don’t miss my Generation Z to Generation X Translation Guide.