“Wt* is simp? I’m sorry I’m 48,” asked actor Uday Chopra in a tweet recently, gracefully accepting his lack of knowledge about the latest internet lingo. Soon, people came forward to help bring Uday up to speed with the Gen Z vocabulary, leading to an interesting conversation around the subject between the actor and his followers. Whether the conversation served its purpose is another discussion, but if you too are clueless about words like tea, no cap, bop, and drip making way to your timelines, here’s a guide to decoding the Gen Z lingo, so that you don’t sound like a simp or cheugy the next time you reply to them.
Uday Chopra asks netizens what does simp mean:Simp: A shorter version of simpleton or simping, this has a negative connotation. A simp is someone who goes the extra mile to please someone they like.
Cheugy: Gen Zs use the term to roast millennials for being ‘basic’ and uncool, and having old-fashioned aesthetics. Stuff that is considered cheugy includes #girlbossaesthetic, millennials love for Harry Potter, pumpkin spice latte, etc.
OK Boomer: It’s the Gen Z way of saying, ‘I disagree with you but I cannot argue with you on this anymore.’
High Key: Used to emphasise something in a sentence. So, instead of using the word ‘literally’, Gen Zs use a high key.
Sus: Taking the love for abbreviations to another level, sus is the Gen Z equivalent of someone or something suspicious.
Glow-up: Used as a compliment, to appreciate someone’s good-looking transformation.
Skrt: Skrt is a common lingo used by Gen Zs when they are gossiping, and want their friend to stop and repeat a part of the story again.
Beat: When Gen Zs say someone is being ‘beat,’ it means they are either complimenting them for doing a great job with their makeup, or they’ve applied a lot of makeup on their face.
Read: Read, in the Gen Z dictionary, is used to humiliate or insult something, and is synonymous with rude behaviour.
Dead: It means that something is so funny or ridiculously good it's forced you to be hyperbolic.
G.O.A.T: Not the animal, but this is an acronym for ‘greatest of all time’. So, don’t get confused when you receive a goat emoji from a Gen Z next time.
Gucci: For Gen Zs, it means ‘really good.’ So, the next time a 20-something tells you, ‘I’m Gucci!,’ they’re telling you they are good.
Bop: Gen Zs like to keep it short and express their love for particular songs and music with just one word - bop.
Drip: 'Swag’ is passe, because Gen Z has a new term to describe being cool, sexy, trendy or stylish - drip.
Stan: We have Eminem to thank for this one! His 2000 single titled Stan has become a part of the Gen Z vocabulary, and the term means an obsessive fan (stalker + fan).
Iykyk: Stands for ‘If you know, you know’.
Snacc: It’s not a snack misspelled, but snacc is used to tell someone they look ravishing or sexy.
No cap: When you say no cap, you are being honest with someone and speaking the truth.
The Gen Z v/s Boomer dictionaryTerm: Fit What it means for Gen Zs: Outfit (a shortened version of the outfit). While the millennials feel #OOTD is cool, Gen Zs have found a trendier way of talking about clothes they find stylish and cool
What it means for boomers: Someone with a good body. For boomers threads was equivalent of ‘fit’ in their teenage years
Term: Fire What it means for Gen Zs: Cool and amazing
What it means for boomers: While it means something ablaze or being burnt, the generation used the term ‘groovy’ to call something that they thought was cool
Term: Tea/spill the tea
What it means for Gen Zs: Associated with gossip and the act of gossiping, the word is an upgraded version of ‘spill the beans’
What it means for boomers: For boomers, tea is simply tea, however, they loved to share the ‘skinny’ when they wanted to gossip about something or someone
Term: LitWhat it means for the Gen Zs: One of the most commonly used words by both Gen Zs and millennials, lit means something is exciting, full of energy and popping, for instance, a party. It also means being drunk.
What it means for boomers: A short form of literature festival (lit fest) or past tense of literature. Boomers’ way of calling someone ‘lit’ is ‘loaded’
Term: Wig What it means for Gen Z: Something unbelievably extraordinary or mind-blowing. They often say use phrases like ‘it was so out of the world that my wig flew off’
What it means for boomers: A simple wig! But the generations loved using the world fab when they thought something was out of the world.
Term: Salty What it means for Gen Z: It definitely not what you think! In Gen Z texting conversations, being salty means being annoyed, upset, or jealous of something insignificant
What it means for boomers: Ever heard of your parents telling you ticked them off? They are basically salty for you spending so much time scrolling through your phone!
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