Families For Life | 8 must-know Gen Z slangs for Parents

Share an embarrassing moment you’ve experienced. I’ll go first: I once tried to join a conversation with a group of teenagers and used the word "bussin'" completely out of context. Silence ensued, awkward glances were exchanged, and I…was mortified.

Buzzwords are ever-changing. The ones we’re more familiar with, like “dope” and “wicked”, are long past their expiration date. The ones Gen Zs are using today are more perplexing, to us anyway.

Don’t worry, we’ll help you understand some of these new slangs you’ve heard or seen, particularly on social media. Knowing what they mean is half the battle won, you still need to know how to use them correctly! Here are 8 must-know Gen Z slangs to help you stay in tune with your kids.

TFW

Stands for “that feeling when”, used to get others to relate to something.

TFW when you take the first bite of the food you’ve been craving for…

Ate (and left no crumbs)

To express strong praise, or just another way of saying “good job”.

Wow, his song is really good.

Yeah he really ate and left no crumbs.

Bussin

When the food is really, really good.

This pizza is bussin!

Slaps

To describe something that is amazing.

Have you heard the new album? It slaps so hard!

IYKYK

Stands for “if you know, you know”, alluding to an inside joke.

Nothing’s better than coming home early to watch my K-Drama, IYKYK.

Rizz

To have charisma or better yet, charizzma.

You have so much rizz! No wonder everyone likes you!

Ick

A sudden feeling of disgust or dislike, often from someone else’s actions.

He talked with food still in his mouth and it totally gave me the ick.

Mid

When something is not the best but not the worst, just mediocre.

Yeah, that movie was mid.

It may feel awkward at first when you start experimenting with Gen Z lingo, but try it out slowly to test the waters and see how you fare. Soon enough, you won’t have to stay on the sidelines, trying to make sense of your kids’ conversations anymore. You'll finally be able to seamlessly join in their chatter, hopefully without annoying your kids too much!