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Luchi Rahman is a popular neighbourhood millennial who takes pride in staying up to date with trends and socials. But in recent days, upon scrolling Gram (Instagram), when she read captions like, "No cap! The fit is Gucci! Straight bussin'. Felt Pookie, might ghost later. NGL. C'yaa" and "He is acting all sus w/o rizz. ISTG, I shouldn't be delulu and follow the drip. Tho he passed the vibe check and is a woke person, he is a major red flag" Luchi, being all puzzled, scratches her head and rereads the whole thing to see if she could sense what she just read. Does this child need help? What is this ghost story about? ISTG? Is this some sort of organization? This is just one of the many stories of the language gap between Millennials and Gen Z. It's like they are speaking an entirely different way.
Millennials vs. Gen Z
First things first. Let's learn the protagonists before learning their language. Millennials were born between 1981 and 1996, while Gen Z covers 1997 to 2012. The early 2000 babies can also be called Gellinnials, but let's focus on them first.
Language is like fashion, which is constantly evolving. As generations pass, it has its own different words, phrases, and a totally different vocabulary.
Social media, being a prominent protagonist in the language shift, spreads new slang faster than ever before; no Cap! Result? What one generation uses as a medium of talking might leave others scratching their heads.
Some Millennial language
Well, the elder generation first and let's have a tour of the memory lane. Millennials have their own set of slang that may seem outdated to Gen Z's. These Millennials were once that posh kid from the neighbourhood, but look at them scratching their heads. They once confused their parents with words like:
Bling: Flashy Jewels
Bae: Baby/Loved one
Basic: Mainstream
Clap Back: Witty Comeback to a shitty comment
Extra: Drama
Fam: Family
Receipts: Records of Hypocrisy
Tight: Really Cool
Crunk: Energetic/Excited
Adulting: Adult responsibilities
TBT: ThrowBack Thursday; For sharing old pictures
YOLO: You Only Live Once; Often used to justify taking risks.
BFF: Best Friend Forever
FOMO: Fear of Missing Out
Looking good: Perfectly done
A fun fact is that this terminology' slingo made their parents raise their eyebrows and make them search for dictionaries, but look at them having a hard time keeping up with Gen Z lingo.
And thanks to this language gap, this often leads to fun misunderstandings. Like the first scenario, what millennials may call 'lit' (excellent), a Gen Z will comment on this with 'Fire' with the same intention.
Gen Z Lingo
Now, Enter Gen Z in this scenario, which is packed with vocals that seem to change faster than the 'TikTok Challenges' of these days. Social media also fuels the upgradation, change, and modification of new words like wildfire, leaving the Millennials and Gellennials needing help keeping up with the trend.
Bougie
Meaning: High Maintenance girlie girl, Fancy, Luxury
Example: She's so bougie and always shops from Shein.
Dank
Meaning: Often used for memes. Something really cool/funny
Example: Your political memes are totally dank.
Gucci
Meaning: Cool/Excellent
Example: Her fit is all Gucci
Hangry
Meaning: Being angry due to hunger
Example: I need brunch ASAP and am all too hungry to work.
P
Meaning: Acronym for player, someone who is charming
Example: He is a total P, catching everyone's attention
Perf
Meaning: Perfect
Example: I got a perfect dress for the party.
Salty
Meaning: Annoyed/Upset
Example: Stop being salty for losing the game
And I Oop
Meaning: When an absolutely unexpected situation happens
Example: And I, oops, I didn't realize he would be there.
OK Boomer
Meaning: Use to mock if someone makes an orthodox comment
Example: Marreya just commented how pissed she is with my shitposting. I replied, 'OK, Boomer!'
Shade
Meaning: Subtle taunt
Example: She threw shade at Arnob for being salty
Ship
Meaning: To support a wannabe relationship
Example: I totally ship Megh and Tahsan together.
I can't even
Meaning: Being overwhelmed enough to handle a situation
Example: He is such a manchild, I can't even.
OTP
Meaning: One True Pairing, Straight out of fiction or real-life
Example: Mondler is my OTP
Roman Empire
Meaning: Something one thinks more often
Example: My Roman Empire is an early 2007 Bangla song.
Sipping Tea
Meaning: Minding your business while observing the whole drama
Example: I'm just sipping my tea. Let them fight to be Dutch.
Slay
Meaning: To do/carry something accurately
Example: You totally slayed the presentation.
Sorry not Sorry
Meaning: Pretending sorry without actually being sorry. Somehow taunt
Example: You deserved that. Sorry, not sorry.
Spilling Tea
Meaning: Sharing gossip
Example: Meet me soon. I need to spill the tea on my love interest.
Snatched
Meaning: Perfect
Example: Your outfit is snatched
Stan
Meaning: Enthusiastic fan
Example: I absolutely stan Atif. I know all his songs by heart!
Sus
Meaning: Suspicious
Example: He is acting all sus. Sure, he is hiding something.
TBH
Meaning: To Be Honest.
Example: TBH! He is a total snack (An attractive person).
The struggle is real.
Meaning: Acknowledging how hard something is.
Example: Waking up at 8 is a real struggle, fo sho (for sure)
Thirsty
Meaning: Attention Seeker
Example: Stop liking her full feed. Looks thirsty.
Trash
Meaning: Terrible
Example: Her behaviour is absolute trash.Meaning
Woke
Meaning: Aware of trends or social issues
Example: Dr. Yunus is a woke person.
Yuss
Meaning: an energetic way of saying yes.
Example: Want to move to the mountains? Yuss
That's Bussin'
Meaning: Something delicious
Example: The pasta is bussin'!
Rizz
Meaning: Short for charisma. Ability to attract a partner
Example: His rizz. OMG! It's mad.
Pookie
Meaning: Adorable, cutie
Example: Such a Pookie she is!
There you go—all equipped with Gen Z vocabs! I hope the next time you see a post, you can decode it even for one word. Staying updated with slang will help you bridge the generation gap. Who knows, you might also love using them in daily life, and that would be bussin' fo sho.
Want to share something with the writer? She can be found at rahmanmegh1234@gmail.com