Most popular Teenage Lingo you should know to better understand Kids

According to Ethnologue, there are 7139 spoken languages in the world today. Each language becomes more refined when it passes on from many generations to the most current one and is a true representation of one’s culture, heritage, and roots. But if ever you go through the Instagram feed of any generation Z’s influencer, you will discover one more prevalent global language, which binds one large section of the entire world together; the teenage section. Once you lay your eyes on this language, you will immediately feel out of sync, and not comprehend any word or sentence mentioned.

Though these words have been around for decades, meme-culture, social media platforms have forced teenagers to communicate their thoughts in a cramped 280-character space, making many parents today virtually bilingual when trying to communicate to them. Thankfully for all parents out there, we have scoured the teenage dictionary and enlisted all the slang we could get our hands-on. Statutory warning: This teenage lingo might just ‘teenorize’ your mind!

Some of the interesting codes as below:

• POS – Parent over shoulder
• KPC– Keeping parents clueless
• 4EAE– Forever and ever
• ATM –At the moment
• BFN– Bye for now
• F2F or FTF –Face to face
• FWB– Friends with benefits
• FYEO –For your eyes only
• GAL– Get a life
• HAK –Hugs and kisses
• HAND– Have a nice day
• IDK –I don’t know
• IIRC –If I remember correctly
• IKR– I know, right?
• IMHO –In my honest opinion / In my humble opinion
• IMO – In my opinion
• J/K– Just kidding
• J4F –Just for fun
• L8– Late
• MOS– Mom over shoulder
• NAGI– Not a good idea
• OIC– Oh I see
• OTP– On the phone
• P911– Parent alert
• PAW –Parents are watching
• PIR – Parent in room
• PTB– Please text back
• SSDD– Same stuff, different day
• SWAK– Sealed with a kiss
• SWYP– So, what’s your problem?
• SYS– See you soon
• TBC– To be continued
• WTPA –Where the party at?
• ZOMG– Oh my God (sarcastic)

Any sensible human being believes in clear and proper communication to most appropriately put across his or her point. After receiving the point, the other person registers, processes, and responds most ably. But when it comes to teenagers, the concept of clarity is absent in most of their activities, including communication.

After getting ‘teenorized’ by the above-mentioned ‘out of this world’ codes, let us focus our attention on teenage phrases, which will take you deeper into the realm of confusion.

• AF: Technically an acronym for “as f#¢&,” it means extremely. As in, “I’m hungry AF.”
• Bae: Babe or baby, in the romantic (and not the infant) sense. Also short for “before anyone else.”
• Bye Felicia: A dismissive term said when you want an annoying person to buzz off.
• Fam: Short for family, “fam” is used with only your closest friends.
• Hooking up: Think back to years ago when that younger, more attractive version of yourself ‘hooked up’ with someone at a bar or a party. Now slap a Rated-G tag on that memory — today’s “hooking up” means much, much more and legally shouldn’t be performed in public.
• Lit: An adjective used to describe something active or popular, like a party. It can also mean drunk or stoned. So, technically you could get lit at a party that was lit, though the only person who would ever say that would be Eugene Levy in a straight-to-video movie.
• Netflix and chill: The modern version of being invited into a date’s home for a nightcap, “Netflix and chill” has nothing to do with movies or relaxing and everything to do with hooking up.
• On fleek/On point: Used as an adjective, these two terms both mean impeccably styled or groomed. So, which should you use? On fleek was added to Random House’s Dictionary.com last year, but logophiles think Merriam-Webster is totally on point (and recognizes neither). Ultimately, you should use neither because you’re not 17.
• OTP:An acronym for “one true pairing,” means the fictional couple you think we’re meant to be together, despite their will-they/won’t-they history. For instance, you could say, “Pacey and Joey are my OTP,” but only if you want to sound really old and out of touch.
• Slay: Short for doing something very well, “slay” is shorthand for slaying, a synonym for killing. So, in other words, killing it, only six characters shorter, thus easier on Twitter.
• Swipe right: Derived from the user interface of the popular hook-up app Tinder, “swipe right” is a term of approval.
• Turnt/Turnt Up: Similar to “Lit,” these adjectives describe a particularly loud, lively affair, or being inebriated, or both.
• YAS:A very enthusiastic version of yes, “YAS” should not be confused with YAZ, a contraceptive which in other words means “no.”

Teenage is about raging hormones. As a result, some of the language seen in the codes mentioned above and phrases have sexual undertones and maybe borderline inappropriate. However, there are some words and phrases that may be deemed safe. Following is the list:

• AMOSC: Add me on Snapchat
• Gualla: Money
• Slick: Cool
• WRU: Where are you?
• LYAAF: Love you as a friend
• Huggle: Hug and snuggle
• IDEK: I don’t even know
• IKR: I know, right?
• Dime: On an approval scale of 1-10; dime is a very attractive person
• Savage: When a person speaks or acts bluntly or without a filter in public
• Gucci: Very impressive

Sometimes teenagers might get into some bad company that might have some unwanted influences on them in the form of alcohol, drugs, etc. They may use coded language to communicate, especially if they are about to indulge in such activities, keeping their parents in the dark. They might be disturbing to read, but necessary to know at the same time.

• Wth: What the heck/hell
• 121:Let’s chat in a private message
• Clouds: The vapor from your vape
• 1174:Invitation to meet at a particular place, often for a wild party
• 9, CD9, Code 9:Parents are nearby
• 99:Parents are gone
• WTTP: Want to trade pictures?
• S2R:Send to Receive (pictures)
• Sugarpic: Refers to a suggestive or erotic photograph
• TDTM: Talk dirty to me
• Blow: Cocaine
• Pearls: A nicely rolled blunt
• Bud: Marijuana
• Tree: Marijuana (i.e., Looking for tree, got any? )
• Dabbing: Concentrated doses of marijuana (began as a dance craze)
• 420:Marijuana or let’s get high
• DOC: Drug of choice
• Yayo: Cocaine
• CID: Acid
• E:Ecstasy

Parents might take some time to understand and adjust to this alien language, but it might be a medium to better communicate with their teenage children. While learning this slang can prove helpful against some notorious teenagers, it can also help develop a bond between parents and their children. In this social media era, these terms might also prove to be handy to blend in with the younger generation, no matter how ridiculous they might sound!

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