Talk:List of Generation Z slang

"Please add X to this list!" ⋮ "Please change X to Y!"
Since we've had a lot of newcomers here...

This notice is for those who wish to request the addition of a term to the list, or an edit to something pre-existing.

To increase your chances of adding or changing something, please make an edit request.

Instructions are available, (Edit requests § Making requests) but here's the gist:
 * Format should be "Change X to Y" or "Add X to list"
 * Must have sources to back up request.
 * Examples are cool, but a source should be more than just that.

And also:
 * Don't speak on the behalf of an entire population.
 * "I'm Gen Z, so I know what I'm talking about."
 * "Here's an article to support my claims!"

Thank you :)

See also: — Urro[ talk ] [ edits ] ⋮ 00:35, 27 January 2024 (UTC)
 * Talk page guidelines § How to use article talk pages

Please edit Uwu to UwU
self explanatory, UwU is the correct way to write it and thats how its most commonly used Sqarex5292 (talk) 22:31, 18 March 2024 (UTC)


 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. The article linked, uwu, says it can be spelt 'UwU' or 'uwu'. Can you find a source saying that "UwU" is most common? Rusty4321  talk contribs 22:50, 18 March 2024 (UTC)
 * The emoticon/kaomoji to resemble the face it resembles it should be used as UwU and/or uWu as neither Uwu nor uwU has the symmetry. While a reliable survey or web crawl cannot be made at the least all-lower "uwu" should be used as it is the stylized article title for the English Wikipedia article.
 * The first known instance mentioned on the Wikipedia page is stylized as "UwU"
 * The latter instance on a fan-fiction also is stylized as "UwU" Emircex (talk) 11:47, 16 April 2024 (UTC)

Motion to define Gen Z as mid-to-late 1990s through 2011
It doesn't look like anyone has proposed changing the range of Gen Z's years, so I'll be the first. Because a large share of the academic, but also popular media, landscape place the start of Gen Z as 1995, I think we could reasonably replace "those born between the late 1990s and the late 2000s" with "those born in the mid-to-late 1990s through the 2000s." I'm leaving citations below for evidence.

Schlee RP, Eveland VB, Harich KR. From Millennials to Gen Z: Changes in student attitudes about group projects. Journal of Education for Business. 2019;95(3):139-147. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/08832323.2019.1622501

Francis T, Hoefel F. “True Gen”: Generation Z and Its Implications for Companies. McKinsey & Company. Published November 12, 2018. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/true-gen-generation-z-and-its-implications-for-companies

Gomez K, Mawhinney T, Betts K. Welcome to Generation Z. Deloitte; 2019. https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/consumer-business/welcome-to-gen-z.pdf

Pueschel A, Johnson RC, Dhanani LY. Putting Gen Z first: Educating with a generational mind-set. Industrial and Organizational Psychology. 2020;13(4):594-598. doi:10.1017/iop.2020.103

Twenge JM. Generations. Simon and Schuster; 2023.

Katz R, Ogilvie S, Shaw J, Woodhead L. GEN Z, EXPLAINED : The Art of Living in a Digital Age. Univ Of Chicago Press; 2022.

Guillén MF. The Perennials. St. Martin’s Press; 2023.

J F-T (talk) 22:23, 19 March 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 1 April 2024
Please change to  Sources:   I await a response from you.

Additional source: 2A01:C22:6FA5:C100:A02E:435:C1BD:95EE (talk) 20:19, 1 April 2024 (UTC)


 * ❌ - Please use reliable, secondary sources to support the changes you want to make. YouTube videos fall under user generated content, and therefore can not be cited for use on Wikipedia in accordance to verifiability. λ Negative  MP1  20:41, 1 April 2024 (UTC)

Phrase "some type of way"
i started hearing this phrase a lot about 6-7 years ago amongst younger people (im a Millennial). Maybe it came from the Rich Homie Quan song with a similar name. I guess I need to find independent evidence of this being an identifiable phrase amongst young people. VegasMiamiMan (talk) 08:57, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

Add "some type of way"

 * What I think should be changed (format using {some type of way}):
 * everybody be saying that:
 * References supporting the possible change (format using the "cite" button) Rich Homie Quan:

VegasMiamiMan (talk) 15:17, 9 April 2024 (UTC)


 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate.  (talk | contribs) 15:23, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 10 April 2024
It needs the addition of girlboss Yomnk (talk) 16:06, 10 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. Liu1126 (talk) 16:11, 10 April 2024 (UTC)
 * I agree — it's weird that it's not here! You can probably find hundreds upon hundreds of "girlboss, gatekeep, gaslight" in social media. 191.52.88.252 (talk) 18:16, 17 April 2024 (UTC)
 * I've added it Lallint 18:23, 24 May 2024 (UTC)

Lack of coherent criteria for inclusion
This list lacks any kind of general criteria for inclusion. It merely includes "slang used by Generation Z", which is extremely vague. Plenty of slang which obviously predate Gen Z's very existence have been added to this list. Therefore, I am recommending that a new criterion be added: slang which is associated with Generation Z in reliable sources. ― Howard • 🌽33 15:03, 11 April 2024 (UTC)


 * I actually saw an article explicitly calling "clap back" millennial once. So yeah, this problem is pretty darn dire. 191.52.88.252 (talk) 18:15, 17 April 2024 (UTC)

"Pluh/Pluggz" Lack of Resources
No resources prove or point towards to the stated use case.

Podcast excerpt talking about the tag's origin. Emircex (talk) 11:38, 16 April 2024 (UTC)


 * in addition, the short description is still accurate. Although it now correctly credits BeatPluggz as the originator of the plug sound effect, they never used it as a "pluh" sound and you can hear it clearly say "Plug!" in many of the songs they used it in. I think it would be useful to redirect to the article here on Plugg music as it provides much more needed context in addition to the new wave use in TikTok memes. 129.130.19.25 (talk) 12:56, 16 April 2024 (UTC)

remove “pluh”
as a gen z’er absolutely no one says “pluh” plugg is just a producer tag for the plug/pluggnb genre that we memed Wttffff420 (talk) 02:05, 17 April 2024 (UTC)


 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. Rusty4321  talk contribs 02:14, 17 April 2024 (UTC)

Add a See also section
With links to pages like List of Boomer slang — I noticed that one's actually orphaned, so I thought that would be a good way to solve it. ...Alas, I can't edit the page. 191.52.88.252 (talk) 18:13, 17 April 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 18 April 2024
[typo] Change "or" to "of" in description of Main Character. SigmaTheta2915 (talk) 03:48, 18 April 2024 (UTC)
 * ✅ Rusty4321  talk contribs 03:54, 18 April 2024 (UTC)

section heading needs expansion
it didnt just come out of AAVE

a lot of it comes from drag queens/lgbtqiaxyzp+++++++++, kpop/anime communities and gaming/alt music youtubers/soundcloud rappers/twitch streamers etc 2A00:23C6:E791:BF01:187C:EC7E:82DA:D0D9 (talk) 13:45, 20 April 2024 (UTC)


 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: I'm not sure what you're referring to. Additionally, please provide your request in a "change X to Y" format, with reliable sources. Rusty4321  talk contribs 14:27, 20 April 2024 (UTC)

Gen z starts 1995
This article says late 1990s gen z starts but as a 95 baby i use some of these slangs and i don’t think 2 years is gonna make a difference here’s some articles to back up my claims

https://mccrindle.com.au/article/topic/generation-z/gen-z-and-gen-alpha-infographic-update/

https://www.jeantwenge.com/faq-items/generation-belong-birth-year-cutoffs/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Z

Even the gen z official Wikipedia page

Windows 95 sounds like a good cut off anyways i grew up with technology there’s nothing millennial about that, not to mention millennials grew up in the 90s either partially or mostly i don’t think being 4 by the time the decade ends counts.

49.191.53.187 (talk) 09:32, 2 May 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 2 May 2024
In the explanation section for 'Gaslight', the synopsis of the play is slightly incorrect (per the synopsis at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_Light)– I would suggest changing the wording to "where a man tries to convince his wife she's imagining the dimming of their gas lights to hide his attempted thefts" or something similar. Guest1300 (talk) 21:14, 2 May 2024 (UTC)


 * ✅ ABG (Talk/Report any mistakes here) 10:13, 29 May 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 3 May 2024
In the row of the table for "rizz" in the 3rd box from the left, it says: "In mid-2021, the term subsequently gained after being popularized by American Twitch streamer Kai Cenat." After the phrase "subsequently gained", the word "popularity" or "fame" seems necessary to correct the missing adjective in the first clause.

Sample of what edit might look like: "In mid-2021, the term subsequently gained fame after being popularized by American Twitch streamer Kai Cenat." Yeetboie64 (talk) 04:04, 3 May 2024 (UTC)
 * ✅ – changed to "the term was further popularized [...]" to avoid the seeming redundancy of saying the term "gained fame after being popularized". Tollens (talk) 15:05, 7 May 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 26 May 2024
Change "tweaking" to "tweaking out" 35.135.69.204 (talk) 16:53, 26 May 2024 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made.  thetechie@enwiki  :  ~/talk/  $  03:23, 29 May 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 27 May 2024
add the phrase side eye 80.42.239.169 (talk) 13:00, 27 May 2024 (UTC)


 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. Rusty4321  talk contribs 14:15, 27 May 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 2 June 2024
Please remove skibidi as a part of the list of Generation Z slang as it is slang commonly used by the Generation known as Gen Alpha. Thank you for hearing me out on this matter and I hope for further communication. Joshua6420 (talk) 02:52, 2 June 2024 (UTC)


 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: The El-Amin source in particular talks about the emergency of "Skibidi" when Little Big's song was released in 2018. Between that and the other sources' mentions of crossover, it's hard to say it does not have usage in Gen Z. —C.Fred (talk) 03:00, 2 June 2024 (UTC)

US Centric Bias
I know this is the English Wikipedia and maybe requesting something unpopular. Still It's pretty much US-Centric Post the most (talk) 22:39, 7 June 2024 (UTC)

Should we add "what the sigma"
It acts like the Gen Alpha word as "what the hell or heck". Wondering if there was any reliable sources on it so we could add it onto this list. Bennett1203 (talk) 20:41, 8 June 2024 (UTC)


 * @Bennett1203 What the sigma is just a nonsensical addition to "sigma" which we already have in the list. I don't see why we should separate them. Plus, we don't have the sources like you said. TheWikiToby (talk) 21:18, 8 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Alright. Just wondering. Bennett1203 (talk) 01:12, 9 June 2024 (UTC)

"Became associated with VSCO girls" on "Sksksk"
Okay, but what is a "VSCO girl" and where do they use the term? 2001:999:580:EF66:DDBB:42A2:ADDD:973A (talk) 16:53, 11 June 2024 (UTC)


 * I've added VSCO girl to the list if that was what you're asking. TheWikiToby (talk) 00:14, 12 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Actually I wasn't, but you went above and beyond by adding a whole new definition to the list, so thank you for that. 2001:999:580:EF66:D1CA:94A3:160B:D2EC (talk) 09:21, 12 June 2024 (UTC)
 * @2001:999:580:EF66:D1CA:94A3:160B:D2EC No problem. TheWikiToby (talk) 16:09, 12 June 2024 (UTC)

Fail (internet meme)
Was the fail internet meme coined by Generation Z? 71.168.230.90 (talk) 02:51, 13 June 2024 (UTC)


 * Not necessarily 2601:18F:700:1FB2:1DEA:77FE:CDA6:C0D3 (talk) 12:09, 27 June 2024 (UTC)

The slang words
Some of the slang words don't even seem to be actual slang terms, are Gen Z slang or not even slang at all.

Couple examples are: gaslighting and Karens. —Tonkarooson (talk) 07:42, 23 June 2024 (UTC)


 * @Tonkarooson If the sources say they're slang, then they're slang. TheWikiToby (talk) 15:09, 23 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Doesn't look like this source for Gaslighting says anything about that being a slang.
 * For Karens, this source doesn't seem to describe it as a Gen Z slang, more as a meme.
 * Also this one doesn't seems to describe it as a Gen Z slang, more as a meme.
 * And this source doesn't seem to describe it as a Gen Z slang. —Tonkarooson (talk) 02:40, 24 June 2024 (UTC)
 * I have removed gaslight from the list.
 * However, Karen is definitely a slang term and deserves to be on the list. The dictionary.com citation calls it slang in the first sentence and attributes the term to Gen Z throughout the article. The Vox source calls it slang with a quote near the middle of the article. While the Atlantic citation doesn't call it slang, it gives history to the term that we need for the origin. I've also added a Time Magazine source for Karen. TheWikiToby (talk) 18:07, 24 June 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 27 June 2024
As someone from Generation Z, you must include "edge" as a slang term 2601:18F:700:1FB2:CC77:BDE:3B8A:E141 (talk) 03:34, 27 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. Charliehdb (talk) 14:38, 27 June 2024 (UTC)

“OOMF” is not widely used in slang and should not be included.
This is an outdated term that no one says. The article doesn’t state this is used by Gen Z, and the term originated in 2010 according to the article, before Gen Z slang was a thing. One USA Today article does not constitute widely used slang. No evidence this is used widely and it has a very small amount of searches online. Skeletonwizard8 (talk) 23:58, 28 June 2024 (UTC)


 * The first sentence of this slang list states, "This is a list of slang that is or was previously popularized by Generation Z (Gen Z), generally those born between the late 1990s and early 2010s in the Western world", and the linked article to Gen Z certainly says so too; 2010 definitely fits between the late 90s and early 2010s.
 * Your claim that it is "an outdated term that no one says" and "[There is] no evidence this is used widely and it has a very small amount of searches online" would be original research. Plus, the list includes all slang that "is or was previously popularized by Generation Z". Even if it's outdated, it qualifies. TheWikiToby (talk) 00:29, 29 June 2024 (UTC)

Minor error in stated definition of 'ratio'; unsupported by the provided citation
I would like to request that the definition stated within the wikipedia article be amended to reflect the definition provided in the citation.

The citation provided for the definition of 'ratio' (https://www.dictionary.com/browse/ratio) defines it as:

"the proportion of replies to a tweet compared to the combined number of retweets and likes, where a high ratio usually indicates a barrage of negative replies"

By contrast the given definition within the wikipedia article is currently:

"When a reply, particularly on Twitter or TikTok, has better reception and more likes than the original post being replied to."

I have emboldened the point of contention for emphasis. Owenowen101 (talk) 10:03, 4 July 2024 (UTC)


 * ✅ - The current definition is taken from the source (see the "verb (used with object)" part at the bottom), but the separate definition as a noun has now been added as well. Happy editing! Also, you can use this template to request edits to semi-protected articles in the future. TheWikiToby (talk) 22:51, 5 July 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 10 July 2024
I want to add 'Freaky' to the page. Redbreadbreademption (talk) 08:28, 10 July 2024 (UTC)

Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. PianoDan (talk) 17:15, 10 July 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 12 July 2024
Add pog or pogchamp please. Boysle (talk) 15:37, 12 July 2024 (UTC)

Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. PianoDan (talk) 16:10, 12 July 2024 (UTC)