Your teenager might be a little “salty” when they discover you’ve deciphered their slang. Preply, an online language learning platform, has released its list of the most commonly used slang terms among teenagers.
According to the platform, only 3 in 5 parents said they “tried to keep up” with the terminology, often relying on Google to explain slang. Of the 600 parents surveyed, only 2% knew every word on the list.
While slang is constantly evolving, Preply found around 30 terms that were used across broad swaths of teenagers. “Sus” — from suspicious, meaning questionable, suspect or dishonest — was the top slang terms among teens.
Here are some of the others from this year’s list:
- Bet: “An expression that means ‘I agree’, ‘good news.’”
- Yeet: “To violently throw an object that you deem to be worthless, inferior or just plain garbage.”
- Salty: ”When you are upset over something little.”
- Cap: “Another word for lying. It can be used like no cap or you can say stop capping.”
- Extra: “Being over the top, excessive, dramatic behavior.”
- Bussin’: - “What you would say if something was really good.”
- Bougie: Short for bourgeois, “used to describe someone as high class, literally or figuratively.”
- Sheesh: “An expression when you’re impressed or amazed by something.”
- Drip: ”When something is very cool. Can be used to describe an outfit/accessory, person, song, etc.”
Preply also shared some slang terms that appear to be on their way out, including:
- Oof: “Can be used to express discomfort, stress, or sadness.”
- Finna: “Abbreviation of ‘fixing to’. Normally means ‘going to’.”
- Mid: “Used to insult or degrade something or an opposing opinion, labeling it as average or poor quality.”
“We found nearly 6 in 10 Americans (59%) are annoyed by slang, and certain phrases definitely bother them more than others. After a few years, COVID-related slang (like “Rona” or “zoom fatigue”) has become especially grating — 2 in 3 Americans said they’re annoyed by these terms,” noted Preply.
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