This generation of teens communicates differently from any others as smartphone technology has outpaced the normal evolution of day-and-age vernacular. As a result, adolescents use abbreviations and emojis to convey their thoughts while parents and society scramble to catch up.
What Are They Saying? Your Guide to Teen Slang
However, within these bite-size “codes” could be volumes of meaning, some delineating at risk behavior, some foreboding suicide. These codes many times come from the letters that correspond to the key pad on a phone. So here’s a guide to some of the unfamiliar terminology the young ‘uns are using:
Sex/Love
- NIFOC – nude in front of computer
- CU46 – see you for sex
- 8 – “ate” used in discussions on oral sex
- 831 – I love you – “eight letters, three words, one you/meaning”
- 143 – I love you (denotes letters on keypads, or #’s of letters in each word (love has 4 letters)
- 2N8, 2NTE – tonight
- 4AO – four adults only
- 2B@ – to be at
- 4EAE – for ever and ever
- 53X – sex
- 775 – kiss me
- ?^ – hook up?
- BAE – before anyone else
- IWSN – I want sex now
- ITX – intense text sex
- NP4NP – naked pic for naked pic
- 1174 – strip club
Unhappy/Angry
- < 3 – broken heart or heart
- 182 – I hate you (1 stands for “I”, 8 stands for “hate”, 2 stands for “you”)
- 2G2BT – Too good to be true
- 2M2H – Too much to handle
- Blarg, Blargh – similar to “darn” but deeper
- Butthurt – receiving a personal insult
- Salty – being bitter about something or someone
- Watered – feeling sad, hurt
- Wrecked – messed up
- 4FS – For F***’s Sake
- Poof – disappearing
- ::poof:: – I’m gone
- Ghost – disappear
- 555555 – sobbing, crying one’s eyes out
- ADIH – another day in Hell
- KMN – kill me now
- VSF – very sad face
- KMS – kill myself
- KYS – kill yourself
- 187 – homicide
Drugs/Risky Behavior (to be revisited more in depth)
- 420 – marijuana
- 420 – let’s get high
- A/S/L/P – age/sex/location/picture
- A3 – anytime, anyplace, anywhere
- LMIRL – lets meet in real life
- WYRN – what is your real name?
- Chrismas tree – marijuana
- Catnip – marijuana
- Gold – drugs
- Gummy Bears – drugs
- Blues/Bananas – narcotics
- Bars – benzodiazepines
- Smarties/Skittles – Adderall/Ritalin
- Ski Equipment/Yayo– cocaine
- Cola – cocaine
- Candy/Chocolate Chips/Sweets/Smarties/E – ecstasy
- Crystal Skull/Wizard – synthetic marijuana
- Hazel – heroin
- Gat – gun/firearm
- Lit – getting high/drunk
- Smash(ed) – getting drunk, stoned, or having sex
Parents nearby
- 9 – parent is watching
- 99 – parent is not watching anymore
- P911 – parent alert (parent 911)
- PAL – parents are listening
- PAW – parents are watching
- POS – parents over shoulder
- AITR – adult in the room
- CD9 – code 9 – parents in the room
- KPC – keep parents clueless
- RU/18 – are you over 18
And the above is just a small sample of some of the terms used these days. This list continues to grow by the day so parents need to always be aware. Kids want to KPC and avoid POS so be ready for the next group of codes being created as we speak……
Daliah Wachs, MD, FAAFP is a nationally syndicated radio personality on GCN Network, KDWN, and iHeart Radio.