Generation Z, minimum vocabulary to understand kids' slang - Lifestyle

Understanding is also a matter of language, the more the generations are distant from each other, the more this gap seems vast and incomprehensible.

This is the case of the very young generation, born between 1995 and 2010,

and that of

, born between 1946 and 1964, distant not only for age, but also for lifestyle, attitudes, interests and language.

Just think of the use of smartphones and social media - among the favorites, Tik Tok and Youtube for the former - and countless other aspects that if on the one hand characterize a generation, on the other they distance it from their parents and grandparents.

The members of Generation Z, or Centennials, have their own idioms, born in recent years or imported from other parts of the world, which evolve and change even in a very short time.

These are expressions from different sectors, which is why they are often hard to understand for older generations.

Among the areas preferred by the new generations from which to draw new ideas we can include

.

Many expressions and words, in fact, are nothing more than English terms, in most cases abbreviated, translated and applied to some situations.

Babbel has identified some of the most used terms of yesterday and today and created

OK BOOMER

“Ok, boomer” is one of the most inflated expressions in recent times and represents the answer that the new generations give when they are scolded by older people, that is the boomers.

Boomers in common parlance are also people who are simply a little old-fashioned, who do not understand current trends or catchphrases.

BAE

BAE is nothing more than an English acronym for “Before Anyone Else”.

It is used to refer to a person who comes "before anyone else", literally translated.

In general it is used to indicate the best friend, but also a brother or sister, a parent or the person to whom you are romantically linked.

BLAST

What does it mean, when someone "blasts" you?

Basically being "defeated" badly in a discussion, silenced by a dry sentence that silences the interlocutor.

The term is borrowed from the English language and the world of video games.

The expression is very fashionable on the web, where it is often used when someone responds in a dry and peremptory way to someone else, "annihilating him".

BUFU

Bufu, despite being the acronym for an Englishism, is an all-Italian term: coined in 2017 by the

, as also reported in the Treccani is the acronym of "By us fuck u", translated "as far as we are concerned ,

”.

The word was born as a response to the haters of the trap band, then it spread in jargon and became an expression that can also be used with more sympathetic tones, addressed to a friend / acquaintance.

 CRINGE

The term "cringe" is used to mean something that is extremely embarrassing, for which one feels ashamed.

The meaning of this word in English is in fact "crawl", "make oneself small", in the sense of hiding and becoming almost invisible for shame.

The use of this term has become more widespread following the publication of some videos on YouTube entitled “Try Not to Cringe”, a sort of challenge in which users challenged themselves not to

in front of particular scenes.

 NORMIE

Also in this case, an English term: the “normie” is nothing more than a

, who follows the fashion and trends of the moment.

It can be applied to different fields and always works: you are normie whether you are talking about music, movies, or memes.

 TRIGGER

Especially popular on the web, this term derives from the English “to trigger”, which basically means “to trigger”.

The verb has been Italianized and has become “trigger”, with all its declensions: today it is used to indicate that something has particularly bothered, or in any case hit, attracting attention for some negative characteristics.

According to the Accademia della Crusca, in the future it could become a simple synonym for “

 FIRE

"Fire", literally "fire" is a term imported from Anglo-Saxon culture, but also widely used in Italy, especially on social networks where it is often also replaced by the flame emoji.

It is used as a synonym for "cool", "strong", "beautiful!".

"Fire" is nothing more than the

", a term used by Boomers to indicate something

".

 YIKES

Like the term "cringe", "yikes"

, but not only.

In common parlance, it's a passe-partout word that can indicate that you are worried, surprised, or shocked.

Again, the Boomer counterpart would use another expression: “bummer” which more generally symbolizes a negative experience.

 While only a small percentage of Boomers are able to recognize Generation Z slang as lit (8%) and extra (17%), on the other hand, it

".

Babbel has identified some expressions that are no longer in use today, but which have characterized the entire generation of Baby Boomers.

Gas: A

popular slang term in the 1960s, a "gas" was any activity or event that was fun or inspiring to laugh

literally “don't flip your wig” used to tell someone to calm down.

To demonstrate the evolution of language, today the Centennials use the term "wig" to indicate something extraordinary.

It refers to the idea that what was seen was so surprising, that the wig flew off

no fun or boredom.

Defining someone a "wet rag" implies that you want to push them to go out and have fun

literally "

come

", had a double meaning depending on the tone.

It meant asking a girl to dance, but it could also mean you were daring someone to fight

while it now refers to a type of undergarment, the term originally referred to a pair of flip-flops.

World Curiosities

In November 2019, Chlöe Swarbrick (a New Zealand member of parliament) told a senior lawmaker "OK, Boomer" after interrupting her speech on climate change.

For the New Zealand Parliamentary TV subtitle staff, Chlöe Swarbrick's remark proved incomprehensible.