How do I deal with Gen Z slang?

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🤔 virgilsdiary via Reddit · May 10, 2026
How come I have a hard time understanding Gen Z slang and is this normal?
🙂 Boban D. (Psycholinguist) · May 8, 2026
Every generation of English speakers adds, removes, or changes the meanings of words. It’s not their fault. Every generation does it. One reason for this has to do with the fact that English is a fusional language, which means that as the English language changes, words tend to combine, or "fuse" together. A simple example is the phrase "You all are not" – which fused into "Y’all are not," and is now fusing into the single word "Y'aint" in some parts of America. That’s one of many examples. This characteristic of English may cause frustration because instead of saying "thank you," Gen Z speakers may say "ty," or words like "fire" may be used as an adjective to describe something cool as in "that's so fire!" rather than as a noun to describe a flaming emergency. Gen Z is also a unique linguistic generation because they underwent life-long exposure to technology, a global pandemic, and other circumstances. So, slang used by Gen Z is completely normal given the nature of the English language and other factors. I may recommend trying to understand their perspective while actively pausing the instinct to judge quickly.

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