🇺🇸 ENGLISH SLANG - The MOST COMMON English Slang Phrases You Need to Sound American

Today, let's talk about slang words that  every English learner needs to know in 2024.

Knowing common slang will help you understand  native speakers like TikTokers, Youtubers,  

movies, and of course other cool people like me.

I'm cool, right?

Welcome back to JForrest English.

Of course.

I'm Jennifer.

Now let's get started.

First is legit.

That movie was legit.

She's legit.

Do you know what this means?

Legit is short for legitimate.

So we just take that first part.

Legit.

Legitimate And in this context,  legit means awesome, great,  

or the real deal, which is  another slight expression.

So if you think that this YouTube  channel is awesome, great.

It's the real deal in the  sense that it truly helps  

you improve your English communication skills.

You can say J Force English is legit,  

so put that in the comments because you'll  sound really cool, just like a native speaker.

You're your favorite tik  toker, your favorite you tuber.

She's legit.

Next, salty.

Don't be so salty.

Why are you salty?

Salty means irritated, annoyed, or bitter.

Bitter meaning just unpleasant  to be around a negative person.

Negative energy, negative vibes.

You don't want that.

So you could say I try to avoid salty people  and surround my myself with positive people.

And I love reading the comment section  because everyone is so positive.

Sometimes I get salty comments,  but that's normal in general.

Everyone is very positive.

So thank you so much for not being salty.

Let's talk about flex.

Someone might say she's always  flexing about her adorable cats.

To flex means to show off or to boast.

To boast is simply when you talk about  your achievements in a very positive way,  

but they're your own achievements.

Now to flex is this motion right now.

Notice I don't have any muscles, but  if you go to the gym, a lot of guys  

will flex in the mirror to show off  their muscles to show off to boast.

So that's where this expression comes from.

Now, to be honest, I do flex about my cats a lot.

But they're so adorable.

How could I not flex about them?

They are just the best.

I hope my flexing doesn't make you salty.

Next, let's talk about shady.

That e-mail looks shady.

I wouldn't click that link if I were you.

Or maybe don't partner with him.

He's shady.

Do you know what this means to be shady?

So it's an adjective.

It's used when and something like a link  in an e-mail or someone is suspicious,  

not trustworthy or deceitful  because he's being shady.

Now let's talk about low key.

The party was pretty low key.

What does that mean?

You know it means the party was calm, not intense.

But keep in mind this isn't a negative thing.

Some people might not enjoy low key  parties, but other people may prefer them.

So it isn't negative.

It just depends on your preference.

For example, I just want a low key birthday  party so you can let the people planning your  

party know that you want something calm,  relaxed dinner, something casual, low key.

How about this one?

That party was Cray Cray.

Do you know what Cray Cray means?

Cray Cray is the same as crazy.

We just take the Cray from crazy  and for some reason we say it twice.

Why?

I have no idea.

Someone did it on TikTok and it went  viral and now all native speakers do it.

That party was Cray Cray.

Crazy intense.

Hence the opposite of low key.

We also use this with people.

My mother-in-law is Cray Cray.

You girls are Cray Cray.

How about this one?

Sam's being so extra.

Do you know what that means?

Well, I didn't know what  this meant a few months ago.

In fact, this is exactly  what my friend said to me.

Her husband's name is Sam and she said  Sam's being so extra and I said extra what?

Extra what 100%?

I'm not lying.

That is exactly how I replied.

I said extra what?

Because usually it sounds being so  extra nice extra mean extra annoying.

You include an adjective to complete it, right?

So I was confused and I had to learn this  expression from my friend to be extra.

In this case, extra is the adjective.

To be extra means dramatic or excessive.

So why did my friend think  her husband was being extra?

Well, maybe she could say to me.

I asked him to clean the kitchen,  and he made a big deal of it.

He's being so extra.

Yeah, he was so extra, Right?

How about this one?

Samara's so flaky.

Samara's such a flake.

Do you know what this means?

We have flaky or a flake?

They mean the same thing.

And this means unreliable or inconsistent truth.

He's a total flake.

Let's say you asked your friend to  take you to the airport to confirm  

that your friend is in fact going to  pick you up and take you to the airport.

Because sometimes your friend is a flake.

Sometimes your friend is flaky, unreliable.

You can confirm by saying don't flake  out on me, don't flake out on me.

So you're confirming with your  friend that she isn't going to  

be a flake and she is in fact going  to pick you up and take you to the  

airport so your friend can reply back  and say, I promise I won't flake out.

How about LIT?

The party was lit.

The concerts gonna be lit.

To be lit means exciting,  impressive, or highly enjoyable.

You guys, my next video is gonna be lit.

So I'm letting you know my next  video is going to be awesome.

So make sure you watch it.

It's gonna be lit.

This party is totally lit.

This party is gonna be so lit.

But what if I say the movie was a flop?

What does that mean?

A flop to be a flop That was a total flop.

This means unsuccessful,  disappointing or not well received.

So ultimately people didn't like it.

It was a flop.

So you might have a great idea for something,  but then it turns out to be a flop.

Unsuccessful.

Don't worry, that happens.

That happens to me with my lessons as well.

My lesson was a flop.

It got a lot of thumbs down, or not.

Many people liked it or they were  really salty in the comments.

But hopefully you don't  think that about this lesson.

Hopefully you say your lessons.

A hit.

A hit.

This is our next slang expression to be a hit.

This means successful, well  received, The opposite of a flop.

So the movie was a hit.

This movie could have been a hit #12.

This is one you definitely need to know.

Hangry.

Have you heard this before?

Sorry, I'm just hangry.

Hangry is a combination of hungry and angry.

So it's when you become angry  only because you're hungry.

That's the reason why.

So do you get hangry?

I get hangry if I miss lunch.

Well, at least that's what my husband says.

Or if you're on a long road trip,  

you might say we'd better find a  restaurant before the kids get hangry.

Someone's hangry.

And finally one You absolutely need to know Ghost.

I can't believe she ghosted me.

Do you know what this means to Ghost?

Here we're using ghost as a verb to Ghost.

Someone, someone, ghosts someone.

She's ghosting you, CC ghosting me.

And this is to end all communication with someone,  but without warning and without explanation.

So all of a sudden you get no more messages,  no more replies, and you have no idea why?

Because as far as you're concerned,  everything was going great.

And this is most commonly used in romantic  relationships, I guess because people are too  

afraid to simply let the other person know that  they're just not into them, so they ghost them.

Now you'll be able to understand native speakers  better, and you can sound more natural as well.

But remember, these are slang expressions,  so there is a time and a place to use them.

Do you want me to teach  you more slang expressions?

If you do, then put Let's do it,  put let's do it in the comments.

And of course, make sure you like this video,  

share it with your friends and subscribe so  you're notified every time I post a new lesson.

And you can get this free speaking  guide where I share 6 tips on how  

to speak English fluently and confidently.

You can click here to download it or  look for the link in the description now.

Native speakers also love using idioms, so I  highly recommend you watch this lesson right now.