Gen Z Slang Explained by a Gen X Mom

Hi everyone. I'm Jennifer from  English with Jennifer. You know,  

I don't really hide the fact that I'm a  middle-aged mom, and these days it seems  

that the English language is reminding me  about the differences between generations.  

In English, we have the word "low-key." I use it  as an adjective and I hyphenate it. In a recent  

conversation class, I explained how I use this  word. For example, some people like an adventurous  

vacation, while others prefer something more  low-key, that is, something less intense, quieter,  

and more relaxed. A low-key vacation, a low-key  weekend, a low-key event. Well, there was a guest  

teacher in my class who was in his early twenties  -- much younger than me --- and he said he uses  

the word "low-key" too, but he and his friends  use it with the meaning of subtle, like you don't  

want to call anyone's attention to something. So,  if a group of us plan a low-key dinner, we won't  

tell others about it and we won't post about it  on social media. We'll keep it small and quiet.  

The funny thing is that I later asked my two  teenagers about this. They both told me they  

use "lowkey" differently. These Gen Z kids of mine  say things like "lowkey annoying" "lowkey crazy."  

First of all, they're using it as an adverb  and without a hyphen. Guess what it means.  

They use "lowkey" to mean "kind of" or  "a little." It's an adverb of degree. So,  

if you're feeling lowkey disappointed,  you're kind of disappointed.

So, this is how my Gen Z kids talk. By the  way, you can watch my video on generations  

to review the names we have. For example, those  who belong to Generation Z are Post-Millennials,  

and they were born approximately between 1997  and 2012. Because I looked, I recently found  

many more examples of people doing things lowkey,  and the meaning seems to be a mix of "kind of"  

and "quietly." A couple can lowkey break up or  break up lowkey. Someone can lowkey quit a job.  

I don't use lowkey this way, but plenty of younger  people do. If you're a little confused, just  

remember the word is used differently by different  people. The meaning can vary depending on the  

speaker's age. I think it would sound lowkey weird  and lowkey unnatural for me to speak this way,  

so this is a warning about trying to use slang,  not just American slang but any slang you hear  

in English. You can become familiar with it. You  can even learn how to use it as you've heard it,  

but it could sound inappropriate if you  don't belong to a particular social group.  

Let's have some fun and test your ability  to make sense of Gen Z slang. I'm going  

to share 10 more slang expressions that my  teenagers had to explain to me. At times,  

I was confused. Every time I understood  a word and used it correctly, though,  

they laughed because it sounded silly for  a mom like me to use such expressions.  

So. please use this lesson as an exercise and  comprehension. You will hear slang. How well can  

you understand it? Let's see. The disclaimer here,  of course, is that I'm not all that familiar with  

these expressions. I'm of a different generation.  I'm Generation X. I'll explain to the best of  

my ability, and if I'm a little off, you can let  me know in the comments -- respectfully, please.

A person tells me they've met dozens of Hollywood  celebrities. I could respond and say, "That's cap.  

Show me the photos." "Cap" is a lie. It's not the  truth. That's cap. Someone who's capping is lying.  

My generation might say "no way" when  we don't believe something to be true.

My kids don't know all the musical artists and  groups I listen to, and I don't know the names  

of many younger artists, but if they hear a song  that they like, they might comment, "That slaps."  

What? It's a compliment. If something slaps,  it's good. It's excellent. Apparently, a song  

or movie can slap hard, so I guess my kids and  I agree that Stranger Things slaps pretty hard.

Do you ever watch movies, hear songs, or read  books and get more out of it now than you did  

when you were younger? That's because the  subject matter or the story hits different.  

It's special, better, and perhaps more meaningful.  I guess the opposite could be true, right? We  

might see a movie from our childhood and realize  it creates a different experience for us now.  

Hits different. This isn't an expression  I use, but I'm familiar with it now.

This one is easy to understand, but I think  Gen Zers might use this as a standalone phrase.  

For example, someone insults me and I feel both  shocked and offended. My response? "Wow. Emotional  

damage." Or I observe online how someone just  got insulted and my comment: "Emotional damage."

If you're asking me to confirm our plans  or if you're asking if I agree to go out,  

I'd use any variation of "yes":  yeah, okay, all right, for sure.  

What are young people saying today?  Bet. Are we going out tonight? Bet.

Although Elvis Presley was  from a different generation,  

I think most Gen Zers would agree the guy  had rizz, at least in his younger years.  

The guy was undoubtedly good-looking  and had charm. The ladies loved him.  

I understand that "rizz" likely comes from  "charisma," so you can have rizz or not have rizz.  

Some people have what's called unspoken  rizz, which means, for example,  

a really good-looking guy doesn't have  to say anything at all. He just looks  

good and has enough charm to attract the  ladies, so a look and a smile will do.  

In my generation, we talk about asking someone  out on a date or hitting on someone to make  

a romantic connection. Teenagers today post  videos on social media on how to rizz someone  

up. I guess it's about how you use your charm  to make a romantic advance towards someone.

I loved learning this one because I  experienced it. I went through this  

really awkward phase when I was growing up. I  had braces, glasses, bad skin, and I was tall  

and skinny. Well, I'm still somewhat tall  and skinny, but somewhere in high school,  

I had a glow-up and my social life got a lot  better. A glow-up is a massive transformation,  

especially in one's physical appearance. You can  also use the phrasal verb "glow up." For example,  

my kids can look at old photos of me and  note how I really glowed up in high school.

Okay. This word is sometimes used  by people over 30, but personally,  

it's not in my active vocabulary. If I say  something that offends you and I meant no offense,  

I could say, "Don't be so salty." If  you're salty, you're angry and bitter.  

You can be salty about something. You  can be salty that something happened.  

If you recall something upsetting from the past,  you might say, "I'm still so salty about it."

This word definitely never applies to  me. You have to be really cool to have  

drip or have the drip. I've heard it used both  with and without an article. As I understand,  

"drip" is mostly about physical appearance,  especially a cool or really nice outfit.  

You look amazing, and it's the whole  package: cool, attractive, confident.  

Gen Zers can look at photos and talk about how  someone is dripping. That's a form of praise.

If you've studied irregular verbs, you know that  "shake" in the past tense is "shook," and the  

past participle is "shaken." We can talk about  someone being shaken up from a traumatic event.  

Someone can be shaken up by a car  accident or a robbery, for example.  

Well, Gen Zers have played around with grammar,  and if they experience something surprising,  

they are shook. "I'm shook" means  "I'm surprised, even shocked."

So, did you hear any of this slang before? I don't  really encourage use unless you're under 30, and  

even then, gain more exposure. Gain familiarity  first. My kids would likely say I sound cringey  

even as I try to explain these expressions, so  I won't embarrass them any further and I'll end  

here. That's all for now. I hope you found the  lesson interesting. Please remember to like and  

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channel members. As always, thank you, everyone,  for watching and I wish you happy studies!

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