Heavily influenced by social media platforms and digital spaces there’s an entire cohort of humans with sompuzzling slang terms at their disposal – the most confusing of which have been revealed.
Generation Alpha, encompassing those born between 2010 and 2025, is known for having developed their own slang thanks to a digital upbringing, gaming and internet culture. So much so, they may as well have their own language.
Among the host of terms, the most confusing slang term is ‘gyatt’ with an average of 31,625 monthly searches from people desperately seeking its meaning. The words ‘pookie’ and ‘rizz’ come in just after that among a bunch of others.
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So if you’ve ever had the slang terms ‘mewing,’ ‘sigma’ or ‘no cap’ thrown at you, according to a new study on Generation Alpha slang these are terms that baffle people the most.
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JeffBet analysed nationwide Google searches for more than 70 slang terms coined by Generation Alpha. You can see the top 10 most confusing below and find out about their bizarre meanings.
1. Gyatt
‘Gyatt,’ sometimes spelled as ‘gyat’, is used to express strong excitement or admiration – usually in reaction to seeing a large bottom.
2. Pookie
‘Pookie’ is the second most confusing slang term, with an average of 22,733 searches per month. This is often used as a term of endearment among romantic partners or close friends, like pet names such as ‘honey’ or ‘sweetheart.’
3. Rizz
In third is ‘rizz’ with 22,435 average monthly searches. The term, which is short for ‘charisma,’ refers to the ability to charm a romantic or sexual partner and first began gaining popularity online in 2023.
4. Mewing
In fourth place is ‘mewing’ with 16,228 average monthly searches. Mewing is the act of pressing your tongue to the roof of your mouth to create a more defined jawline, but younger generations have adopted the term ironically.
Teenagers will typically make the ‘shh’ hand signal and then trace their finger along their jaw with a pouted expression. This gesture is sometimes used playfully by teens to avoid answering a question, as they’re ‘too busy mewing’.
(Image: Getty Images)
5. Sigma
‘Sigma’ is fifth with 15,303 average monthly searches. The term, which is commonly paired to form the phrase ‘sigma male’ is used to refer to a successful or admirable male with hypermasculine qualities.
6. Slay
The sixth most confusing slang term is ‘slay’ with 14,468 monthly searches. The slang term describes when someone does something especially well and can be used in any context, but is particularly associated with fashion, music or artistic performances.
7. Simp
‘Simp’ ranked seventh with 11,748 monthly searches. The term refers to a person who displays excessive attention or affection towards someone else, often when these feelings aren’t reciprocated.
8. NPC
‘NPC’ ranks eighth with 11,234 monthly searches. The term, which is an abbreviation of ‘non-playable character’ is typically used as an insult to refer to someone who lacks critical thinking and follows a herd mentality.
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9. Aura
In ninth is ‘aura’ with 9,972 monthly searches. The slang term, which is used similarly to the word’s actual definition, refers to how cool an individual is perceived by others. You can use it to refer to people who exhibit weird or cringy behaviour, by saying that they have ‘negative aura.’
10. No cap
In tenth place is ‘no cap’ with 9,961 monthly searches. To ‘cap’ or ‘be capping’ is synonymous with lying, so ‘no cap’ means that someone is being truthful.
A spokesperson from JeffBet commented: “With each generation comes a new wave of slang, each seemingly more bizarre than the last, and it seems that Gen Alpha is no different. With the age group accounting for a significant proportion of TikTok users, these words are becoming increasingly common in videos, with older generations having to decipher these terms in order to keep up with the latest trends.”
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