Secret 'dictionaries' of Gen Zers who are inventing their own vocabulary are already a hit on the internet

Just as the lives on our planet evolved, language evolved with them too. We are now in a world where the English language transforms every few decades as each generation creates its own slang terms. Recently, the "friend dictionary" trend has been going strong on TikTok where Gen Zers come up with hilarious terms so exclusive that only their friends, siblings or partners could understand. One of the earliest ones to participate in this trend were sisters Chelsea Lefkowitz and Amanda Paige.

Earlier this May, Lefkowitz started sharing a series of videos titled, "Sisters' Dictionary," and it surely triggered the internet's curiosity. The first couple of parts gained traction with millions of views where the sisters revealed their secret vocabulary. For instance, "a beat face," or "Beatrice," refers to someone wearing heavy makeup and "thin granny," refers to an older person walking really fast. They even have a unique way of greeting each other as they say, "Hiiiihowaaayou?" Christmas is "sismas," for these sisters and a "rat," is someone who pokes into their business. 

The second part of the sister's dictionary gained more traction. The sisters amused the viewers with words like "nosetta," to refer to someone who asks too much about their life and even renamed "Google," as "Goo Goo." The sisters say, "Chilean sea bass," when the weather is chilly and "thick throat," means "dry throat," to them. "Fun fact: this is an actual linguistic thing for the language we use with family! It’s called a 'familect,'" noted @espoziti. "When someone doesn’t know the answer to it and they want to look it up my family says, 'Give it a goog,'" chimed in @carrot.coop. "If you don’t have your own language with your friends/sisters then what are you doing," quipped @thedaffydiaries. 

This trend caught on to a couple of best friends. A comedy content creator, Corporate Natalie, made a video of "Besties Dictionary," and it was nothing short of hilarious. Natalie and her best friend had the most insane yet amusing vocabulary between them. When it comes to cheesy movies or TV shows, the women say "NBI," which means "not buying it." They weirdly refer to throwing up as "baby bry," and when they see men who have bad oral hygiene, they call it "dead gum awareness." And when they need to reach out to each other, they just ask, "Can I pull you for a chart?" The pair of besties started the "Lazy Girls LLC," a company that was based on their laziness. A notable sweet treat they bake is "pancake," and they call people with dirty yellow teeth as, "yellow chompers."

Recently, a couple hopped onto this "dictionary" bandwagon on TikTok. Relationship influencers Jed Tavernier and Jade Smith started their own series of "Couple Dictionary," and it has gained over 24 million views. Whenever they have a package delivered, they scream out, "Got a parcel," and not "package." When the husband sees an adorable dog he goes, "Hi Annnggggewwwww," and the wife's favorite food that her husband makes is "Chris P Checken." Screaming "Slaaaaep" means one of them is about to retire to bed. They even had their own facial gestures and quirky sounds that conveyed their moods and thoughts. These secret and exclusive dictionaries between friends, siblings or couples are a reflection of how well-knit their bonding is.

You can follow Chelsea Lefkowitz (@chellefko) for lifestyle content, Corporate Natalie (@corporatenatalie) for work-from-home comedies and Jed and Jade (@jedandjade) for relationship content on TikTok.