A lexicon of Gen Alpha: 10 of my personal favorites
Bruh! Stop yeeting all this YouTube slang at me. Get better.
I am officially the father of teenage son. I’m proud of the happy, well-adjusted young man he has become.
But sometimes I just don’t understand him at all.
It’s not the way he acts, or his behavior, or anything. There’s no rebelling, no disagreements, no not seeing eye-to-eye. He’s a great kid; intelligent, kind, responsible, and super-conscientious.
It’s his words. I literally don’t understand what he says sometimes!
All of these new words…I just don’t know what they mean. He busts out a new one every week, it seems. I need a translator. Did my parents have this problem when I was young? Does this mean I’m old?
I blame it on the YouTube. It’s the new morning and afternoon cartoons for his generation: “Generation Alpha.” Of course, I didn’t have it when I was young.
Gen A kids, imagine this: no 24-hour TV stations, no video on demand, no smorgasbord of shows to watch, no tablets or phones! Only a cathode-ray TV (look it up!), a small window of time between like 7–9 am and 3–5 pm every weekday, and three channels to choose from.
Oh, and Saturday mornings. I lived for Saturday morning cartoons when I was growing up.
But my kiddo, he’s glued to the phone or computer screen. YouTube in the morning, YouTube before swim practice, YouTube before bed. The only thing that competes with it is video games. That’s another story, but suffice to say I don’t know how much more Roblox I can take (and I happen to like video games!).
He absorbs content at a staggering rate. YouTubers like KreekCraft, LazarBeam, PopularMMOs, SSundee, Steven He; YouTube shorts of every kind imaginable; and the apparent king of them all — “Mr. Beast” — are all on the watchlist. And these are only the ones that immediately come to mind. There’s always a video to be watched.
And I get to watch them. All of them. He insists. Some of them are really well done — informative, educational, and/or funny — there are very creative and talented people on the platform. But a lot of them are just downright D-U-M. That’s the glory and curse of YouTube, I suppose; there is an endless supply of content and no arbiter of quality.
But, I digress. This is neither an article on the merits of YouTube (or lack thereof) nor is it a discussion of whether my son watches too much YouTube (he probably does, but until he stops making As in school, I’m not all that worried about it).
It’s about those words. This lexicon of crazy but wonderful Generation A slang that I, now the old wolf, have been trying to understand and absorb.
So, in the spirit of the listicle, here are 10 of my favorite Generation Alpha / YouTuber words I’ve learned from my son. I did a little bit of, ahem, diligent academic research (thanks, Urban Dictionary, the Google, and maybe even ChatGPT just a bit) and added example sentences and an attempt at some witty commentary. Enjoy.
1. Bet
This is a way of saying “OK,” “agreed,” “for sure,” or “I’m in.”
”Are you playing Fortnite tonight?”
“Bet.”
I thought that’s what “yes” was for?
2. Dogwater
A derogatory term used to describe something or someone as low quality or trash; often used to describe one’s self or another in playing video games.
”I’m literally dogwater at Fortnite.”
“Bet.”
3. Bruh
A casual greeting or exclamation of surprise, similar to “dude” or “bro.” But apparently, it can be used in response to just about anything.
”I totally forgot to do my homework last night.”
“Bruh…”
”Bruh, good to see you!”
“Bruh!”
The inflection is totally different, but whenever I hear this one I think of Hulk Hogan: “Whatcha gonna do, brother?”
4. Get better
An expression of encouragement, telling someone to improve their skills or situation. But also can be used to mock someone for their inferior skills or for messing something up.
”Dad, that joke was dogwater. Get better!”
Dad jokes for the win.
5. Built different
A compliment implying someone is unique or exceptional in their abilities or traits, extraordinary at many things, or superhuman.
In my experience, my son uses it to describe himself.
”Son, looks like you’re pretty good at that game.”
“Yeah. Dad, I’m just built different.”
“Bet.”
6. Ye
An enthusiastic exclamation, similar to “yes” or “heck yeah”.
”Son, did you take the garbage out like your mother asked?”
“Ye.”
“What?”
“Ye.”
“Do you mean yes?”
“Ye.”
Alternate definition: pirate talk. “Arr, ye land-lubbers!”
7. Sweat
A “try-hard,” a person who tries to excel but often fails. Also seems to be mostly video-game related.
”Henry and I were beating up on some sweats in Fortnite.”
Fortnite is the current game du jour for my kiddo, so it figures prominently in my example sentences.
8. Boyo
A slang term for a friend or pal, similar to “buddy.”
”Ey my boyo, can you get online? Let’s beat up on some sweats in Fortnight. Bet!”
If Urban Dictionary is to be believed, this term originated in Ireland. Apparently it was also used on the SpongeBob SquarePants cartoon. I don’t have much interest in researching the former, and I am not about to watch even 6 seconds of the latter.
9. Yeet
An exclamation of excitement. Or as a verb, to forcefully throw something or to perform a powerful movement.
”Your cousin Jessie was born last night. It was a quick labor, your aunt pushed for like five minutes and out she came.”
“Wow, she yeeted her right out of there!”
This, I admit, is my personal favorite. Yeet!
10. Oof
An expression of sympathy or empathy, often used in response to someone’s misfortune or mistake.
”I think I bombed that test.”
“Oof. Bruh.”
Bonus: Noob
A derogatory term used to describe someone who is inexperienced or unskilled, again often in reference to video games.
”Look at what that sweat just did. Bruh, that guy is a total noob!”
If you are the parent of a Gen A child and are having trouble understanding what the hell they’re saying, I hope this little list helps you decode their speech and understand them a little better.
A final disclaimer: Being a total noob at this, it’s entirely possible that my definitions are total dogwater and I need to get better. Also, if you try to use these words yourself, be aware that you will immediately out yourself as a sweat. Oof. Bet.
Got any additions or comments? Yeet them down below.
-SB
PS. My son just told me I was “built like a cheesestick.” I have no idea…