"Some of the most entertaining tidbits from the recently released Google Year in Search 2024 were the queries around “Why do kids say…” Like, “Why do kids say sigma?” “Gyat?” “Ohio?” Attempting to decode the slang from a new generation is nothing new. Had our grandparents (or great-grandparents) had Google, they might have searched, “Why do kids say groovy?”
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It seemed fitting the day I sat down to write this article about Gen Alpha slang, my own two Gen Alpha kids had a snow day and were hovering over my shoulder while I tried to work. My kids weighed in with their thoughts on the Gen Alpha slang, and The Everygirl Media Group polled their Gen Alpha friends and family across the U.S. to help define what the sigma the kids are talking about these days. Keep reading for the most searched Gen Alpha slang in 2024.
Who are Gen Alpha?
Like most generational labels, the starting year varies slightly, but generally Gen Alpha kids were born between 2010 and 2025. Gen Alpha kids have never known life without iPhones (those came out in 2007), and a lot of their life is lived in front of screens—from laptops in classrooms to gaming with their friends after school. They’re highly connected and socially aware. A large swath of Gen A kids are also in middle school and early high school. They’re navigating the adolescent social structure, with new words to describe their experiences. And they are heavily influenced by what they see online, whether on TikTok, YouTube, or within their online gaming worlds. Additionally, much of the language described as generational slang, for Gen Alpha and previous generations, actually originated in African American Vernacular English (AAVE).
Here are answers to some of the most frequently searched questions about Gen Alpha slang on Google, as well as some common Gen A phrases defined in millennial terms.
Why do kids say sigma?
A sigma is an alpha. Confused? Me too. However, Gen A defines a sigma as someone independent, confident, and popular—both in the friendship and romantic sense. It’s also shorthand for describing something as the best or really, really good.
Why do kids say Ohio?
At the other end of the spectrum is Ohio. Which means something is not good. As someone born in the Midwest state, this one stings a bit, but Ohio, by Gen Alpha standards, is the definition of weird, bad, and sucks. Sorry, Ohio.
Why do kids say skibidi toilet?
My—and many other parents and teachers’—least favorite Gen Alpha slang on the list is anything related to Skibibi Toilet, which comes from a low-quality animated YouTube series with, wait for it, over 51 million views (click at your own risk!). To my horror, this disturbing concept even made it to the holiday toy aisle this year. Gen Alpha kids know skibidi toilet is brain rot, but that doesn’t mean skibidi hasn’t become part of their vernacular, often combined with other Gen A slang.
Side note: “Brain rot” was named Oxford’s 2024 word of the year—meaning “the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging. Also: something characterized as likely to lead to such deterioration.” Skibidi Toilet is the definition of brain rot.
More Millennial vs Gen Alpha Slang
As an elder millennial, I’ve been trying to dig back in the archives of my brain to see how pop culture and the media I consumed in the ‘90s shaped my language as a tween and teen. I still say “Holy Schnikes!” like Chris Farley in Tommy Boy and, “Oops, my bad,” like Cher in Clueless (a phrase which originated in AAVE).
I also know there’s a convergence between Gen Z and Gen A when it comes to certain slang, while some are more clearly delineated (i.e., Gen Z “slayed,” but they’re not saying “skibidi Ohio”). Here are some other translations for the millennial parents and others out there trying to understand the kids these days.
Gen Alpha Slang Translations
Everyone = Chat
BFF/Preppy = Girly Pop
Bro = Bruh
Sucks/Weird = Ohio
Talk to the Hand = *Mewing* gesture
He’s Got Game (Charisma) = Rizz
Poser = Skibidi Ohio Rizzler
You’re Not Cool = You’re so Skibidi
Cool = Sigma
Cool/Hot Guy or Girl = Alpha Sigma
Pookie = Boyfriend/Girlfriend
Support Going Out With Someone (Romantically) = Ship
Baby Got Back = Gyatt
Hype Up = Gas
On Point = That’s Fire
Won/You’re On Fire = Cook
Doing Bad/Loser = Selling/Sold
Killed It = Ate/Slayed
Really Killed It = Ate and Left No Crumbs
Told the Truth = Clock That
Go Outside = Touch Grass
Stealing = Fanum Tax
Meh = Mid
OK = Bet
Sketchy = Sus
All in Your Head = Delulu
Seriously? = Actually?
BRB = IGTG (in text/chat)
I do have some good news for my fellow millennials: OMG is still OMG!
Also worth noting is that because of how quickly slang spreads through social media, terms can also become quickly overused. For example, according to my 12-year-old, no one says “bussin” anymore—a term that also originated in AAVE, gained widespread use in 2021 thanks to social media, and was added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary in 2023. Here’s hoping Skibidi Toilet joins the ranks of retired slang soon, too.
Read More: Is Your Child Gen Alpha? Here’s What to Know About this Landmark Generation
Kathy Sisson, Senior Editor
A mom of two, Kathy is passionately committed to sharing the honest, helpful—and often humorous—stories of motherhood, as she navigates her own everyday adventures of work, marriage, and parenting. She honed her creative and strategic skills at advertising agencies in Detroit and Chicago, before pivoting from marketing to editorial. Now instead of telling brand stories, she’s sharing her own, with articles published across popular parenting sites—including hundreds of stories on The Everymom.