The German Generation Z uses many terms in their language that have their origin in the English language. Other expressions are of German origin; however, some Boomers have a puzzled look on their faces when words like ‘scissors’ and ‘wild’ come up.
The title image is a symbolic image.
What are Boomers? “Boomers” refers to people who were born during the Baby Boom period, specifically in the late 1950s to early 1960s. Many Boomers are now grandparents.
What is Gen Z? Generation Z, or Gen Z, refers to the generation born approximately between 1995 and 2010. The members of this generation are now between 14 and 30 years old.
How did this list come about? MyMMO editor Dariusz has compiled a list of 10 terms that, in his personal experience, are typical for Generation Z.
Cringe
Meaning: An expression used to show that something is embarrassing or makes one cringe.
Example: ‘He plays Fortnite, that’s cringe.’
Actually
Meaning: In German, about ‘technically’, used when a know-it-all corrects or clarifies a statement; alternatively also for ‘actually’.
Example ‘technically’:
- Person 1: ‘Real talk, the Kilo is currently the best assault rifle in Warzone.’
- Person 2: ‘Actually, the AK has a better time-to-kill than the Kilo.’
Example ‘actually’:
- Person 1: ‘Wow, I think I’ll stop by Mecces on the way back.’
- Person 2: ‘That’s actually not a bad idea.’
Scissors
Meaning: About ‘Yes, that was my fault.’
Example: ‘Scissors, the defeat is on me. I just didn’t see the opponent.’
Literally
Meaning: In German, for ‘literally’; used to emphasize that a statement exactly describes the given information.
Example: ‘I live literally at the end of the world, we have more cows here than inhabitants.’
No joke
Meaning: About ‘no joke’ means that something is serious.
Example: ‘No joke, the new update from Warzone is really nice.’
Realtalk
Meaning: Used to lend weight to the following statement.
Example: ‘Realtalk, anyone who still believes in 2025 that animes are only for kids simply has no idea.’
Wild/ Wyld
Meaning: An expression of amazement, similar to ‘awesome’ or ‘intense’.
Example: ‘Bro, your aim is wyld.’
NPC
Meaning: ‘NPC’ actually stands for ‘Non-Player Character’, which in German means ‘Nicht-Spieler-Charakter’ and describes characters in gaming that are not controlled by a player, thus not human. Outside of gaming, this term is used sarcastically to express that someone behaves like a non-player character, for example because the person has no opinion of their own.
Example: ‘Look at this NPC.’
Same
Meaning: In German about ‘the same’; an expression of agreement, the Boomer alternative to ‘same’ is ‘dito’.
Example:
- Person 1: ‘Wow, I really don’t feel like working tomorrow.’
- Person 2: ‘Same!’
Speech
Meaning: An expression of agreement and a simultaneous request to the speaking person to continue their speech.
Example:
- Person 1: ‘All people have the same rights.’
- Person 2: ‘Speech!’
If you regularly use some of these terms yourselves, you are probably also a member of Generation Z or a relatively young Millennial – or at least young at heart.
However, you might also just work a lot with people from Generation Z and have adopted their way of speaking. If you prefer to come off like a Boomer, you should adopt these expressions: 5 things that only Boomers say and Generation Z would never say.
