This list has been compiled and updated by students at Phillip and Sala Burton High School in their English classes every year since 2000.

Some context: Burton occupies the strange vortex in the middle of the Excelsior, Visitacion Valley, Bayview, Hunters Point and Sunnydale neighborhoods of San Francisco. So, if you know San Francisco, you know this is a tough school; around 90% of Burton students qualify for a free lunch. Both red-affiliated (Norteño) and blue-affiliated (Sureño) gangs are represented at Burton. Ethnically, the student population is primarily of Latino, African, Chinese and Filipino heritage in roughly equal numbers; there are also significant groups of Samoan, Palestinian, Vietnamese and Korean kids.

And they pretty much all talk like this:


a’ight, aaight, aight, a’ight, aite, iight, iite: all right, okay, fine, yes, affirmative
I asked StarrKeisha, “How are you?” and she said, “Aaight.”
Don’t be late, aight?
You iite? Do you feel good?

ain’t: am not, is not, are not
That ain’t the right thing to say; you made that little girl cry.
I ain’t finna call him.

amped: excited, full of adrenaline
We got amped for the game.
We was amped cuz Ja Rule was gonna be on BET.

-ass: very (when added to an adjective)
Ha ha! She think she cute with them janky-ass extensions.
I just ate this big-ass burger and my guts hurt.

awesome: excellent, amazing, funny, remarkable
Jocquay made this awesome throw and won the game.
That was awesome when the principal bit it on the stairs.

B: friend, bitch
Ay B, what you doin?
She my B. She give me chedda whenever I need it.
That teacher a B. She threw me outta class.

babe: good looking girl, sweetheart
Babe, what’s yo name?
That babe Iliganoa was looking fine.

back in the day: a long time ago, in childhood, in the past
Back in the day, when we was comin’ up, she was my homefries, but now we got beef and we don’t talk.
Back in the day, hippies smoked trees.

back that thing up, back that thang up: dance with buttocks touching someone’s genitals
Why don’t you come here and back that thang up?
Yo busta, you can back that thang up somewhere else.

bad: excellent, attractive, fashionable
Your Gucci shoes look bad; I want some of them.
He a bad rapper. He got flow.

baller, balla, big baller: someone of wealth and high status; someone skilled at basketball
Edwin think he such a balla in his Burberry.
Nah nah, how you gonna play that baller, he gone whup you.

bammer: marijuana
We was blazin bammer in his ride when the police came up.

bangin: excellent, exciting, attractive
Your smile is bangin without braces.
The movie was bangin because Beyoncé was in it.

base: unimpressive, stupid, boring
Everything a square do be base and boring.
That party wuz base; it wasn’t nobody there.

be (used with –ing verb): to do habitually
She be goin to school and gettin grades.
I be hanging with the bluds every day after practice.

be all, be like, be all like: to say, feel, think
He was like, “Do you like me?” and I was all like, “Yah.”
Dat teacher was gettin me so hot, I was all, “Damn beezy, get off it.”

beef: problem, conflict
I think me and Maria got beef because I yelled at her last night.
I got right up at her and asked her what beef she had wit me.
Do you got beef with Suhayla? Are you gonna fight?

beezy, beezie: bitch, female, friend
That beezy gone die if she get up in my face once more.
Hey my beezy! Whut up!

Benjamin: hundred dollar bill
I got five Benjamins in my wallet.

big ballin: spending money, living well, giving the impression of wealth
Deondray got hecka money, he hecka big ballin'.

big pimp: kingpin of pimps; man who has authority with women; woman who has authority with men
The big pimp has women to feed him and bathe him.

big wodey: husky or overweight person (not usually derogatory)
Look out, big wodey is going to eat a lot.

biscuit: darn, drat, too bad, euphemism for bitch
We was runnin from the police and I was like “Aw biscuit” because I dropped my ID.
She was muggin at me, and I said “You biscuit” and got slapped.

bitch, biotch, biatch: annoying female; someone submissive to you; girlfriend; close female friend
He my bitch so he has to do what I say.
I love that girl Betty, she my bitch.
What a biotch! I cain’t stand that female.

bite it: to fall
ShaRon bit it hecka hard in the rain and we was bustin.

blaze, blaze up: to smoke cigarettes or marijuana
We blazed up as soon as the cops left.

bling-bling, bling: jewelry that shines
I bought some bling-bling from Zales. It was iced out, son.

blingin: shining, blinding, flashy; wearing shiny jewelry
Your gold tooth is blingin in the sun.
We was blingin with karats in our ears and ice on our wrists.

blood, blud: close friend, comrade, person; black male
Dang blud, what’s going on?
The bloods was chillin at the corner of 3rd and Peru.

blow: to smoke
I finna go blow with my homies outside.

bobo: stupid or clumsy person
What a bobo; he fell off the curb.

boiled: hungry
You still boiled, Mike? You want some more to eat?
I hate it when I gotta go to school boiled.

bomb diggity: excellent, interesting, attractive
That shirt is bomb diggity. Where you get it?

bomb on: to hit, punch, fight, knock out
I bombed on that dude who tried to jack me.

boo: boyfriend, girlfriend, sweetheart
Have you seen my boo? I got a date with her.
Her and her boo were at the mall.
I been waiting for you, boo!

boo-boo: bad, disappointing
This day was boo-boo because I had three tests.

bootsie, bootsy: stupid, bad, wrong, not talented, inept, disappointing
I watched that one movie and it was bootsy because there was no action and it wasn’t funny.

booty: (as noun) buttocks; (as adjective) ugly, unfashionable
She has hella booty; it a shelf.
Dang, look at the apple booty on that beezy!
Don’t get those shoes, they look hella booty!
Your face be lookin booty in the morning, dog.

booty dance: (as verb) to dance in a sexual manner; (as noun) a sexy dance that emphasizes the buttocks
I like to booty dance with the honeys.
I saw all the cats doing a booty dance at the club.

bounce, bizzounce: to leave
I’m bout to bizzounce to my boyfriend’s house.
This party base. Forget this, I’m finna bounce; c ya.
Hey I’m bout to bounce cuz I’m goin to Charlene’s.

bout ta, boutsta: about to, preparing to
I’m boutsta call my boo to pick me up.

bread: money
I need to get some bread so I can buy a ham and cheese sammich.

break: to lose a defender in a sport
He broke the guys and they fell on the floor.

breezy: promiscuous or flirtatious girl
Me and my boys went to the mall to go find some breezys.
Deon’te went out with that breezy the second they met.

brother, brotha, bruh, bruh-bruh, bra, bra-bra: friend; black male
My bruh is got my back; he my best friend.
What’s up, bra-bra?

brush on: to rub against, be too close or too intimate
I told her boyfriend to stop brushin on me.
I wouldn’t get no massage, cuz they be brushin on you!

bucket: an old, ugly or damaged car
I rather roll in a bucket than walk.
My bucket fell apart when I drove up the hill.

buck up on: behave in a sexual or suggestive manner; give a girl flirtatious attention
Stop buckin up on my cousin, yo! She don’t like you.

bug: to bother; to get upset or angry
Why you buggin? She ain’t even lookin at you.
Quit buggin me, I’m sick of your messin.

bust a nut: ejaculate, get excited
When you go to the sperm bank, they give you a magazine and tell you to go into the room and bust a nut.
Dang, you ain’t got to bust a nut just cause you won a bet.

bust out: to speak out
Tuyen bust out saying that she was hella fine!
I cain’t help bustin out every time the teacher say be quiet.

busta: loser, boring person, someone you don’t want around, jerk
That fool is nothing but a busta.
Get this busta out of here.

bustin, bussin: great, marvelous, attractive, interesting
That car was bustin; it had dubs on it.
That shirt she got on is bustin; it’s hella sick.
Those shoes with diamonds on them are bussin.

cake: excellent, admirable, attractive
She’s cake, she’s so beautiful.
That car is cake, look at that tight paint job.

can, canned: not good, inept, poor quality
The movie was can because it was only 30 minutes long and there was no comedy.
You are canned when it comes to partying because you don’t know how to dance.

Captain Save-a-Ho, Captain: protector of a woman or prostitute
Jamal is a Captain because he saved that ho from her pimp beatin her.

cat: person
There was hecka cats at the party.
Did you see that cat walk out without paying?

celly, cellie: cellular phone
Hit my celly later.

chaps: gang members (particularly red-affiliated)
The chaps socked that dude in the mouth.

check: to put someone in their place, admonish, correct
My mom went to check the principal, because he said I hit the kid first.
Mudasser best check hisself, he been talking trash about me in the halls.

cheddar, chedda, cheta: money
I go to work so I can earn my own cheta.
My mom ain’t give me no chedda this week yet.

cheese: to grin; to show a big happy kind of look
He was cheesin in that picture with a Kool-Aid smile.
When you’re cheesin, all your teeth show.

chick: girl
That chick Pandora is fine.

chickenhead: stupid or ignorant person, especially female, usually derogatory; baldheaded female, usually derogatory; a promiscuous female
That chickenhead, she think she cute but she shot.
No cousin of mine gone go round with no chickenhead.

chill: to relax, take time out, calm down, socialize, loiter
I got home from work and I started to chill.
I was chilling with my friends at the park.
I told her to chill cuz she was doin too much.

ching-ching: money
No ching-ching, no bling-bling!
The ATM was broken and ching-ching was coming out.
Hecka ching-ching fell out of Javon’s pockets; it was hella funny.

choke: smoke
You going to go choke? No, I quit.

chonky: ugly, unfashionable, clumsy
Old ladies be wearing some chonky dresses.
You needs to get rid of them chonky-ass shoes.

chop it up: to talk, gossip
I was choppin it up at the mall with my grandma and cousins.

chop up: to talk about negatively, slander
You gone let him chop you up like that and not say anything?
Ronti been choppin me up, that hater.

chunk, chunkle, chunkle with: to fight
We was gonna chunkle at the party because someone stepped on my foot.

cold: wrong, mean, unethical
That’s hella cold when you broke up with her on Valentine’s Day.

cool, coo, koo: eye-catching, excellent, great, OK; mellow, easy-going, amenable
Nah, don’t worry, I’m cool.
I’m koo with our plans.
His Honda was hecka cool with chrome spinners.

cornbread: OK, all right
She say “Meet me at the park” and I say “Cornbread.”

cousin, couzin, cuzzin, cuz, cuzz: friend, peer, relative
Wussup, cousin, what’s crackalackin?
When I see a friend I go “Ay, cuz.”

crack: to amaze, impress, entertain
The party will crack; everyone’s going.
The party was crackin because Ja Rule sang.
The party better be crackin or I’m bouncin!

crack on: to hit, punch
Say something else and I’ll start crackin on your jaw.

crack up: to laugh hard
She was crackin up at the movie, like woah!

crackerfiend: addict of crack cocaine
Dogia’s a crackerfiend – don’t give him no cheta!

crackin, crackulatin, crackalackin: happening, going on
What’s crackin, homie?

crew: group, gang, friends
Me and my crew were gonna chunk his posse.

crib: house, home
Let’s go to my crib after school.

cross, cross over: to lose a defender in basketball
When Jeff tried to guard Robert he got crossed.

cupcake: to flirt, fondle, snuggle
Her and her boo was cupcakin all night at the party.
Angel is been cupcakin with dat boy Tyree. Do he like her?

cutti: best friend, close friend
What’s happening, cutti?
My cutti be comin over to my house.

dickin: good looking, stylish, attractive
That Gucci fit is dickin, and that Burberry fit is dickin, but them highwaters is toe-up.

digits: phone number
Yo honey, can I get some digits?
Here’s my digits, call me.

do too much: to overdo something, put out too much effort, bother someone
That girl with the gown be doin too much because it’s too fancy.
Dang, you doin too much, quit buggin me.

dog, dogg, dawg: friend, buddy, acquaintance, person
Wassup dog, where you at?
Sup dogg! My cuzzin!
Ay dawg, yo shoes is dirty.

doofey, doofy: silly or stupid
He was hella doofey at the party; he got drunk.
That dude is doofy, look at those weak-ass shoes.

dope: impressive, great, superb, entertaining, exciting, good quality
Paola’s party was dope because the music was bangin and there was hecka food.
That car was hella dope because it had big spinning chrome, a spoiler and a TV with a remote control.

dork: stupid, unfashionable or clumsy person
Crystal, you’re a dork for trippin.

dough, doe: money
Diover got so much dough he gave a Benjamin to his boo.

dub: twenty dollars; a twenty-dollar bill
I put dub on the fight.

dubs: 20” rims
His Lexus is rollin on dubs.
My dad got some new dubs for his Cadillac.
Check out my new dubs on my Escalade.

dude: (as interjection) hey, affirmative; (as noun) person, usually male; general noun of direct address
Dude, where’s my bucket?
Did you think she was fine? Dude.
Did you see that dude get hit by a parked car?

dweeb: imbecile, idiot, uncool person
The kid in my class is a dweeb because he said 2 plus 2 is 100.

eats: food
Do we have any eats in the fridge?

erray: hey
Erray! Come here, son!

family, fam, fams: friend
What’s up, family?
That’s my fam; we’re like brothers.

faulty: wrong, mean, unkind, unethical
April was hecka faulty for leaving me at the party alone.

feel: to like, understand, be interested in, agree with
I was feelin that movie. It was dope.
That party was sick, dawg, you feelin’ me?
That jacket looks booty, I ain’t feelin it.

feel on: molest, touch sexually
Ay! Your boyfriend be feelin on this chick!

feezy: fuck (euphemism)
What the feezy was that for?

fine: attractive, gorgeous, sexy
That boy passing by was fine. He look good!

finna, finsta, fanna: fixing to, planning to, intending to, about to
I ain’t fanna go to Lonnell’s party anymore now that Nikka’s going.
I finna go to my friend’s house after school.
I’m finsta go home.

fit: suit of clothing, outfit
I bought a new fit at the mall.

five-oh, 5-0: police
The 5-0 came to my house and arrested my brother for shooting hecka bullet holes in a car.

flight to Boston: fellatio
That breezy gave all the chaps a flight to Boston.

flow: (as verb) to rap, speak in rhyme; (as noun) a rap; eloquence and talent for rapping
Oh no! This is my flow. I’m bout to go to the sto.
He a wack rapper cuz he got no flow.

fly: attractive, stylish, magnificent, wonderful, marvelous, fantastic, sexy
Escalades are so fly because they’re hella big.
I was looking fly today because I had the new Air Force Ones on.

fo sho, fa sho, fo sheezy, fo shizzie, fo shizzle: for sure, absolutely right, definitely, truly, that’s correct, okay, yeah
Every time I ask my friend a question, he always answer back with fo sho.
Are you fo sheezy? You really go with him?
Fo shizzel we finna kick it this Friday.
Jocqueneice was fa sho that she was going to Reno with her aunties.
I ask her if she want a piece of my cake and she say “Fo sho, woadee!”
Fo sheezy, my neezy, I’m getting paid.


for real, for reals, fo reals, for realz: serious, seriously, really, truly
Stop messin, I’m fo reals.
Moses goin with Arielle? Fo reals?
You for real? You have a date?
For realz, I’m not lying, Tidas was sitting at the front of the bus with his grandma!

freak: (as verb) to dance in a sexual manner; to have sex; (as noun) a sexual libertine or promiscuous person
When I go to a dance I like to freak.
I ask Evelynn, “Girl, you like to freak?”
I could be a nasty freak when I get dancin.

fresh: extraordinary, brand new, attractive
Those new Adidas are fresh!

front: to try to be tough, pretend, lie
Shawneka was frontin to Tyree sayin she would fight.
You ain’t hard, so stop frontin, sucka.

fronts: gold or jeweled covers for teeth
Check my new fronts; my grill is blingin!

fruity: silly, effeminate
You look hecka fruity with those big sunglasses on.

G: gangster; person, friend; general noun of direct address
Yo G, what’s crackin?

gaffle: to take, shoplift, steal, trick
Winston tried to gaffle my wallet so I had to regulate; I had to bomb on his jaw.

gangster, gangsta: thug, gang member
He front like he a gangsta but he ain’t run with no set.

garden tool: prostitute (derived from hoe/howhore)
You a garden tool for sleeping with the whole basketball team.

geetas: money, bills
I got geetas so I can get me some Air Force Ones.

get at: to contact, locate, look up
Get at me tomorrow and we’ll conversate.

get your freak on: to dance
This my favorite song! Come here and get yo freak on!

get your game on: to get ready to meet people of the appropriate sex; get ready to flirt
Put on your fit and get your game on.
I was ready to get my game on when I seen those fine chicks pass by at the mall.

get your grub on: to eat
Let’s go get our grub on at Mozzell’s Kitchen. Oh my god, they peach cobbla!

ghetto: cool, hip; cheap, thrifty, homemade; shabby, unattractive; relating to ghetto culture
People try to be ghetto by using slang.
Use what you got. Say you break your salt shaker, you punch holes in the bottom of a soda can. That’s ghetto.
Her room be lookin hella ghetto. She got holes in the walls and the floor is hella nasty.
Saggin yo pants make you look ghetto.

gold digger: woman who uses a man for his money
Kemberly is a gold digger because she totally played Denozor for his chedda.

gospel bird: scared person (derived from a southernism for chicken); coward
Look at this gospel bird running from me!

got your back: to be ready to stand up for, fight for or protect someone
I got your back against his crew.

go with: to be romantically linked with
I ain’t never go with no gangsta. My man got a job.

grill: teeth, especially gold teeth
Teacher thought I was eatin in class but I was just suckin my grill.
Don’t you get up in my grill with dat shiznit.

grimin, grimy: bad, selfish, mean, disappointing, unethical
Cantrell was gonna give me his bike but he never did; that’s grimin.
Why don’t you give me half your candy bar? You grimin’!
Ten seven-year-olds tried to jump me. That was grimy.

grimy: ugly, dirty, sloppy
His haircut is grimy. He look hurt.
Those kids are grimy looking; they need some new fits.

gutted: very disappointed
I was gutted cuz she turned me down.

handles: talent and skill, especially in sports
I got handles in basketball. Imma whup you.

happy spot: genitals
I like it when the honeys be brushin on the happy spots.

hard: strong, tough
He think he so hard cuz he got a knife.

hate, hate on: to put down, criticize, have a negative attitude, be jealous, cause trouble
Tell Vailolo stop hatin on me.
You always hatin cuz you cain’t get no man.

hater: a person who doesn’t like you; person with a negative attitude
She soon became a hater to me just cuz I was talking to one of her enemies.
You’s a hater fo talking smack.
Stop being a hater and say something sweet.

heated: angry, irritated
Why you hella heated for? Just chill.
Mekeila was heated when they laughed her out the room.
I got heated when someone pantsed me.

hecka: (as adjective) a lot, many, much; (as adverb) very, really
There was hecka people at Tinai’s party. It was crackin.
He’s hecka ugly.
Do you got a lot of work to do? Yeah, I got hecka.

heifer, hefer: overweight or unattractive female
Man, I wouldn’t go with no heifer. I got the honeys on my jock.

hell nah: no (emphatic)
Hell nah, I ain’t finna go swimming, it’s cold.
Hell nah, I ain’t givin’ you money. You already owe me!

hella: (as adjective) a lot, many, much; (as adverb) very, really
You look hella pretty in that dress!
You have hella shoes.
There was hella people at the mall on Friday.
I was hella tired.
You are hella weak at basketball cuz you can’t shoot.

high: dazed, confused, intoxicated, paranoid
KimKeisha was high when she smoked weed.
Oh I’m high, I just gave you the wrong number.

hit up, hit me up: to call, contact, talk, chat
I hit up her cell last night but she put me to voicemail, that beezy.

ho, hoe: whore; promiscuous or slatternly female; female you don’t like
That ho, she try to steal my man!
I hate those Sunnydale hoes, they is haters.

holla, holler, holla back, holla at: (as verb) to call on the phone, talk to, get to know; (as interjection) hi, hey; excellent, wonderful
Holla at me later cuz I need to bounce now.
Jenny hollas at all the cute guys for their numbers.
Wassup, can I holla at you?
Junior saw this girl and said, “Holla at me.”
Holla, can I get your digits?
I can’t talk now. Holla back at 8.
I won the bet! Holler!
Holla! What up?

homeboy: male friend
This is my homeboy from my old school.

homegirl: female friend
This is my homegirl from the block.

homey, homie, homefries, homeskillet: friend
Hey homefries! Where you going?
What’s crackulatin, homeskillet?
He is my homie because we knew each other since 5th grade.
Let me present you my homies.
I was hanging with my homies at the park.
My homies got my back, so I suggest you leave me alone.

honey: girlfriend; attractive girl
Imma pull all the honeys tonight; I got my game on.

hoochie, hoochie mama: (as noun) female who dresses or acts promiscuously or provocatively; (as adjective) suitable for or descriptive of such a female
That girl is a hoochie cuz her clothes are too tight.
I don’t like those glittery shoes; they look too hoochie.

hood: one’s neighborhood or turf
Kids in the hood know not to mess wit me, cuz my crew got my back.

hook up: (as verb) to help to obtain something; to make a sexual connection with someone; (as noun) person who helps to obtain something
Dang, you work at the shoe store? Hook me up!
What I gotta do to hook up wit you, girl?
Ricardo and me been going for a month but we finally hooked up last night at the party.
Randy is the hook up for burned CDs; he got the dope mixes.

hop off: to get off, back off, stay away from
Hop off my girl, man.

hot: good looking, sexually attractive; angry; stinky
That man walking down the street is looking hot and tasty. I wanna rub some baby oil on his back.
She got all hot wit me cause I talked to that girl she don’t like.
In the morning, his breath is hella hot.

huddy: mean; overdoing it; overstepping one’s bounds
He was acting huddy and doin too much when he ate my ice cream.
The teacher was all huddy and in my bidness when she took my notebook.

hunna: want to
I hunna go eat out with my friends after school.

hurl: to vomit
I hurled because I ate too many doughnuts.

hurt: ugly, bad looking, hideous
That girl look hurt with those pants and those nasty braids.
She thought he was too hurt to go out with.

hustle: to trick, cheat, or fool out of money or objects; to sell something
When we played dice he hustled me out of a 20.

hyphy, hyphey, hyphie, hifey: hyperactive, uninhibited, wild, excited, giddy, goofy, clownish, loud, talkative; belligerent; intoxicated
She was actin really hyphey, we thought she was on crack.
Why you gotta get all hifey wit me? I ain’t buggin you.
What we do every Friday is get hella hyphy with the crew.
She the hyphiest girl in school, she hella funny. Climbin fences and breakin bottles.

ice: silver, platinum or diamond jewelry
My boo gave me this sick watch covered in ice.

iced out: shining; wearing lots of jewelry
Tonika is iced out; her chains are blingin.

ill: impressive, spectacular
That move was ill when he jumped over the cop car.

Imma: I will
Imma go to the park to see this piece.

instigate: to start conflict, to begin a fight
I got suspended for fightin even though Irlean was instigatin.

Iono: I don’t know
Iono why she’s crying.

jack: to take, steal, rob
I had a bad day because I was jacked. They got my shoes.
Teana was hot cuz someone jacked her Walkman.

jacked up: unfair, wrong, ugly, slovenly, disappointing
His face is jacked up. I wouldn’t go out with him.
That car was jacked up because it had dents and no wheels or windows.
The party was jacked up. The music sucked and then the cops came.
She wouldn’t give you the money? That’s jacked up!

janky, jenky: ugly, not right, unattractive, slovenly, inferior, low-quality
Clarise should take off that shirt because it look janky.
He look jenky because he didn’t take a shower.

jock: to be interested in someone; to pursue, stalk (see on/off one’s jock)
That boy is jocken me. Can you tell?

juicy: attractive, sexually desirable, irresistible, sexy
That’s a juicy girl; she’s like a supermodel.

jump: to beat up or rob
He jumped me with his big old jelly rolls.
I got jumped; they jacked my wallet.

karats: gold or diamond jewelry
All I want for graduation is karats!

kattin off: playing around
They are always kattin off in class and gettin detention.

kick it: spend time together, relax, socialize
We went to go kick it at the bowling alley.
This weekend, it wasn’t nothing goin on, so we was just kickin it at Roberto’s house.

kicks: shoes
I like all the Jordan kicks.

kinky, kinkie: attractive; sexually adventurous
Your face is so not kinkie cuz of that big pimple.
I heard he’s kinky; he’s a freak.

knockin: excellent, impressive, attractive, stylish
This necklace at the mall was knockin. My boo gonna buy it fo me.
That song was knockin because Derisha was rappin.

lame: bad, stupid, boring
You are so lame at everything cuz you always stay home and watch TV.

later, late: goodbye
Okay then, late. I’ll catch you tomorrow.

lit: angry, upset
Don't be gettin hecka lit just because you don't like her.

look me up: call me
Here’s my digits, look me up.

mad: (as adjective) incredible, impressive; (as adverb) extremely
He got mad game.
He got mad skills in breakdancing.
I was mad sprung on that chick back in the eighth grade.

mami, ma: girl
Ay mami, I love you.
That mami is sexy in a dress.
What’s up, ma? How you doin?

man: person, used in direct address
Why the hell you hit him, man?

messed up: wrong, unethical, unfair
That was messed up; you jumped a kid and took his money.
U are hella messed up; u killed my hamster.

mess: to fool around, joke, cause trouble
Stop messin, it ain’t funny.
I ain’t messin, so leave me alone.

mess with: to have a sexual or intimate relationship with
The girl I mess with is a piece.

messy: causing drama or conflict
Them females is so messy, talking trash bout me.

mines: mine
That fit was mines and he jacked it from my locker.

mo: more
Let’s go get some mo food.

mob: to go out, hang out, especially in a car or with a group of people
Me and the crew always be mobbin on Friday.

moted, moded: shamed, humiliated, shown to be wrong
You so moted, that girl wouldn't even talk to you!
Janisha was hecka moded when there was toilet paper hangin off her shoe.

moss: to catch or throw an object over someone’s head
I mossed the football over Alex’s head.
The wide-receiver mossed the d-back on the long pass.

mug: to rob; to glare at or stare at someone in a mean way
The old man got mugged and didn’t have no money.
The girl was muggin me because she ugly and I ain’t.

my bad: sorry, my mistake
My bad, didn’t mean to step on you.
My bad for hitting you.

my boys: male friends
I come down with my boys to the party.
All my boys got my back, so I ain’t trippin.

my girls: female friends
I rolled up to the club with my girls.

my neezy, my niggs, my nizzo, my nizzle: my friend; euphemism for nigga
My neezy, Nora, left to the Philippines last weekend.
You know Tay-Tay? Taylor Brown, he my niggs.
My nizzo Shanyanae is going to the park with me.
Fo sheezy my neezy, I ain’t trippin off that girl.

nah nah: no (emphatic)
Nah nah, that’s not my knife!

nasty: ugly, unattractive, unsanitary
Your backpack is nasty because it has Barney on it.
I hate her nasty braids; she don’t be washin her hair.

nephew: male friend
What you doin, nephew?

nigga, nig: person, friend, general noun of direct address (not usually derogatory or racially specific, as nigger is; used for any ethnicity)
Da niggaz was all at the park after school.
Nigga, you got my money?
That Josephina, she my nigga.

no you didn’t: how dare you; I can’t believe you just did/said that
She tole me my hair was ugly and I was all like, “Uh-uh, no you didn’t!”

off the chain, off the chains: pleasing, exciting, excellent, impressive
Yo, that party was off the chain yesterday.

off the hook, off the heisey, off the heezy, off tha heezy fo sheezy: pleasing, exciting, excellent, impressive
That sideshow was off the heisey until the cops came.
Sheryl’s party was off the hook last night; it was crackin.

off top: for real, without doubt
Off top, I need something to eat.
I knew off top who was winnin that fight.

off tuna: not right, not normal
That boy that beat up Kelly is off tuna. He ain’t right in the head.

OG: old/original gangster; elder; old-fashioned
Watch out before that OG pop you.
Groovy,” that slang is OG, from back in the day.

on check: being corrected, looked out for, watched closely, kept on the right track
I got my friends on check so they don’t cut class.

on my momma, on my mama: I swear, for real
I’m from Oakland and that on my mama.

on/off one’s jock: to be interested in someone; to pursue someone romantically
Get off my jock! You’re ugly.
She’s been on his jock since fifth grade!

on the one: not lying, for real
Are you going to the party? On the one.
That girl is hecka cute, on the one!

one, one love: goodbye
“See you tomorrow,” I said. “One,” he screamed after me.
Every time Cindy gets off the phone she says “One love.”

orale: okay, all right, affirmative
See you later, orale?

paper, paypah: money
I met him at the mall, so he could pay me my paper.
Those shoes cost a lot of paper.

peace, peace out: goodbye
I said “peace” to my relatives in San Diego when I left.

peep, peep the scene: to check on, to watch
He is peepin on her because she cheats.
He is peepin the scene to see what’s going on.

peeps, peoples: friends and family
All my peeps was at my party and it was tight.

phat: excellent, fashionable; Pretty Hot And Tempting
The car my brother bought was phat. It got mad chrome.

PhD: dislike, disapproval (Playa Hating Degree); Pretty Huge Dick
She has a PhD cuz she started hating on me.
He got his PhD fo sho. He get all the women.

piece: attractive person or item, especially clothing
That piece looks tight! Where you buy it from?
Nelly is a piece.
That boy is a piece! I’d go with him.
My boo said I was a piece.

pimp: man with control over women; woman with control over men
Dang, Antwone act like a pimp with the honeys.
Shawniece think she such a pimp princess.

pimpin: (as noun) friend, person; (as adjective) attractive, stylish
Wussup, pimpin. Let’s go down to the block.
Her Baby Phat fit look pimpin on her.

playa, player: someone with sexual prowess, someone who dates or sleeps with multiple people; someone who plays with people for sex
You’re a playa if you have 100 girlfriends.
I heard he’s a player so please don’t go out with him.

play: to trick or make someone look foolish
She played you by mugging behind your back.
He said he’d pay you back? Aww, you got played.

pop: to hit or smack
If my Mama catch me cursin she would pop me one.

poppen, poppin: new, exciting, interesting; happening
Hey! What’s poppen tonight at that club?

po-pos: police officers
My uncle works for the po-pos.
Po-pos comin! Everyone bizzounce.

posse: group, gang, friends
My posse is the shiznit. We da bomb!

partner, potna: friend
I have a cool potna named Juju.

pull: to talk to, flirt with, get someone’s phone number
I saw a fine girl and went to pull her.

punk: submissive, unpopular or uncool person
You is a punk. Get on outta here.

put in check: to put someone in their place
Chris put Devron in check by telling him about hisself.

rack: to steal
I racked some shoelaces because I had no money.

radical, rad: superior, excellent, amazing
That was radical when he shot a basket from half court.

raw: talented, athletic, skillful, excellent, impressive
He was hella raw in track because he could run really fast.
He did a raw move on his skateboard.

re-re, retarded: not normal, dumb, stupid, ugly, funny
You act re-re sometimes and it’s hella embarrassing.
My cousin is retarded because he act like a fool, he ain’t cool, and he don’t go to school.

regulate: make someone understand, correct someone, take revenge
The busta tried to act sick so I had to regulate.

ride: car
When I’m 16, Imma get a sick-ass ride.

ripper: someone who has sex frequently
He front like he’s a ripper but he got no game.
Ay girl, u look like a freak, are u a ripper?

roll: to drive or ride in a car; to laugh hard
He’s rollin on dubs.
You should’ve seen him rollin cuz she fell off her chair.
When milk came out his nose, I couldn't stop myself, I was rollin.

run with: to hang out with, to be affiliated with
Who he run with? I never seen him on the block.
He run wit Big Block, dat’s his set.

sag: to wear pants low on the buttocks
He was saggin so low he bit it crossin the street.

sav, savage: (as noun) extremely admired person; someone who does something no one else would do; (as adjective) hardcore, brave, risk-taking
My cousin is a sav because he punched that big dude in the face.
He is a sav; he fights with barbed wire.
He was so sav; he straight up drank hot sauce.

scrap: (as verb) to fight; (as noun) a member of a rival gang
We’re gonna start a scrap after school.
There’s some scraps outside waiting for us to come out.

scraped: beaten, defeated
Lame! You just got scraped by a 6th grader in soccer.

scurred, scurd: scared
He was scurd, so he didn’t show up to the scrap.
I’m never scurred of nobody.

set: gang
I’m sick of hearing everyone claimin sets like it’s something to do.
I don’t run with no set, I ain’t no gangsta.
He axed me “What yo set” and I say “West Mob.”

shaded, shady: wrong, unfair, unethical, mean, cruel, disturbing, rude
That was shaded; he left his girlfriend at the corner and drove away.
He is shady because he slapped that girl for no reason.
When they closed the back gate that was shaded because we couldn’t get back in.
You are hella shady because you tripped the Special Ed kid.

shawty, shorty: girlfriend
She my shawty cuz she kissed me.

shiznit, shiznik: stuff, anything worth something, euphemism for shit, the greatest
I went to the store and bought shiznik.
I’m the shiznit cuz I can flow.

sho is: sure is, definitely
She sho is looking hurt with pink shoes, purple pants, blue shirt, green sunglasses, black teeth and fluffy yellow hat.
She sho is going to slap you.
“You going to the party?” “Sho is.”

shot: ugly or displeasing
She was looking shot in that dress.
That boy over there is shot; he needs a make-over.

shystie: greedy, gluttonous, stingy
That big boy is hecka shystie; he ate the whole cafeteria and the people inside.
That boy is shystie cuz he didn’t want to give me a ride to school.

sick: excellent, pleasing, exciting, tough, exceedingly cool, impressive
You see all the sick moves he did on him?
He thought he was hella sick with the Air Forces.
That dance was sick cuz all the girls was wearing short skirts and I was dancing with all of them.

six down: dead (six feet down)
My homey Jarrett got shot on the block, he six down.

slow: stupid, ignorant
I called him slow because he took long to get the joke I told him. You axin me where’s your locker? Dang, you slow.

snap: darn; euphemism for shit
When my mama gets me mad I go "Aw snap."

son: noun of direct address for males
Ay son, go get me my lunch.

spanks, spankz: thank you
Spankz for the birthday balloon!

special: mentally slow (from Special Education)
He is special; it takes him too long to do his work.

spit game: to talk to, flirt, try to get to know
Mike spit game at the girl at La Taqueria, trying to get her digits.
I was spittin mad game at the honeys at that party.

sprung on: feeling attracted to, having a crush on
I was sprung on Perla for three years and eleven months, she so fine.

square: person who is unpopular, unfashionable or clumsy
There so many squares here. They always trip on themselves, which gets me irritated.
You square! I ain’t gonna party wit you.

stay (doing something): to do something habitually or for a long time - possibly derived from still
I stay watching Sponge Bob, even though I'm 15.
She stay callin me even after I broke up with her.

straight: all right, not having a problem
You can see she’s straight now because she has a smile on her face.
You cool? Yeah, I’m straight.

straight up: for real; yes
You going to that party this weekend? Straight up.

stunner, stunna: impressive person or thing
Them dubs was stunners!
Imma young stunna. All the chicks on my jock!

stupid tight: impressive, interesting, exciting
Yo that party was stupid tight last night.

suck: to be bad, boring, displeasing, disappointing
This baseball game sucks because my team is getting blown out 10 to 0.

swear to Bob, swear to G: swear to God (euphemism)
I swear to Bob! I’m finna slap him for talking behind my back.

take off on: to cause trouble, to hit, to start a fight
Did you see in Troy where Achilles totally took off on that big dude and killed him?
Yulimar got tooken off on by this one girl, so she fought her.

talk trash, talk smack: to gossip, slander, criticize
You hater, why you talkin smack? You gonna get smacked. Me and the crew be hanging on the block, talkin all this trash.

the block: one’s neighborhood or turf
That’s the block I can’t go to, because I jumped somebody there.
Come to the block and chill, watch the cars go by.

the bomb: magnificent, impressive, attractive
Jerry’s car was the bomb, it had a spoiler and 24 inch rims.
Yennifer think she the bomb in that dress but she look hurt.

thick: big-boned or husky (not usually derogatory)
Mu-Mu called me a Oompa Loompa just because I’m thick, so I slapped him.

thizzen: under the influence of drugs, particularly Ecstacy or other pills
Damn, I’m hella thizzen!
We was thizzen at the club last night.

thug: gang member; someone who acts tough or commits crimes
I only hang with thugs.
That thug robbed the bank last night.

tight, tite: impressive, excellent, exciting, fashionable
Those earrings were tight because they were hella blingin.
That game was tight with all the sick moves they did.
That DJ is tite because he made the party slammin.

tikey-bobber: a promiscuous girl; someone who will perform oral sex
Ay pretty girl, won’t you be my tikey-bobber?

tipsy: drunk; giddy, foolish
U were hella tipsy yesterday when you were cupcakin with that girl.

toe-up: ugly, unsightly
That dress looked toe-up on her. It had rips and stretch marks on it.

T.O.P., top: fellatio (Tongue On Penis)
Hey girl, can I get some top from you in the back seat?

trees: marijuana
I bought some trees from Voluntad for the party. All the cats be smokin trees in back of school.

trick: a fool
That trick fell for the same dude, even after he broke her heart.

trip, trip off, trip on: to worry, act unusual, overreact, not think straight, make a big deal of something, over-dramatize, ponder, analyze, dwell on, make a mistake, be upset about, be obsessed with, be interested in, fool around, be paranoid
Don’t trip about your boyfriend; it’ll be cool.
I’m trippin on that fine girl I talked to.
Melanie was trippin about her shoes because they got stained.
Stop trippin’, you’re going to do fine on the test.
I thought I knew that girl but I was trippin’ cuz it was someone else.
You can do whatever, son, I ain’t trippin.
Man, did you ever trip offa his flows?
Nah, I ain’t trippin off kids, I don’t want a bunch of babies.
Girl, you’re trippin’ with him? I thought he was goin with Charneesha.
Why you trippen bout you and DeDe’s beef?

true that: right, yes, affirmative
Burton is boring sometimes. True that.

tubby: idiot, moron
What a tubby, he sold his car for gas.

twerk: a flirting partner
I don’t mess with that girl; she’s just my twerk.
I was kinda sprung on him, but he said I was just his twerk, so now I’m like whatever.

up: on the way out, leaving
After practice we wuz up.
If she said that to me, I’d be up!
We up; it’s boring here.

up on in: in (emphatic)
It be hot up on in this room!

wack: boring, not exciting, unfashionable, awkward, disappointing, inauthentic
The party was wack because I got jacked and the DJ played hella old songs.
The movie was wack because it had no action.

wankster, wangsta, wanksta: person who wants to be a gangster; poseur
Billy is a wangsta because he try to act ghetto but he don’t even know how to sag his pants.
What a wanksta; he thinks he’s tight.

weak: unskilled, disappointing, boring
You are weak at basketball, cuz you got no moves.

what is it?: What are you going to do?
Tiffanie pushed that guy and then she was like, “What is it?”

what’s up, wassup, wazzup, wussup, wut sup, wuzzup, sup; what up; waddup; what up wit it; what’s crackin, what’s crackulatin, what’s crackalackin, what crackin; what’s poppin; what it is; what it do: hey, hi, what’s happening, what’s going on, how are you
Wut sup? Why is everyone just standing around?
Wut crackin man, anything happen today?
Every time I call my friend she start off saying “Wuz’ crackin’?
Hey Yesi! Wuz poppin girl?
What’s up, family? What’s up on the block?
What it is, girl? How you been?

whatever: I don’t care, it doesn’t matter, I disagree, that’s stupid
Whatever, it’s not like the dude hit me very hard.
So Enniqua is wit Darron again? Whatever.

wheels: car
When I get my wheels it’s gonna be sick. No mo rollin in Hamid’s bucket.

white ones: Air Force Ones
Eddah need some new white ones; her old kicks is looking hurt.

who you be like?: Who are you?
Kathereen said “Who you be like” when I called her. She didn’t even know it was me.

wolfin, woofin: making a commotion, scared, talking big, talking trash
Fitu just woofin. He ain’t gonna fight.

wooday, woday, wodie: friend
Ay best wooday, come on over here.

word, word up: yes; that’s true; I agree; that’s profound
His breath stink. Word!
He got flow! Word up!

word ta my motha: I swear on my mother, I swear to God
Word ta my motha, I think I’m finna fail my test.

yadidamean, yat dat I mean, yadida sayin’: You know what I mean? You know what I’m saying?
That car is dope, yadidamean?

yo: (as interjection) hi, hello, hey (usually beginning of sentence); hey, yes, you know (general emphasis, usually end of sentence); (as pronoun) your
Yo Angelie! What’s crackin?
You ain’t got to get so hyphey, yo.
Yo face is pretty with make-up.

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