Catching Up with Gen Z FR: Your Guide to the 7 Latest Filipino Slang Terms

Have you ever sat at a table with Filipino Gen Zs, feeling foreign even when everyone literally speaks your language? 

One minute, you’re having a normal conversation. The next, someone says, “1, 2, 3, go, kanya-kanya na,” and suddenly, you’re wondering if you missed something. 

As the internet continues to change at an almost ridiculous speed, slang terms, memes, and inside jokes are finding their way into real-life conversations. From screens to tables, these words and phrases have become part of how people communicate, whether as a quick comeback, a playful roast, or simply an expression that slips out naturally. 

For a generation that lives on TikTok and their FYPs, entertainment doesn’t just come from soundbites and 15-second clips. Sometimes, it arises from the comments, the reactions, and the way people reinterpret a word or phrase until it takes on a life of its own, eventually making its way beyond the app.

Most of the time, you don’t even pick them up  from your own feed. You hear them from friends, group chats, or someone casually dropping them into a conversation. A phrase starts with one person, then becomes a shared joke within your circle. Before you know it, you’re already using it, too, whether or not you actually know what it means.

To keep you from feeling the FOMO, PARCINQ breaks down some of the Gen Z slang you’ll likely come across.

1. “1, 2, 3, go, kanya-kanya na”

The phrase took off on TikTok after a livestream clip of Mobile Legends player Urada circulated, showing him leaving his co-players during a team battle. Interestingly, the line seems to be a Mandela effect — Urada never actually said it. Instead, commenters attached the phrase to the moment, and the internet just ran with it.

How to use it: “Hindi raw papasok si Ma’am. 1, 2, 3, go, kanya-kanya na!”

2. “Depende kung 3 ‘yan”

This originates from a video of road awareness advocate JB Suarez, who expressed his disapproval of a comment that turned a simple left-and-right situation into something more complicated. Since then, it has become a fitting comeback for circumstances that are unnecessarily confusing.

How to use it: “Tuloy ba tayo mamaya?” “Depende kung 3 ‘yan.”

3. “Yoohoo, dito ang tingin!”

A line from the Filipino teleserye Wildflower found a new life on TikTok when its clip resurfaced on the platform. It gained even more traction after influencer Sophie Prime began using the phrase as an intro on her TikTok videos to quickly catch everyone’s attention.

How to use it: “Yoohoo, dito ang tingin! ‘Wag iba ang tingnan mo diyan.”

4. “Suntukan tayo right neow”

It all started with a TikTok user filming her brother, Drei, eating siomai rice at a mall. After rage-baiting him by joking that she would eat at a fast food chain instead, the interaction gave birth to a new phrase. “Suntukan tayo right neow” is now used to express mock aggression in the most playful and unserious way.

How to use it: “Ikaw na umubos ng fries ko. Suntukan tayo right neow!”

5. “Ay, nakatulog?”

When Gary Valenciano was judging on Showtime’s Tawag ng Tanghalan, he suddenly blanked out while giving his comments to a contestant. After being left waiting, the contestant jokingly asked, “Ay, nakatulog?” — earning laughs from the audience. The phrase has since become a go-to reaction for moments like those when someone seems to have zoned out or stopped paying attention.

How to use it: “Ay, nakatulog? Kanina pa kita tinatanong kung ano ba talaga tayo.”

6. “Na para bang…”

The delivery is what makes this one work. The expression traces its roots to the Filipino teleserye Ika-6 na Utos, where Emma De Jesus uttered the phrase in an emotional scene. Literally translating to “just like…” or “as if…” in English, “na para bang…” is used in more ways than one, with an extra dose of drama and conviction.

How to use it: “Gano’n, gano’n na lang ‘yon? Iiwasan mo na lang ako na para bang wala tayong pinagsamahan for 7 years?”

7. (First syllable) is (last syllable) (Ex: Baliw -> ba is liw)

TikTok bans profanity on livestreams, but its users, as creative as they can get, found a clever loophole. By inserting the word “is” right into the middle of bad words, they discovered a way to trick the app’s censors; and the trend caught on instantly. Now, comment sections are flooded with broken-up terms, even for everyday, non-vulgar phrases. You can say it’s the modern version of older generations using coded slang, such as the “G language” to speak in secret.

How to use it: “A is te, ba is liw ka ba?” (Ate, baliw ka ba?)

In a chronically online generation, keeping up with slang has become another way to fit in and connect with Gen Z humor. SKL, if you haven’t noticed, most of them started as simple expressions used by one person with no intention of going viral — only for viewers to pick them up, reinterpret them, and eventually bring them into their own conversations.

But with every new slang comes the possibility of being misunderstood.  When taken out of context or used around people unfamiliar with the reference, these words can easily sound rude or disrespectful, especially when the humor behind them gets lost in translation. 

Still, that’s what makes the Gen Z slang more interesting. They not only serve as an avenue for the youth to be creative, but also allow them to connect through shared humor and experiences. Besides, the fun lies where you don’t need to explain the joke, as everyone at the table, including yourself, already gets it.

It’s a never-ending cycle, though. There will always be another term to Google after hearing it on your FYP. As long as the internet keeps moving, so will be the language that evolves with it. 

For now, at least, you’re caught up. 

Or, are you, really?

Words by Jhezca Joie Brigola