60+ California Lingo & Slang Words: From SoCal to NorCal

Learn surfer slang and Bay Area lingo to blend in with the Cali crowd

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Bailey Bujnosek, BA. Bailey Bujnosek is a writer from California. She earned her B.A. in Literature in English and her B.S. in Psychology from the University of California, San Diego. Her essays, articles, and interviews have appeared in Nylon, Highsnobiety, V, Teen Vogue, and elsewhere. She has also published creative work in various literary journals.

There are 26 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.

This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources.

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Whether you’re visiting California or you’ve just moved there, you’ll quickly notice that locals use their fair share of slang. It’s not quite as bad as Saturday Night Live makes it appear in “The Californians,” but there are a lot of terms you’ll want to know while conversing on the West Coast. Below, we’ve created a comprehensive guide to California slang, including both general terms and expressions specific to a region or subculture.

• California slang for “good” includes “fresh,” “tight,” “legit,” and “the bomb.”
• Some California slang insults are “sketch,” “dusty,” “janky,” and “butthurt.”
• Popular Northern California slang phrases are “hella” and “yee.”
• Southern California slang includes “June gloom,” “heavy,” and “yak.”

1. 

   SoCal SoCal is slang for Southern California.[1]
   You might see it written out as So Cal, with a space. The term is most common outside of Southern California, such as in Northern California when people want to refer to the other part of the state.

   • Example: I’m going down to SoCal for spring break.

2. NorCal NorCal is slang for Northern California.[2]
   People from Northern California might use this to describe their home region while visiting Southern California or another state. It’s mostly used to differentiate Northern California from Southern California.

   • Example: I grew up in NorCal, but now I live in LA.

3. Dank Maybe you’ve heard this slang term before when looking at dank memes. The origins of “dank” are in marijuana culture, but Californians now use the phrase to refer to anything that’s especially good.[3]

   • Example: That concert was dank. I had so much fun.

4. Bail To bail from a place is to leave it, usually because you’re bored or would rather go somewhere else. The term is used all over California, though it may be more popular with younger generations.[4]

   • Example: I’m done with this place. Let’s bail.

5. Bum While the actual definition of “bum” refers to a derogatory term for a homeless or broke person (or a person’s rear-end), in California slang, it’s another way of saying “borrow.”[5]

   • Example: Oh no, I don’t have cash on me. Can I bum a twenty from you?

6. Put (someone) on blast Some slang that starts in California spreads to the rest of the world. A prime example is putting someone on blast. The phrase means to insult someone in a public situation, whether in real life or online.[6]

   • Example: After they broke up, they put each other on blast.

7. Rock (something) When you “rock” something, you’re wearing it with style and confidence. This California slang expression may also be used to simply refer to wearing something and pulling it off—or being able to look good in it.[7]

   • Example: Can I rock these sunglasses?

8. Clutch You’re probably familiar with “clutch” as a verb meaning to hold something. In California slang, however, “clutch” means helpful, handy, or convenient. It can be used on its own or as part of the phrase “coming in clutch.”[8]

   • Example: Thanks for giving me those concert tickets last-minute—that was clutch.

9. Fresh To say something is “fresh” is to say that it’s new or fashionable. It’s mostly used to refer to new clothing or accessories, although other things like a new car or computer could also be considered fresh.[9]

   • Example: Wow, your new shoes are so fresh!

10. Sketch See something that seems dangerous or suspicious? In California, you’d call it “sketch” or “sketchy.” This slang is also used to refer to people that give you a bad vibe.[10]

    • Example: I don’t trust that person—they seem sketch.

11. I feel you When you want to agree with someone or empathize with them, say “I feel you.” The common slang phrase means you get where they’re coming from and even feel the same way.[11]

    • Example: I feel you. It’s hard to get used to a new job.

12. California sober Celebrities popularized this slang term for a specific kind of sobriety. The expression refers to people who drink alcohol and/or smoke marijuana but abstain from doing harder drugs. It’s a way of saying you’re sober from some substances, but not all of them.[12]

    • Example: I heard that they’re California sober now. They stopped drinking.

13. Butthurt While there aren’t many insults unique to California slang, “butthurt” is one of them. It refers to a state of being upset over something that isn’t a big deal, and it’s used in a derogatory sense to minimize someone’s reaction. Similar slang phrases include “pressed” and “twisted.”[13]

    • Example: I was only one day late giving your game back to you—don’t get butthurt about it.

14. Drag In California and the rest of the United States, a “drag” refers to inhaling a cigarette. It’s most often phrased as something you take. While it’s associated with smoking cigarettes, it could also refer to any smoked substance or to vaping.[14]

    • Example: They took a drag before answering my question.

1. Hella Of all the slang unique to Northern California, “hella” is the most famous (or infamous, depending on who you ask). The term is popularly used among Bay area residents and those in California’s Central Valley. “Hella” means “very” or “a lot.”[15]

   • Example: There was hella rain on Saturday. My driveway flooded!
   • “Hella” was even the answer to a New York Times crossword clue that asked for California slang for extremely.[16]

2. The bomb If something’s “the bomb,” it might sound bad, but in California slang, the term is a compliment. Anything you find really good can be the bomb, from food and TV shows to an event or outfit.[17]

   • Example: These tacos are the bomb! I need the recipe.

3. Kickback A kickback is a low-key party, closer to a get-together than a rager. People have different definitions of what counts as a kickback versus a dayge/darty (day rager or daytime party), but it generally involves only close friends. This California slang is popular with college students.[18]

   • Example: I’m holding a kickback on Wednesday if you want to come by.

4. Slaps While saying something slaps originated in Northern California, specifically the Bay Area, social media allowed the term to spread across the world. When you say something slaps, you mean it’s good. This slang is commonly applied to music.[19]

   • Example: Have you heard their new album? It slaps.

5. Tight “Tight” is another way of saying “cool” or “nice.” This slang term isn’t exclusive to California, but you’ll hear it a lot in certain areas of Northern California. [20]

   • Example: Those shoes are tight.

6. Janky In Northern California, “janky” is slang for something being broken, cheap, sub-par, or otherwise not up to standards. You might use this phrase to complain about something or to insult someone else’s things.[21]

   • Example: This phone is janky. I shouldn’t have bought it online.

7. Dusty When it comes to California slang insults, “dusty” is a popular one. The slang term doesn’t follow the usual definition of something that has dust on it—it means something or someone considered bad or undesirable.[22]

   • Example: They’re always causing trouble, they’re dusty.

8. Outta pocket/Out of pocket When someone’s out of pocket, they’re overstepping a norm or boundary. They could be acting too high-energy, or they may have said something offensive and disrespectful.[23]

   • Example: I can’t believe they said that. They’re out of pocket today.

9. Up the hill For those who live in Northern California, Lake Tahoe and Reno are popular weekend or vacation destinations. To get there, you have to drive through the Sierra Nevada mountain range—what locals refer to as going “up the hill.”[24]

   • Example: I’m going up the hill to Tahoe for some skiing.

10. Hangtown/Placer During the 19th century, California experienced a gold rush. Many cities sprung up and received nicknames during that era. One such city is Placerville, known in California slang by its Gold Rush era moniker, Hangtown. Others simply abbreviate the name of the city to Placer (pronounced like “plass-er”).

    • Example: Let’s check out the old gold mine tour in Hangtown.

11. Old Sac Northern California is home to the state’s capital city, Sacramento. The historic city’s original downtown is preserved and has become a popular tourist attraction. NorCal locals refer to this area of Sacramento as Old Sac.

    • Example: I love getting sarsaparilla when I go to Old Sac.

1. 

   The 5/The Highway or Freeway If you’ve seen SNL’s “The Californians” sketches, you’re familiar with the distinctly Southern California way of talking about the major roadways. In Los Angeles and other parts of SoCal, highways and freeways are referred to with “the” before them. For example, I-5 becomes “the 5.”[25]

   • Example: I took the 405 to get here faster.

2. PCH PCH is another geographical slang term referring to the Pacific Coast Highway. The scenic coastal highway gets clogged with traffic at times. It’s also the longest state route in California, so residents across the state know its slangy nickname.[26]

   • Example: Don’t use the PCH, you’ll be stuck in traffic forever.

3. PB In Southern California and San Diego in particular, “PB” is used as slang for Pacific Beach. It’s a popular destination for hitting the bars and watching the waves.[27]

   • Example: Do you want to go to PB for happy hour?

4. The OC In the early ‘00s, The O.C. was a teen drama following the lives of affluent teens in Southern California’s Orange County. The term is also used by locals and Southern California residents in general to refer to the area.[28]

   • Example: I’m from the OC, but I moved to the Bay.

5. OB Not to be confused with “PB” (Pacific Beach), OB refers to San Diego’s Ocean Beach area. It’s another bit of regional slang you’ll hear frequently in Southern California.[29]

   • Example: Do you want to go to OB after work?

6. WeHo/NoHo In LA, locals and California transplants use slang to refer to different parts of the city. The most common examples are “WeHo” and “NoHo,” aka West Hollywood and North Hollywood.[30]

   • Example: I used to live in WeHo before I moved to the Valley with my family.

7. May Gray/June Gloom Despite California’s reputation for being sunny all year long, coastal areas experience their share of gloomy days. In May and June in particular, the marine layer leaves the sky foggy and full of low-altitude clouds, giving way to the slang terms “May Gray” and “June Gloom.”.[31]

   • Example: Too bad there’s all this May Gray, I was excited to tan on the beach today.

8. The Industry In Los Angeles, many people work in the entertainment industry in some fashion. It’s so common that “The Industry” became slang for being part of Hollywood—whether you’re an actor or a caterer.[32]

   • Example: I’m in The Industry. I tutor child actors who can’t attend regular school during filming.

9. Legit Legit is California slang for something that’s good. It’s similar to other slang phrases like “tight” or “real.” It can also mean something or someone is authentic—”the real deal” in other words.[33]

   • Example: The coffee shop on Vine Street is legit. Love their stuff.

10. Double-Double/Animal Style Southern Californians love In-N-Out, a fast-food burger chain. Some In-N-Out menu items are so popular, they’ve become part of SoCal slang. Double-double refers to a double cheeseburger, while animal style refers to having a mustard-grilled patty, grilled onions (instead of raw), pickles, and extra In-N-Out sauce on a burger or fries. [34]

    • Example: I’m going to In-N-Out to get a double-double and some animal-style fries. Do you want anything?

11. Heavy While “heavy” usually refers to something weighing a lot, in Southern California, it’s slang for something that’s emotionally heavy. How serious the “heavy” topic is varies, but the term is thrown around as a way of acknowledging the gravity of a situation.[35]

    • Example: I’m sorry to hear you got laid off. That’s heavy.

12. Post Up “Post up” is another way of saying to wait or hang out. It’s similar to the slang terms “kick back” and “hole up,” but used in more casual situations. When you post up, you’re often doing nothing in particular.[36]

    • Example: I’m taking the day off to post up at my friend’s beach house.

13. Yak They don’t have yaks in Southern California—but you might hear someone use the animal’s name as slang when they’re unwell. To yak is to throw up.[37]

    • Example: I drank too much—I feel like I’m going to yak.

14. Like The stereotypical Valley girl—an ‘80s rich girl from the San Fernando Valley with a distinct, ditzy way of talking—is a caricature that doesn’t really exist anymore. However, a relic of Valley girl slang that remains popular in California today is “like.” The word is a filler phrase like “uh,” or “um.”[38]

    • Example: That’s, like, so cool. I’m, like, obsessed!

1. The city There are a lot of nicknames for San Francisco, but most aren’t adopted by the locals. Bay natives are more likely to call San Francisco “the city” than to refer to it as “Frisco,” “San Fran,” “SF,” or a similar label.[39]

   • Example: Do you want to go to the city this weekend? I want to try a new restaurant.

2. The Town While “the City” refers to San Francisco for people in the Bay Area, “the Town” refers to Oakland. Oakland is more laid-back and diverse than San Francisco, giving it more of a “town” feeling although it is a small city.[40]

   • Example: Let’s go to the town—my friend’s holding a party there tonight.

3. The Bay Talking about San Francisco or its surrounding area? Refer to it as “the Bay” to sound like a local. When you hear people talking about the Bay, ask for clarification to learn exactly which area they mean.[41]

   • Example: I’m from the Bay. I grew up in Oakland.

4. Yee Sometimes, saying “yes” feels too plain. That’s where “yee” comes in. Not to be confused with the rapper Ye, “yee” is simply slang for “yes.”[42]

   • Example: Do you want pizza for dinner? Yee.

5. Yadadamean When you say a phrase fast, the words tend to blur together. Sometimes, that blended phrase becomes a slang word. Such is the case with “yadadamean,” a Bay-Area expression meaning “Do you know what I mean?”[43]

   • Example: Things were getting stressful, yadadamean?

6. Hyphy Hyphy is a slang term with multiple, related meanings. First, it refers to a Bay-Area style of upbeat, fast rap music. Because of this association, hyphy came to be slang for anything high energy or “lit.”[44]

   • Example: That concert got hyphy in the pit.

7. Good looks If you hear someone say “good looks” outside of Northern California, they’re probably talking about someone being attractive. In the Bay Area, however, “good looks” is slang for “Thank you.” It’s like a shortened version of the older slang phrase “Good looking out.”[45]

   • Example: I just got your gift basket. Good looks!

1. 

   Disrupt Spend some time around tech employees in California’s Silicon Valley, and you’ll hear the term “disrupt” more times than you can count. The phrase refers to creating a new market by debuting some innovation or alternative that replaces the existing market.[46]

   • Example: TikTok disrupted the social media market by popularizing short-form videos.
   • Silicon Valley is a grouping of several cities in the southern part of the Bay Area known for its high-tech businesses and innovative start-ups, such as Apple, Inc. and Google.

2. FAANG FAANG is California (and tech industry) slang for several Silicon Valley companies that are considered prestigious to work for and are worth a lot of money. It’s an acronym that stands for Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Google.[47]

   • Example: I can’t believe I have an interview with a FAANG on Tuesday!

3. Unicorn In Silicon Valley, people launch startups regularly, but the most valuable ones get more attention—and their own slang term, “unicorn.” If you hear someone talk about a unicorn in the Bay Area, they’re referring to a startup valued at $1 billion or more.[48]

   • Example: Uber was a unicorn. Everyone could see that it was going to be a game-changer.

4. Bootstrapping The concept of bootstrapping is common in America—you might hear someone say to “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” as a way of telling you to be resourceful and self-reliant. In Silicon Valley speak, it means starting a company without venture capital.[49]

   • Example: I couldn’t find any investors for my business, so I’m bootstrapping instead.

5. Brogrammer Just as surfers call each other “bro,” those who reside in California’s Silicon Valley may refer to people as “brogrammers.” This slang term is a blend of two words, “bro” and “programmer,” and is usually used as an insult. It refers to a computer programmer who’s also a jock-type bro or a jerk.[50]

   • Example: Don’t trust that person, they’re such a brogrammer.

6. Zombie mode In the southern Bay Area, the slang “zombie mode” refers to when people are absorbed in their phone or other electronic device. When you go into zombie mode, you’re so engaged with your device that you’re like a mindless zombie, unaware of the world around you.[51]

   • Example: I tried to start a conversation with them, but they were in zombie mode.

1. Stoked If you hear someone in California say they’re stoked, they mean they’re excited or looking forward to something. The term originates from surfer culture, but it’s found its way around the Golden State and beyond.[52]

   • Example: My favorite singer is coming to my town—I’m stoked for the concert.

2. Gnarly Gnarly is an interesting slang word because it can mean that something’s very good, but it can also mean that something’s difficult or bad. Surfers, skaters, and other extreme sports participants use the term to refer to waves and weather conditions. Other Californians apply the slang to whatever they like.[53]

   • Example: The waves are gnarly today. I can’t wait to hit the beach.

3. Bro/Bruh Hang around Gen Z or Gen Alpha youth, and you’re likely to hear them calling each other “bro” or “bruh.” When used as slang for a person, both are terms of endearment that were incorporated into surf culture but have been adopted by many different groups. Said as a noun, “bro” and “bruh” could be an expression of surprise or disbelief.[54]

   • Example: Hey bro, you want to go to the movies later?
     • Alternative Example: Bruh***, I can’t believe that just happened.

4. Dude “Dude” is a common slang word around the United States, but in California you hear it more than anywhere. Surfers popularized the phrase, which is gender-neutral, as a way to casually address one’s friends. Like “bro,” it can also be used as an expression of surprise.[55]

   • Example: Hey dude, what’s up?
     • Alternative Example: Dude***! What was that?

5. Aggro If someone in California says someone is “aggro,” they mean they’re being aggressive. Because surfers are famously laid-back, it makes sense that they’d coin a term for someone whose vibe is more intense and hostile.[56]

   • Example: I don’t know why they were being so aggro. I just asked them to pick up their litter.

6. Eat it When you’re hitting the waves to surf, you don’t always find smooth sailing. “Eat it” is slang for wiping out, or falling off your board and into the wave. You “eat the wave” so to speak, though the slang is simply “eat it.” Californians might also use the term to refer to any clumsy fall that results in someone hitting the ground.[57]

   • Example: When I was just starting out surfing, I would eat it all the time.

7. Goofy footed “Goofy footed” is a slang term shared by surfers, skaters, and snowboarders. It describes people who put their right foot at the top (front) end of their board. You’re regular footed if you put your left foot forward when you surf or ride.[58]

   • Example: I’m goofy footed. It’s more comfortable for me to put my right foot forward.

8. Shred Shredding isn’t just for cheese. In California surfer slang, to shred is to do well on the waves and really “crush it.” The term is also sometimes applied to playing the guitar.[59]

   • Example: You totally shredded those waves back there.

9. Kook If you hear a California surfer call someone a kook, they’re insulting that person by labeling them a poser. Whether it’s because they’re new at the waves or not hip with the local surf scene, a kook is someone who wants to appear like a surfer—but is likely not experienced or authentic on the waves.[60]

   • Example: They tried to surf in jeans—what a kook!

• Make sure you understand a slang term’s meaning and appropriate context before you start using it. You don’t want to appropriate a term from another culture, misuse a slang phrase, or accidentally insult someone.

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