Lowkey

Lowkey – literally: ‘subdued’- is a slang expression used by youth to describe hidden emotions, unobvious opinions or statements with a perceived detachment. In this context, it means: “on the whole,” “a little,” “unofficial,” “by surprise,” and “inconspicuous but noteworthy.” It is often used in combinations with a verb or evaluative noun, e.g., lowkey want, lowkey smash, lowkey genius.  On the Internet and in youth slang, this word has gained a new meaning- as a medium to express emotions with a hidden intention. It has come to Poland in an unchanged form, mainly thanks to TikTok.

The word lowkey spread on social media in the early 2020s. Users of TikTok, Twitter, and Discord have begun to use this term as an ironic or shy way to admit emotions, preferences, or opinions. Examples of use include:
– lowkey smash–  someone attractive in a non-obvious way,
– lowkey deep– something surprisingly valuable.
In Polish, this word is used in everyday speech as a non-inflected form, often with Polish syntax and inflection.

The popularity of this term has made lowkey often criticised as an empty cliché or a youth’s “filler phrase”. The user of Reddit has written, e.g.:

„The popularity of the phrase ‘low key’ is extremely cringe and annoying. It’s used fucking everywhere now and it seems to just be another filler phrase. 95% of the time, when I hear it, the people aren’t even describing anything lo-key or using it properly. It seems to just be a gen Z saying that doesn’t actually say anything and it’s low key annoying as piss” [User [deleted], comment below the thread „The popularity of the phrase ‘low key’ is extremely cringe and annoying”, Reddit, 5 years ago], access: 8th May 2025,https://www.reddit.com/r/unpopularopinion/comments/joy4g4/the_popularity_of_the_phrase_low_key_is_extremely/.

In Polish youth slang, similar in semantic and pragmatic function to the word:jakby, np.  Twój post jakby się źle zestarzał.

Examples of use:

1. What does lowkey mean [User HardnerPL, comment below the thread “?”, Reddit, 7 years ago, access: 8th May 2025]/https://www.reddit.com/r/EnglishLearning/comments/a3evy3/what_does_lowkey_mean/?tl=pl.
2. Lowkey I would like that [Comment below the film, TikTok, 31st December 2024: “”, access: 8th May 2025]/https://www.tiktok.com/@komfort.konto/video/7454285700247211286.
3. Low key- bez przyoalu- [Krzysztof Łukasz, comment below educational material on youth jargon, TikTok, 20th March 2024] 3/https://www.tiktok.com/@grammar.mamma/video/7345578255195442464.
4. Lowkey smash [Julia Pośnik TikTok, 25th January 2024, access: 9th May 2025]https://www.tiktok.com/@juliaposio/video/7328028902184602913.
5. Always lowkey vintage [blejderpawel, TikTok, 27th February 2024, access: 9th May 2025] / https://www.tiktok.com/@blejderpawel/video/7476082995850415382.