Generation Z is responsible for an entire dictionary section’s worth of new words and phrases. “Cap,” “simp” and “drip” are all well-engrained by now, but there’s a new word that’s entered the vernacular: rizz.
Prevalent more so in comment sections than in actual conversation, rizz refers to a person’s, usually a man’s, way of communicating with a woman in hopes that she’ll become romantically interested in him (the ball is in your court, Urban Dictionary).
“Rizz, in my opinion, is what you say to some person to get them attracted to you,” freshman finance major Matthew Paver said.
“It’s your ability to pull,” freshman mechanical engineering major Julian Gonzalez added.
Previous generations would refer to it as “game,” but that makes too much sense. The person looking to gain a new partner is hoping for the pursuant to respect their game or their style of flirting with them. It holds clear meaning outside of romantic contexts too; “He’s got game,” for example, means that a guy is good at his game, whatever that happens to be.
But rizz?
How does that series of letters come about? Is it short for something? How does such a random word get associated in a context where picking the right words is paramount?
“I use it as a joke; I just think it’s just a funny word,” Paver said. “I don’t think many people use it seriously.”
The word is commonly believed to be coined by a social media video star named Kai Cenat in 2021. I work primarily in sports and I have no idea who Cenat is, nor do I care that much. However, he provided his interpretation of it, much to the delight of confused millennials and parents everywhere.
“You’re so slick with your words and what you’re saying, to where the girl is like, ‘OK, yeah, who is this?!,’ Cenat said. “After [expletive] goes your way, you’re like, ‘Yeah, I rizzed her up. I’ve got mad rizz.’”
Over time, various spinoffs of the word emerged and anyone under the age of 25 has likely heard phrases like “rizzing her up,” which is the action of using rizz itself, and “unspoken rizz,” which is where one is so attractive that they do not even need to speak to spark a potential romantic connection.
Rizz is primarily used in situations where a guy is chasing a girl so that begs the question: Can a girl “rizz up” a guy? In this day and age, women are more than welcome to flirt with men and make the first move, but girls don’t talk much, if at all, about how much rizz they have.
“Girls that I know will say it as a joke, but I don’t think they say ‘I’m going to rizz up this guy,’” Gonzalez said.
Someone with rizz may be praised by their friends as being “The Rizzard of Oz,” “The Rizzler,” or a “Rizzly bear.” Props to the new generation for their creativity but it’s doubtful that Prince Charming ever uses it in Rizzney movie.
Despite the spins on the phrase, there are only two words recognized by Merriam-Webster Dictionary that contain “rizz” in them: brizz and frizz. Neither one of them have anything remotely to do with flirting.
It turns out Cenat didn’t just pick four letters out of a bowl of alphabet soup. The word is allegedly short for “charisma,” but no one of prominence has officially said that that is an undisputed fact.
“I don’t like that the word rizz is short for charisma,” sophomore mechanical engineering major Ali Eickhoff said.
Whatever your knowledge or feeling towards the word is, I highly recommend you study up on your rizz before Valentine’s Day on Tuesday. Rizz 101 is now dismissed.
