What does rizz mean on TikTok? Urban dictionary definition of Gen Z term created by Twitch streamer Kai Cenat

Language is always evolving and influenced by things like popular culture and current events. One of the most recent new words to be coined is rizz. The term has 6.5 billion views on social media site

The phrase is particularly being used by members of Gen Z and there are hundreds, if not thousands of videos on TIkTok which have the hashtag rizz. They all either demonstrate examples of it, or advise people on how to get it. But, what exactly is rizz, who was the term created by and how can you get it? Here’s what you need to know.

What is rizz?

Rizz is defined as someone’s ability to attract a romantic partner. Some users have speculated that it may be short for charisma. It can be demonstrated in someone’s charm or their success in flirting with a potential partner using their chat and pick-up lines. It seems to mostly be used in situations where a man is trying to gain the attention of a woman.

According to Urban Dictionary, rizz is “another word for spitting game and how good you are with pulling.” Another definition on the site claims “Rizz actually comes from the word charisma, where in southern Baltimore they’ve started to shorten it, to "rizzma". the noun replacing charisma, and to "rizz", the action of showing charisma.” Other users seem to suggest that rizz refers to someone’s ability to gain romantic interest from someone using no effort.

Who created the word rizz?

Twitch streamer Kai Cenat is credited with popularising the term rizz. Cenat, who lives in South Baltimore, started using the term on the American video live streaming service and it was soon adopted all over the US - before making its way over to the UK.

In an interview for American podcast No Jumper, Cenat defined the term for himself - and according to him it does take effort. He said: “Rizz is when you’re talking to a girl and, at first, s*** is not going your way. It’s looking bad for you, until you spit game and you’re rizzing them up to where s*** starts to go your way.

“You’re so slick with your words and what you’re saying, to where the girl is like, ‘OK, yeah, who is this?!’ After s*** goes your way, you’re like, ‘Yeah, I rizzed her up. I’ve got mad rizz.’”

Cenat added that he and his friends would use rizz among themselves, but it became popular when he started using the word on social media in 2021, as reported by Culture magazine Complex.

How has the word rizz been used over time?

In 2021, Cenat said he had competitions with his friends about who had the most rizz and even held a Rizz Academy on Twitch so that he could share tips he learned with people who believe they have no rizz.

He admits, however, that although he started the trend, he now doesn’t use the word as he says it took on new meanings because of TikTok. During his No Jumper interview, he explained, “TikTok butchered that word. They killed it.” As an example, he referred to “unspoken rizz,” a variation of the term used for someone who is so attractive that they don’t even have to speak in order to pull a romantic interest. Cenat said: “That’s not really rizz”, pointing out that rizz is all about how you speak to someone.

How can you get rizz with someone?

Going by Cenat’s original definition of the word rizz, in which it is all about how you speak to someone there are a few ways you can get rizz with someone. For example, you could give someone a compliment to directly let them know you are interested in them, ask them deep and open-ended questions so you can find out more about them, and tell them something interesting about you to impress them. You could also create a connection by finding common interests and then creating in-jokes to build closeness.