Where it sits
Some iykyk posts really are private. Many are a friendly tease, and the outsiders are meant to feel slightly curious.
Tell it apart
| Aspect | Iykyk | Tfw |
|---|---|---|
| Says | Only some of you will get this | We have all felt this |
| Position | After the post | Before the scenario |
| Effect | Draws a circle | Opens a circle |
Tfw invites everyone in: it names a feeling the reader is meant to share. Iykyk does the opposite and marks a reference as private, so only some readers will get it.
What it doesn't mean
Dictionary.com dates it on social media to at least 2009, years before TikTok existed.
What it really means
Iykyk is five letters that do something a whole sentence struggles to do: they let you post in public while speaking to a few. Spelled out, it is "if you know, you know". Added to the end of a photo or a message, it says there's a story behind this, and you either have it or you don't.
The phrase is older than the abbreviation, and the abbreviation is older than most people think. Dictionary.com finds it on social media from at least 2009, with use growing through the mid-2010s. In 2018 Pusha T opened his album Daytona with a song called "If You Know You Know", and by 2019 the hashtag was everywhere.
It works best on small things: a café, a teacher's catchphrase, a terrible night everyone survived. The outsiders aren't really being shut out. They're being told that something happened, which is half the fun of an inside joke.
One thing to watch: because iykyk signals "there's more here than I'm saying", some people use it to wink at innuendo. Usually it's harmless. Read the room before you ask what it meant.
Where it comes from
if you know
you know
An initialism of a spoken phrase that already existed. The letters do the same job as the phrase: they let outsiders see the door without opening it.
- 13 August 2009
Dictionary.com's earliest example is a tweet ending in "(iykyk)"; it says the abbreviation has been used on social media since at least 2009.
- Late 2016
First defined on Urban Dictionary, according to Know Your Meme.
- 25 May 2018
Pusha T opens his album Daytona with the song "If You Know You Know".
- 2019
Hashtag use spreads across Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
In real life
- A group-chat photo of a burnt pizza, captioned: "friday night tradition, iykyk."
- Text: "the 7:42 bus driver is back. iykyk"
- Text: "remember the school trip with the goat? iykyk lol"
Questions
Q01What does iykyk mean?
It stands for "if you know, you know". People add it to a post or message to show that it refers to something only some readers will recognise: a shared memory, a local joke or a niche reference.
Q02What does iykyk mean in a text?
The same thing. In a text it usually points to a shared memory between you and the other person, as in "that cafe on the corner, iykyk". It means there's a story behind it that doesn't need explaining.
Q03How old is iykyk?
Dictionary.com's earliest example is a tweet from 13 August 2009, and it says use grew in the mid-2010s. Pusha T's 2018 song "If You Know You Know" gave the phrase a further push.
Q04Is iykyk rude?
Not usually. It can feel exclusive if you're the one who doesn't know, but most of the time it is playful. Just bear in mind that some people use it to hint at innuendo, so look at the context before you reply.
Sources
- iykyk — Dictionary.com slang.
- What's the meaning of IYKYK? — Know Your Meme.
- Daytona (album) — Wikipedia.