Where it sits
Tbh announces that the writer is about to be a little blunter than usual, and asks you not to hold it against them.
Tell it apart
| Aspect | Tbh | Imo |
|---|---|---|
| Stands for | To be honest | In my opinion |
| Signals | Candour | Subjectivity |
| Can soften bad news? | Often | Sometimes |
Imo labels a view as yours. Tbh adds that it's frank, sometimes with a hint that it's not what the other person wants to hear.
What it doesn't mean
Wiktionary's earliest citation is a Usenet post from June 1991, older than most of the people now using it.
What it really means
Tbh is the oldest member of the honesty family, and by some distance. Wiktionary's earliest citation comes from June 1991, in a Usenet post on a vegetarian food newsgroup, where the writer used the letters and then, unsure anyone would follow, added the expansion in brackets: "TBH (To be honest)".
Thirty-odd years later nobody needs the brackets. "To be honest" marks what follows as frank: an opinion, a preference, a small admission. "Tbh the first season was better." "Tbh I'd rather stay in tonight." The phrase is a softener that also braces you a little. It promises honesty and quietly admits that honesty may not be welcome.
For a while in the mid-2010s, tbh had a second life as a social-media game. Dictionary.com traces the prompt to 2011, when people began offering to post an honest comment about anyone who liked their status ("lms for a tbh", short for "like my status"). In its fullest form, "tbh, rate, and date", it peaked on Google Trends between late 2014 and early 2016. Those posts have mostly gone; the abbreviation outlived the game.
Its close neighbour is ngl ("not gonna lie"). If there's a difference, ngl confesses something about you and tbh gives your view of something else.
Where it comes from
to
be
honest
An initialism of a spoken hedge. The earliest writer Wiktionary cites spelled it out in brackets straight after using it, which tells you how new it was.
- 17 June 1991
Earliest citation in Wiktionary: a Usenet post to rec.food.veg that writes "TBH (To be honest)".
- 2011
The social-media prompt "lms for a tbh" (like my status) takes shape (Dictionary.com).
- Late 2014 – early 2016
The "tbh, rate, and date" prompt is at its most popular on Google Trends (Dictionary.com).
In real life
- Text: "tbh I'd rather stay in tonight, can we do Saturday?"
- Text: "the first season was better tbh"
- Text: "tbh I didn't read the whole thing, what's the plan?"
Questions
Q01What does tbh mean in a text?
"To be honest." It introduces a frank opinion or admission: "tbh I'd rather stay in". It often softens something the writer thinks you might not like.
Q02What did "tbh" mean on Instagram and Facebook?
Around 2014–16, "tbh" was part of a social-media prompt: people offered to post an honest comment about anyone who liked their status ("lms for a tbh"), sometimes with a rating ("tbh, rate, and date"). Dictionary.com traces the prompt to 2011.
Q03How old is tbh?
Older than you might think. Wiktionary's earliest citation is a Usenet post from 17 June 1991.
Q04Is tbh passive-aggressive?
It can be. "Tbh, I expected more" is softer than "I expected more" but it's still criticism. Most of the time it's simply a signal that you're giving your real opinion.