The words, and the work.

A harmless but odd trait. Neither a warning nor a virtue.

Coined against red flag and green flag. It is a joke format more than a judgement.

“He alphabetises his spice rack. Beige flag.”

ایسی عادت جو نہ اچھی ہے نہ بری، بس عجیب ہے۔

The dulling effect of hours of low quality content.

Also the content itself. Oxford named it word of the year for 2024.

“Two hours of shorts and my brain rot is measurable.”

بےمعنی مواد زیادہ دیکھنے سے ذہن کا کند ہو جانا۔

Noticed something someone was trying to hide.

"I clocked that immediately." Neutral to mildly confrontational.

“I clocked the padded timeline in the first meeting.”

بھانپ لینا، پکڑ لینا۔

Reading bad news for far longer than you meant to.

Named during 2020 and now general. The scrolling is compulsive rather than informative.

“An hour of doomscrolling before bed and then no sleep.”

بری خبریں مسلسل اور بےقابو ہو کر پڑھتے رہنا۔

A phase you are openly in.

"My saving era", "my quiet era". A light way to announce a change in behaviour.

“I am in my reading era, no late nights.”

زندگی کا ایک دور یا مرحلہ جس میں آپ اس وقت ہیں۔

Making someone doubt their own memory or judgement.

From the 1944 film Gaslight. Widely overused for ordinary disagreement, which is worth knowing before using it: it names a serious pattern, not someone being wrong.

“Insisting the deadline was never Friday when it is in the email is gaslighting.”

کسی کو اس کی اپنی یادداشت پر شک دلانا۔

Withholding information to stay the only one who has it.

Also used about who is allowed to call themselves a fan or a professional.

“Not sharing the supplier list is gatekeeping.”

معلومات چھپا کر رکھنا تاکہ صرف آپ کے پاس رہے۔

Disappearing from a conversation without explanation.

Now as common in hiring and business as in dating. Being ghosted by a company after four interviews is the version most people meet first.

“Two rounds of interviews and then they ghosted me.”

بغیر بتائے رابطہ ختم کر دینا۔

A sign that someone is a good person to deal with.

The opposite of a red flag. Increasingly used about colleagues and clients, not just partners.

“She sent the agenda before the meeting. Green flag.”

اچھی علامت، بھروسے کے قابل ہونے کی نشانی۔

Announcing it outright.

The counterpart to a soft launch. Names, faces, no ambiguity.

“He hard launched the startup with a press release.”

کھل کر اعلان کر دینا۔

A sudden small thing that kills attraction or respect.

Specific and trivial by definition. The word exists because the trigger is never a big thing.

“He talked over the waiter and it gave me the ick.”

کوئی چھوٹی سی بات جس سے اچانک دلچسپی ختم ہو جائے۔

Someone behaving as though following a script.

From non-player character in games. Insulting when aimed at a person, which is most of the time.

“The support replies were pure NPC.”

ایسا شخص جو بندھے ٹکے انداز میں ردعمل دے۔

A one-sided sense of knowing someone you have only watched.

Applies to creators, founders and public figures. Worth naming because it shapes how people treat brands.

“The apology video worked because the audience is parasocial.”

ایسا رشتہ جو ایک طرفہ ہو، جہاں آپ کسی کو جانتے ہیں مگر وہ آپ کو نہیں۔

Screenshots or messages that prove what was said.

"Show receipts" is a demand for evidence. Directly useful in work disputes.

“I have receipts, the scope changed twice after signing.”

ثبوت، خاص طور پر پرانے پیغامات یا اسکرین شاٹ۔

A warning sign about a person or a deal.

Old phrase, new frequency. Now applied to vendors and job interviews as much as relationships.

“They will not put the scope in writing. Red flag.”

خطرے کی علامت۔

An unplanned detour away from the thing you meant to do.

Affectionate. Applied to whole afternoons and occasionally to whole careers.

“Went for milk, came back three hours later. Side quest.”

اصل کام چھوڑ کر کسی اور دلچسپ کام میں لگ جانا۔

A relationship that both people are deliberately not defining.

More than friendship, without the label or the commitments.

“They have been in a situationship since March.”

ایسا تعلق جسے دونوں فریق جان بوجھ کر نام نہیں دیتے۔

Hinting at something before announcing it.

From product releases, now used about relationships and jobs too. A photo with one unidentified hand in it is a soft launch.

“She soft launched the new job with a desk photo.”

کسی بات کا اشارہ دینا، اعلان سے پہلے۔

Not to be taken seriously, usually as a criticism.

Sharper than it looks. Calling a proposal unserious says it does not deserve engagement.

“A three day estimate for that build is unserious.”

ایسا جسے سنجیدگی سے نہ لیا جائے۔