A fashion brand, the Greek alphabet, a Japanese legend or a meme? There’s more to the word “Kappa” and the smiley face that goes with it than some might think. We clarify the question “What does Kappa mean? at all?” therefore today for once and for all.
What does Kappa mean? meanings at a glance
As mentioned at the beginning, there is not just one “Kappa”. On the one hand behind it is the tenth letter of the Greek alphabet (κάππα), but also the number twenty in the Milesian (Greek) number system. So if you are dealing with Greeks, the letter or number could well be meant, which is why you should ask again.
In addition, “Kappa” is a well-known fashion brand, more precisely an Italian manufacturer of sportswear. So if the word is used in a sporting context or in connection with a shopping tour, your counterpart may mean the brand.
However, these three meanings differ from the youth word “Kappa”, which has nothing to do with sports, clothing or the Greek language.
Kappa: Twitch and the flag for sarcasm
Probably the most commonly used meaning of the word is both simple and complex. Put simply, the term indicates that something is meant sarcastically. For this, the word is either written out or pronounced, both variants are common today. You can also use the smiley that got the “Kappa” stone rolling in the first place. In order to understand this, we have to look back a little.
The birth of the Kappa meme began on Twitch, a well-known live streaming portal. Here the employees and developers were allowed to add their own smileys and emojis and name them themselves.
So did former employee Josh DeSanto, who used a photo of himself. In this he smiles slightly and makes a somewhat funny impression. As reported by GIGA, he gave the smiley the name “Kappa”, as this is also the name of a Japanese mythical creature. The creature has a similar narrow smile as he does in the photo, which is probably why he chose the name.
- fun fact: If you see “Kappa-Maki” on the menu, it means sushi with cucumber.
Since the facial expression fits perfectly, it quickly became a symbol of sarcasm and irony. Over time, the term and the smiley left the Twitter bubble and became known on all social networks. It is therefore not uncommon for a “kappa” to simply be appended to a sentence that has been said.
If some other terms and abbreviations are confusing you, we have also explained “LMAO”, “sus”, “idk” and “afk”. We also have simple explanations for foreign words like “ditto” for you.
Source: GIGA