So you've finally started watching streams on Twitch. As you've likely learned, the live-streaming platform has a unique culture and slang that can make following its chat conversations difficult for noobs. To help you understand what your fellow Twitch users are saying, we've assembled a list of 25 Twitch slang terms you need to know:

1. 5Head

5Head means "very smart." Twitch chatters use this term both sincerely, to praise a streamer's intelligence, and sarcastically, to mock a streamer's stupidity. You may also encounter the 5Head emote, which features a distorted version of LoL streamer Cadburry's forehead.

2. Dono

Dono is short for "donation." Streamers use this abbreviation when asking viewers to donate if they've enjoyed their stream.

3. Emote

Emotes are Twitch-specific emoticons that users can enter in chat. Some of the terms listed here, like 5head and KEKW, are linked with emotes that users often use in place of the terms themselves.

4. F

Twitch users enter F in chat when a streamer's stream has disconnected. This practice is inspired by a funeral scene in the game Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, in which players must press F to pay their respects to a dead NPC.

5. Gas

Something that is gas is "awesome" or "great." Twitch users often use gas as part of the phrase "that's gas," when describing a streamer's sick plays or incredible luck.

6. Hype

Something that is hype is "exceptionally cool" or "amazing." Twitch chat users express their hype in many ways, including using the word itself in chat, gifting a streamer some donos, and subbing to the streamer's channel.

7. Jebaited

Jebaited means "deceived." This term is derived from an emote of the same name, which shows Community Effort Orlando organizer Alex Jebailey looking up in surprise. Combining Jebailey's last name with the word "baited" produces jebaited.

8. Kappa

Kappa is a way that Twitch chat users express sarcasm. If a sentence includes kappa, it should not be taken seriously. You may also encounter the kappa emote, which is an image of former Twitch staffer Josh DeSeno's face.

9. KEKW

Twitch chatters use KEKW similarly to LOL, to represent laughter. Other variants of KEKW include KEKL and KEK.

10. Mald

Mald is an abbreviation that means "mad and bald." It originated within the chat of the streamer forsen.

11. Mod

Mod is short for "moderator." On Twitch, moderators can remove spam or trolling chat comments and block the users who posted them.

12. Oppo

Oppo is short for "opponent." Streamers and Twitch chatters use this abbreviation to refer to opposing players or teams.

13. Poggers

Poggers means "cool" or "amazing." This term, and the related term POG, are derived from the PogChamp emote.

14. Punt

A punt is a misplay or mistake. Twitch chat users may spam punt in chat after a streamer makes a mistake that costs them a game.

15. Raid

A raid is when a streamer sends their viewers to another streamer's channel. Streamers often conduct raids at the end of their streams, to send their current audience to a friend's channel.

16. Sadge

Sadge most likely started out as a portmanteau of "sad" and "cringe." However, it now just means "sad." You may also encounter the sadge emote, which features a depressed-looking Pepe the Frog.

17. Stream sniping

Stream sniping is when a player purposefully pairs themself against a streamer, so they can use the info they gather from the streamer's stream to defeat them. This practice is also referred to as ghosting.

18. Streamer

Streamers are the gamers and others who regularly produce content on Twitch. Professional streamers often stream daily and attract audiences of hundreds or thousands.

19. Sub

Streamers who ask you to sub to their channel are asking you to pay money to "subscribe." In return for your subscription, you receive channel-specific perks, like custom emotes, badges, and ad-free viewing.

20. Subs

Just as sub is short for "subscribe," subs is short for "subscribers." Streamers may refer to their community of subscribers as their subs.

21. TOS

On Twitch, TOS stands for "terms of service." Twitch's TOS regulate the types of content streamers can share on their channels.

22. Troll

A troll is a person who posts offensive comments in chat. If a troll is offensive enough, a channel's mods will eventually ban them from chat.

23. VOD

VOD stands for "video on demand." Streamers often record their streams and publish them as VODs, so those who couldn't watch a stream live can watch it later, at their own convenience.

24. Whisper

Whispers are private messages, which Twitch users can send to each other outside public chat. You may also see this term spelled wsp.

25. Woot

Woot is an expression of excitement. The exact origins of this term are unknown, but it may have originated within the Dungeons & Dragon community, be a variant of the phrase "whoot, there it is," or be an acronym that stands for "we own the other team."