delulu
[ duh-LOO-loo ]
adjective · also used as noun (a person: "she's a total delulu")
Delulu is playful slang for delusional. It means confidently believing something that is not real. That can be a crush theory or a dream job you manifest.
type adjective since 2014 seen on tiktok, twitter-x, instagram, texting, irl status current
Can you still say it?
delulu is current: in active, unremarkable use. Safe to say right now.
What does delulu mean?
Delulu is a softer, more playful way to say "delusional." It teases someone for believing a thing the facts do not support. Said about someone else ("you're delulu if you think he's texting back"), it is a jab, usually a friendly one. Said about yourself ("I'm delulu about this job application"), it becomes a point of pride. It announces optimism you have chosen on purpose, as a strategy.
Today people mostly use it about themselves. Credit the TikTok saying "delulu is the solulu," meaning "delusion is the solution." That saying turned the word into manifesting culture's cheeky little sibling. It comes with a whole family of rhyming words: solulu (the solution), trululu (come true), and delusionship (an imaginary relationship). The K-pop fans who coined the word meant it far less kindly. That harder edge still shows up when a fan's one-sided bond with an idol gets out of hand.
Where did delulu come from?
Delulu began as an insider insult in English-speaking K-pop fan communities. Fan forum records show it by 2013-2014. It was aimed at superfans so devoted they believed an idol might actually date them. People often repeat the claim that it was born on stan Twitter, the superfan corner of Twitter. The earliest records do not back that up. They point to fan forums instead, and the exact first use is unknown. Starting in late 2022, TikTok flipped the word from insult to self-help joke. The #delulu tag passed billions of views by 2023. By 2025 even institutions had picked it up. Australia's prime minister said "delulu with no solulu" in Parliament, and the Cambridge Dictionary added the word that August.
Sources: Delulu - Dictionary.com slang guide · Going 'delulu': being delusional is the new manifesting - The Guardian · Delulu, tradwife and skibidi enter the Cambridge Dictionary - ABC News Australia
How to use delulu in a sentence
she said the eye contact meant something. babe he's a barista, that's his job 😭 delulu
being delulu about my screenplay is the only thing getting me through week 3 of edits
In a conversation
manifesting the promotion by acting like I already have it
delulu is the solulu fr
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Gen Z Slang WordsQuestions about delulu
- What does "delulu is the solulu" mean?
- It means "delusion is the solution." The TikTok-era motto treats over-the-top self-belief as a life strategy. Act like the goal is already yours, the joke goes, and that is how you get it.
- Is calling someone delulu rude?
- Between friends it's teasing, not cruel, and much softer than calling someone delusional outright. It can sting when aimed at genuine obsession, which is what the K-pop fandoms that coined it used it for.
- Where does delulu come from?
- It comes from "delusional," shortened with a doubled ending by K-pop fans around 2013-2014. They used it for people convinced their idol secretly loved them. From late 2022, TikTok flipped it into a self-belief joke.