What Is 'Green FN'? The Viral Slang Term That Suddenly Took Over TikTok Explained

Over the past week on TikTok, there's been a deluge of videos in which a character described as a Green FN will do or say something particularly suave (or at least, ironically suave depending on the joke). The videos are often set to basketball highlights. This can all be very confusing.

Luckily, the slang is not particularly tough to explain, and we'll break it down.

What Does 'Green FN' Mean?

"Green FN" stands for "Green F--- N---a," edited into an algorithmically friendly acronym.

The term comes from the NBA 2K series. In those games, the quality of a basketball shot is measured with a colored meter. Green signifies the most effective shot, but it is also the most difficult to hit. Thus, saying "Green FN" is basically the video game equivalent of shouting "Kobe!" while shooting a crumpled-up piece of paper into the trash.

How Did 'Green FN' Get Big On TIkTok?

Before last week's surge in bizarre videos, the term was popular among the basketball fandom on TikTok. A sound created by @braydentopg featured a man saying the full version of "Green FN" and was usually used ironically over clips of NBA players jacking up airballs.

One year later, the term "Green FN" started appearing in TikToks in increasingly incomprehensible contexts. One of the first big TikToks was posted by losretrosluvr, who simply wrote "Green FN" over a drawing of Peter Griffin shooting a basketball.

Adding to the confusion (and likely the slang term's virality) was the fact that no one seemed willing to explain what it meant. This seemed to encourage those in the know to keep using it to the increased frustration of commenters.

For the full history of Green FN, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.