Fri, Oct 30, 2026 · Slangdunk Editors

What does 식스세븐 (sikseusebeun, “six seven”) mean? How a meaningless 67 became Word of the Year

식스세븐 (sikseusebeun) is the Korean spelling of “six seven” (67), a teen catchphrase with no fixed meaning, shouted with a hand gesture. It grew from a line in an American rap song and clips of a 6-foot-7 basketball player, and became Dictionary.com's 2025 Word of the Year.

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At a glance

Meaning: The number 67, read in English. A filler exclamation with no fixed meaning — a so-so shrug or a “whoa” — usually with palms up, hands alternating up and down.
Origin: A line from US rapper Skrilla's song “Doot Doot (6 7)” got paired with clips of NBA player LaMelo Ball, who's 6 feet 7 inches tall, and spread on TikTok (Chosun Ilbo, Money Today).
Milestone: Dictionary.com named it its 2025 Word of the Year — the first time a word with no clear meaning was picked (Hankyung Magazine).
Careful: Some schools in the US and UK have restricted it in class as disruptive. Maybe avoid assigning page 67.

Our editor asked a fifth-grade niece what she learned at school today. She held both palms up, bobbed them like a scale, and said, “식스세븐.” The editor assumed she'd learned the number 67 in math. Math had nothing to do with it.

Timeline

Where does 식스세븐 come from? One number's year, in one line

Around late 2024
A line in a rap song
US rapper Skrilla released “Doot Doot (6 7).” Chosun Ilbo dates it to late 2024; Money Today says late 2023 — outlets differ. Some speculate 67 refers to 67th Street in Skrilla's hometown of Philadelphia, but that's never been clearly explained (Chosun Ilbo).
After that
A 6-foot-7 basketball player
A TikTok user set the song to a clip referencing NBA player LaMelo Ball's height, 6 feet 7 inches. The song's “six seven” lined up with his height, and the number itself became a meme (Chosun Ilbo, Hankyung Magazine).
Summer 2025
A teen exclamation
According to Chosun Ilbo, the trend took off in summer 2025. Teens started shouting it among themselves out of nowhere, and the alternating-hands gesture became part of the package.
Sep–Oct 2025
Classrooms crack up
Citing TikTok analysis, Money Today reported a surge in #67 hashtag use in September and October. In a Guardian survey of 10,000 teachers, four in five secondary teachers said they'd encountered the meme in class. A Texas teacher said just saying “turn to page 67” set the room off.
Late Oct 2025
Dictionary.com's Word of the Year
Dictionary.com picked 67 as its 2025 Word of the Year, following “demure” in 2024 and “hallucinate” in 2023. The site said the defining trait of the word may be that it can't be defined (Chosun Ilbo, reported Nov 1, 2025).
Nov 2025
It reaches Korean news
Yonhap, Money Today, Hankyung Magazine and others ran “what does 67 mean?” stories. Chosun Ilbo compared it to the Korean exclamations 헐 (“whoa”) and 어쩔 (“so what”).

Meaning

What does 식스세븐 (six seven) mean?

식스세븐(67)

The number 67 read in English: a teen catchphrase with no fixed meaning, used as a so-so “eh, could go either way” or a “whoa,” with a palms-up gesture that alternates the hands up and down.

In Korean: 숫자 67을 영어로 읽은 말로, 정해진 뜻 없이 외치는 10대 유행어. 애매한 반응이나 '헐' 같은 감탄사로 쓰고, 손바닥을 위로 해 두 손을 번갈아 올렸다 내리는 동작을 함께 한다.

Even dictionaries struggled. According to Herald Korea Times, Dictionary.com called it “ambiguous slang” and Merriam-Webster “a meaningless expression used by teens.” Hankyung Magazine reported that Dictionary.com treats it as an example of “brainrot” slang. In use, it's a conversation-stopper like 어쩔티비 (“so what?”), and like that one, it tends to make listening adults say 킹받네 (“so annoying”).

이번 시험 어땠어? / 음… 식스세븐 (손을 번갈아 흔든다)How was the test? / Hmm… six seven (alternating hands)Meaning “so-so”
선생님: 자, 교과서 67쪽 펴세요. / 반 전체: 식스세븐!!Teacher: Okay, open your textbooks to page 67. / Whole class: SIX SEVEN!!The instant reaction whenever 67 comes up
점심 메뉴 뭐 먹지? / 식스세븐. / 그게 대답이야?What should we eat for lunch? / Six seven. / Is that an answer?Deflecting a question
엘리베이터 6층이랑 7층 눌러 놨어. 식스세븐 ㅋㅋI pressed 6 and 7 in the elevator. Six seven lolThe game of spotting 67 in daily life
식스세븐? 육십칠이면 육십칠이지 왜 영어로 읽어?Six seven? Sixty-seven is sixty-seven — why say it in English?Grandma (surprisingly good at the hand gesture)

무슨 뜻이야?…美 올해의 단어에 10대 유행어 '67' / 연합뉴스 (Yonhapnews)

'식스 세븐'에 열광하는 10대들 美 올해의 단어 '67' 무슨 뜻?/ KNN

Self-test

Have you caught 식스세븐?

Am I part of the 식스세븐 generation? Tap the ones that fit

When I see 67, my hands move first
I've held my palms up instead of saying “it's fine”
I've looked for 67 in elevators or on receipts
I now know LaMelo Ball's height by heart
I tried the gesture at least once while reading this

0 of 5 checked

Immune. Your niece can shout 식스세븐 all day and you won't flinch — though joining the conversation is a bit harder.

FAQ

식스세븐 (six seven): frequently asked questions

Q. What does 식스세븐 (sikseusebeun, 67) mean?

It's a teen catchphrase with no fixed meaning, used as a so-so shrug or a “whoa,” with palms up and hands alternating. Dictionary.com calls it “ambiguous slang”; Merriam-Webster, “a meaningless expression used by teens.”

Q. Where does the six seven meme come from?

A line from US rapper Skrilla's “Doot Doot (6 7)” was paired with TikTok clips of 6-foot-7 NBA player LaMelo Ball. Outlets differ on when the song came out (late 2024 per Chosun Ilbo, late 2023 per Money Today), and what 67 means has never been clearly explained.

Q. What's the six seven song?

“Doot Doot (6 7)” by US rapper Skrilla. Its “six seven” line is where the meme started. The lyrics are on music streaming sites.

Q. Is 식스세븐 brainrot?

According to Hankyung Magazine, Dictionary.com treats 67 as an example of brainrot slang, defining it as absurdly, playfully meaningless. “Brainrot” refers to hyper-stimulating, nonsensical short-form content and the way of talking that comes with it.

Q. How do you do the six seven hand gesture?

Hold both palms up and move them up and down alternately, like weighing something. Hankyung Magazine describes it as a shrug-like gesture signaling “it's just so-so.”

So 식스세븐 is a word whose meaning is that it has none. Lexicographers gave up defining it; fifth graders use it precisely with one gesture. Our editor told the niece to come home with some actual math tomorrow. She held her palms up. If you have a sharper definition, add it to the 식스세븐 entry in the dictionary.

Sources

See ‘식스세븐(67)’ in the dictionary — more definitions, examples, and your own take.

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