ENGLISH
REFERENCE

kappa

n. countable
C2 Proficiency US //ˈkæpə// UK //kˈæpɐ// kap·pa

n. a word used at the end of a sentence to show you are being sarcastic or joking. It comes from a popular face on the streaming site Twitch.

n. a post-sentential marker used in digital communication to signal irony, sarcasm, or a non-serious intent. Derived from a specific emoticon on the Twitch platform.


SIMPLE

I definitely enjoy waking up at 5 a.m. every day, kappa.

CONTEXTUAL

He told the chat he was the best player in the world, kappa, and everyone laughed at the joke.

Etymology 1

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek κάππα (káppa), ultimately from Proto-Semitic *kapp- (“palm, hand”). Doublet of kaph.

Etymology 2

From Japanese 河童 (kappa, “water imp”).

Usage

Typically used as a sentence-final particle in informal digital text; often written in lowercase.

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