char (Filipino)

Char is Filipino slang meaning "just kidding," used after a joke to clarify it wasn't serious. Not concerning, just Filipino vocabulary. If your kid uses it constantly, ask them where they first heard it, not to police their speech but to understand which online community they are in. Most slang of this kind moves through TikTok and group chats, so seeing it in your child's vocabulary just means they are plugged into normal teen internet culture.

Char is Filipino slang short for "charot," used after a statement to indicate it was a joke. Use in Filipino and diaspora contexts. Formal equivalent: "just kidding," "only joking." Common non-native mistake: confusing with English homophones (char meaning to burn, or as a name). In Filipino slang, char is a sentence-final particle indicating jest. Read or listen to the word in context several times before trying it yourself; the right register is harder to learn than the dictionary meaning.