What Does “What the Jawn” Mean?

What does “jawn” mean?

“Jawn” is Philly slang for any noun. According to Nwodo, jawn is sometimes used as a reference to a person. That said, it’s most often used when the speaker can’t remember the specific word for something (kind of the way you might say “whatcha-ma-call it” or “thing”). It is a pronoun that can replace literally any noun. Examples: “Hey, pass me that jawn over there.” “Look at this jawn, acting like he’s all that.” “What do you call that jawn you use to change gears in a car?” Origin: “Jawn” is regional slang that’s exclusive to Philadelphia (and Camden, which is on the other side of the river separating Philly from New Jersey). The word “joint” has historically been a popular slang term for places, songs, parties, etc. Philly’s accent involves dropping a lot of “o” sounds, while turning “a” sounds into “o” sounds (just listen to how they say “water”). As a result, “joint” sounded a lot like “jawn,” and the rest is history! Meet the wikiHow Expert Tobi Nwodo is an influencer and content creator with over 600,000 followers across YouTube and TikTok. His videos usually cover topics like internet culture, memes, trends, and slang.

What does “what the jawn” mean?

“What the jawn” is phrase you can use when you have a big reaction to something. The same way “jawn” can stand in for any noun, “what the jawn” can stand in for any reaction or feeling. Nwodo says it’s usually used like “What the heck?” It can also be used in place of “oh my god!” or “holy smokes.” It could be good, bad, or totally neutral, depending on the tone and feeling you’re trying to convey. Examples: “The doorbell just rang. It’s 4 am. What the jawn?!” “What the jawn! I haven’t seen you in forever!” “Wow, this is a delicious pie. Got me feeling like ‘what the jawn.’”

Origin of “What the Jawn”

The phrase comes from TikTok user Devin Caherly. User @devincaherly published this video on his Instagram and TikTok in February of 2025. In it, he eats a chicken sandwich that he loves so much he jumps on the table while yelling, “What the jawn?” The video went viral with users all over the country wondering both what “jawn” and “what the jawn” mean. Devin also published a follow-up video explaining how to use the phrase correctly (which is in literally any way at all, it turns out). Devin Caherly is from Summit, New Jersey. It’s a suburb of New York City, but it’s close enough to Philly that it’s likely he picked “jawn” up organically by living on the East Coast.

The Controversy Behind “What the Jawn”

Nobody in Philly would ever say “what the jawn.” It’s true that if you visit Philly, you’re going to run into “jawn” when you’re chatting up the locals. That word is actually a point of pride for the city. However, you’d never hear someone use “jawn” in a bottled phrase like “what the jawn.” It’s just not a natural thing anyone from that city would say, so Philadelphians have been a little upset about the corruption of their beloved term. Nwodo says that you’re more likely to hear “What the jawn?” around the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) area. It’s not that there’s anything intrinsically wrong with “what the jawn” grammatically or stylistically. It’s just not a natural way to use the word. It’s sort of like saying, “Wow, that’s so rizz,” or “I get that she’s upset, but she’s doing so much tripping”—it just doesn’t sound correct because the word is being used in an unnatural way. Even Jason Kelce, retired Philadelphia Eagles football center, is upset that people outside of Philly are beginning to use the word “jawn.” In a clip from his New Heights podcast, he says, “It’s not Dictionary.com’s word. It’s f****** Philadelphia’s.”

“Jawn” is AAVE, and “what the jawn” registers as cultural appropriation. African American Vernacular English is a dialect used by many Black people in the United States. “Jawn” was popularized by the Black community of Philly, so seeing white YouTubers and TikTokers from other parts of the country use “what the jawn” in silly videos rubs some people the wrong way. There’s actually a long history of AAVE slang being adopted by mainstream culture and then completely divorced from its original meaning. “Woke,” “bro,” “bae,” and “lit” are all examples of this happening, so people aware of this phenomenon tend to call it out. This isn’t to say that you can never say “jawn” or “what the jawn,” or that you can never make videos about the phrase if you aren’t from Philly! Just be aware of the history and try to be respectful.