Readers who are somewhat up to date on modern slang will have no trouble understanding the meaning of “BFF” when the term is used in conversation or on social media platforms like TikTok. Kids have been calling others their BFF — Best Friend Forever — since the 1980s, and the “relationship” was often celebrated by exchanging hand-made bracelets or necklaces.
These days, you’ll often see what appears to be a variation on the BFF acronym in TikTok posts: “BFFR.” Don’t rush to make assumptions, though; BFFR has nothing to do with friends whatsoever.
What BFFR Means on TikTok
Those who hang out on TikTok or text regularly with members of Generation A (or Gen X, for that matter), are probably familiar with the acronym “FR.” It stands for “for real,” and it’s often used as a synonym for “honestly,” or “I’m not kidding.”
FR (usually seen in lower-case letters as “fr”) can be used in a number of ways, such as “This class is putting me to sleep fr” or “I scored tix to their show fr.” It can also be a response to someone else’s statement, as in “I hate that girl!” “fr.”
(Warning: explicit language ahead.)
BFFR is an extension of that acronym. It has its origins in African-American Vernacular English, as BRF has been used for years to mean “be for real.” But its first expanded use on social media was first documented in 2013 when a user responded to someone else: “be fucking fr.”
The term didn’t gain much traction back then. In 2022, however, a TikTok user posted a screen recording of a TikTok Live stream hosted by the rapper Slump6s — and the stream included the sound of Slump6s saying “be fucking for real.” The short clip took off, earning some 40,000 plays; it was then mixed into a TikTok Sound that was played nearly a million times.
That was all that the phrase needed to start trending. Users across the platform began responding to TikTok videos and comments with both the sound and text variations like “bf fr,” be fknfr,” and the one that stuck, BFFR (normally typed as “bffr”).
BFFR is still commonly used to react to TikTok content that seems crazy, foolish, or ridiculous with mockery, disbelief, or other negative views. It’s also often included in an original post or comment in ways like “They want $10 for a burger? bffr” or “He went out with u? Yeah sure. bffr.”
And needless to say, any exchange with a BFF that includes BFFR is probably not a great sign that the relationship is destined to last forever.
About the Author
Peter Hasselworth is a contributor at iDigic, sharing valuable insights about Instagram growth and social media marketing strategies.