What is 'U Jelly'? What Does 'Jelly' Mean?

You've likely seen "jelly" or "u jelly" on Facebook pages, Reddit links, and meme photos. This modern taunt expression is a version of 'u mad bro' and is becoming common jargon across the web.

U Jelly is both a taunting expression and a boastful expression. It asks are you jealous? while simultaneously showing off a new possession or achievement that you are proud of. U Jelly is often used to goad someone online or in-person because you possess an article that they do not have, or because you have attained some kind of gamer achievement or minor online fame. 

U Jelly has become a very popular expression, and because of its viral spreading nature, it has achieved meme status.

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Jamie Grill / Getty Images

Examples of 'U Jelly'

  • 'I just got an 850 epic necklace drop from the Black Rook Dungeon! U jelly?'
  • 'My convertible scores with the girls. I have to fight them off with a stick! Are u jelly?'
  • 'Check out my new iPad Pro! Got it on sale for $500! U jelly, or what!'
  • 'I lost 14 lbs in 3 weeks because of cardio and dieting. I'm down two sizes in my pants. U jelly?'
  • 'My boyfriend got me this diamond ring. It cost him four months salary. U jelly?'
  • 'Bam, 100% on my final exam! Grad school, here I come! U jelly, or what?'
  • 'Oooh, my new modem gives me 150 megabits per second! I can download an entire 3 gig movie in 3 minutes. U jelly? Hahahaha'
  • 'Check out my biceps, dude. 16 inches and hard as steel. Dumbell curls and creatine, ftw! U jelly?'
  • Jelly time: look at my new Ducati motorbike and weep, you posers!
  • Boom, I'm now fully epic level with all of my character's equipment slots! U jelly? 

"U Jelly" is a close cousin to the "u mad bro" expression, which another taunt term used to goad people online.

History of 'U Jelly'

Like many memes and online expressions, the website 4chan helped to virally grow the usage of U Jelly. Approximately the year 2000 was when U Jelly started to become used in online conversation at 4chan.

Some internet historians believe that U Jelly was coined by the music video Watch Out Now, performed by the NYC music artist Beatnuts.

The U Jelly expression, along with other online lingo expressions, are a part of online conversation culture. Like any human group behavior, speech and language expressions are used to build cultural identity through customized language and unique conversational expressions.