Delulu is slang for “delusional”. Wikipedia describes the current sense as believing “that one can influence one’s destiny” through willpower, and the Cambridge Dictionary defines it as “believing things that are not real or true, usually because you choose to” (AP via Fox5 Vegas). It began as K-pop fandom slang and reached a mainstream audience through TikTok.
Origin
- Late 2013 to early 2014, K-pop fandom. Dictionary.com says members of the K-pop fan community were using delulu as early as late 2013 and early 2014 to describe obsessive fans, including themselves. The Korea JoongAng Daily says it “originated in the mid-2010s within international K-pop fandom communities”, for fans who believed they could be romantically involved with K-pop stars.
- April 6, 2014, earliest dated use. Know Your Meme says the earliest available usage appeared on the K-pop forum OneHallyu on that date. Wikipedia likewise points to the OneHallyu Forum, “active around 2013 and 2014”.
- November 2022, TikTok. Know Your Meme says the term “would burst out of the K-Pop community in November 2022”, when TikTokers began applying it to their own romantic situations. Wikipedia says that since late 2022 it has spread virally to Generation Z and Generation Alpha.
How It’s Used
In fandom, delulu was mockery: a label for a fan whose beliefs about an idol had lost touch with reality. Dictionary.com notes it is often used in “jokes, memes, hyperbole, or lighthearted mockery”, and that fans applied it to themselves. On TikTok, Know Your Meme says, users began “applying it to personal romantic situations unrelated to K-Pop”, and the word turned partly self-affirming: people call themselves delulu while admitting that a hope is unlikely.
Delulu Is the Solulu
Wikipedia says TikTok influencers coined the catchphrase “delulu is the solulu”, rhyming delulu with “solution”. It frames choosing to believe in an outcome as a way to get it. As of December 2023, TikTok had recorded over five billion views of #delulu (Wikipedia).
Timeline
| Date | Milestone | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Late 2013 – early 2014 | Used in K-pop fan communities for obsessive fans | Dictionary.com |
| April 6, 2014 | Earliest available use, on the OneHallyu forum | Know Your Meme |
| November 2022 | Breaks out of K-pop fandom on TikTok | Know Your Meme |
| December 2023 | Over five billion TikTok views of #delulu | Wikipedia |
| 2025 | Australian PM Anthony Albanese calls opposition policies “delulu with no solulu” in Parliament | Wikipedia |
| August 18, 2025 | Cambridge Dictionary additions, including delulu, reported | AP via Fox5 Vegas |
Recent Developments
In 2025 the Cambridge Dictionary added delulu among more than 6,000 additions that year, alongside “skibidi” and “tradwife” (AP). Wikipedia says Albanese’s use was added to the online Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary in 2025. The Edinburgh sociolinguist Christian Ilbury said, as paraphrased by the AP, that some of the new words, including delulu, have longer histories than people might think.
Related: #DeluluIsTheSolulu, the Indonesian slang #Halu and #KPop.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delulu
- https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/delulu
- https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/delulu/
- https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/korea/are-we-delulu-or-did-the-k-pop-fandom-just-add-a-word-to-the-dictionary/12149667
- https://www.fox5vegas.com/2025/08/18/cambridge-dictionary-adds-skibidi-tradwife-among-6000-new-words/