Diving into Stray Kids’ world means entering a fandom with years of established nicknames, inside jokes and vocabulary all its own. From essential terms and song title meanings to insider insights and Stan-language explanations, this Stray Kids glossary is a helpful guide that can come in handy for even the longest of STAYs.
0325 – The song released as the seventh track on Stray Kids’ I Am You EP from October 22, 2018, “0325” refers to the numbers in Stray Kids’ debut date of March 25, and is a sentimental song about reaching their dreams.
3RACHA – The trio unit of Stray Kids consisting of Bang Chan, Changbin and Han, 3RACHA was introduced as a producing team through mixtapes before the official unveiling of Stray Kids. 3RACHA are responsible for composing most of the band’s music. As members of 3RACHA, Bang Chan is known as CB97, Changbin is known as SPEARB, and Han as J.ONE.
4419 – A song written before Stray Kids’ debut that became the seventh track on the group’s Mixtape EP from January 8, 2018, 4419 refers to the number of a bus that the future Stray Kids members took during their days training together. Stray Kids fans would hold special celebrations for the songs every April 4th (referring to the 44), and serendipitously, Stray Kids won their first No. 1 on a Korean music chart show on April 4, 2019.
CB97 – The moniker Bang Chan uses as a producer in 3RACHA.
Chan’s Room – A weekly live broadcast show on Stray Kids’ V Live channel, where Bang Chan speaks with viewers, discusses recent news and plays music for fans. Occasionally, other Stray Kids members will appear. Starting in 2019, each “season” has taken place throughout a calendar year – so Season 4 should wrap in December 2022, with Season 5 beginning in January 2023.
Chris – A nickname fans will occasionally use for Bang Chan, whose birth name is Christopher.
Chronosaurus – A song released as the sixth track on Stray Kids’ Clé 1: Miroh EP from March 25, 2019, “Chronosaurus” combines the words “chronos” (referring to time and the Greek god of time Chronos) and “saurus” (referring to the genus of reptiles, most famously in dinosaurs). Originally titled “Time Beast,” Stray Kids gave the experience of feeling anxiety over time this unique name, inspired in part by the actual sea dinosaurs named Kronosaurus.
Dance Racha – An unofficial sub-unit of Stray Kids consisting of the group’s main dancers Lee Know, Hyunjin and Felix.
District 9 – A song released as the second track on Stray Kids’ I Am Not EP from March 25, 2018, “District 9” is Stray Kids’ official debut single. The song speaks to Stray Kids’ mindset to break out of traditional systems and build a world all their own.
Hellevator – A song released as Stray Kids’ first digital single on Oct. 6, 2017 and the first track on Stray Kids’ Mixtape EP from January 8, 2018, “Hellevator” combines the words “hell” and “elevator” to represent the group’s journey through their Stray Kids reality show to eventually rise and make their debut as a group.
J.ONE – The moniker Han uses as a producer in 3RACHA.
Jeongin – I.N’s birth name that fans will occasionally use in reference to Stray Kids’ youngest member.
Jisung – Han’s birth name that fans will occasionally use in reference to the Stray Kids rapper and producer.
JYP Entertainment – The South Korean entertainment company and record label founded and named after J.Y. Park in 1997, which manages and houses Stray Kids. Throughout its history, JYP Entertainment has been home to legendary names in K-pop, including Rain, Noel, g.o.d, Park Jiyoon, Ivy, Wonder Girls, 2PM, 2AM, miss A, GOT7, Day6, TWICE, ITZY and more.
Maknae – The Korean word referring to the youngest in a group which, in Stray Kids’ case, refers to I.N.
Minho – Lee Know’’s birth name that fans will occasionally use in reference to the Stray Kids dancer
Mixtape – An EP released on January 8, 2018, as Stray Kids’ first body of work before their official debut in March, Mixtape featured songs seen on the Stray Kids reality like “Hellevator” and “4419.” “Mixtape” also refers to the one-off songs Stray Kids have released since their first year together. “Mixtape” tracks are bonus tracks in the early Stray Kids album, while “Mixtape #1,” “Mixtape #2,” “Mixtape #3,” and “Mixtape #4” are part of the tracklist for Clé 2: Yellow Wood. Various other “Mixtape” tracks have been released as standalone digital singles, and sometimes featured as bonus tracks on different Stray Kids albums.
N/S – A song released as the sixth track on Stray Kids’ I Am You EP from October 22, 2018, “N/S” is a light-hearted song about the range of feelings one experiences, and the contradictions our mind and body go through.
NOEASY – An album released on August 23, 2021, NOEASY is a combination of the words “noisy” and “no easy” to represent their music making an impact on the world while also noting the hardships that were “not easy” to overcome in making the music.
ODDINARY – An EP released on March 18, 2022, ODDINARY combines the words “odd” and “ordinary” as a comforting message of equality as all ordinary people have something odd about themselves.
SKZ – A short-hand for the name Stray Kids.
SKZOO – A brand project introduced by Stray Kids in 2020, where each member has an animal cartoon avatar representing them for various merchandise and other content. Bang Chan is a wolf named “Wolf Chan,” Lee Know is a rabbit named “Leebit,” Changbin is a dwaekki named “Dwaekki,” Hyunjin is a ferret named “Jiniret,” Han is a quokka named “Han Quokka,” Felix is a chick named “BbokAri,” Seungmin is a puppy named “PuppyM,” and I.N is a fennec fox known as “FoxI.Ny.”
SKZ-Talker Go! – A web series that began airing in 2019 on Stray Kids’ V Live channel and is uploaded on YouTube, SKZ-Talker Go! focuses on behind-the-scenes of the band’s everyday life, particularly when they tour or visit overseas.
SPEARB – The moniker Changbin uses as a producer in 3RACHA.
SSICK – A song released as the fourth track on Stray Kids’ NOEASY album from August 23, 2021, “SSICK” (or “씩” in Korean) is a high-energy hip-hop track that features multiple play-on-words in English and Korean. “Sick” in traditional English describes something as gross, while “sick” in English slang is a way to refer to something as cool. In Korean “씩,” or “ssick,” is a curtailed word that refers to a grin or smirk. Throughout the song, SKZ repeat that they’re “so ssick” and can smirk over their coolness with the clever double meaning.
STAY – The official name of Stray Kids’ fans. On August 1, 2018, a video uploaded to the group’s official YouTube channel announced the fandom name by first showing the group’s logo before the “R” was removed from “Stray Kids,” revealing the new fan name as “STAY.”
TA – A song released as the ninth track on Stray Kids’ Go Live album from June 17, 2020 and as the 16th track on Stray Kids’ In Life album from September 14, 2020, “TA” (or “타” in Korean) means “get in,” and represents Stray Kids encouraging fans to join them on an adventure to the top.
The 9th – A web series that began airing in 2018 on Stray Kids’ V Live channel and is uploaded on YouTube, The 9th takes viewers behind the scenes of Stray Kids’ life, mainly focused on their album promotions.
TMT – A song released as the third track on Stray Kids’ Clé 2: Yellow Wood EP from June 19, 2019, “TMT” is an abbreviation thought to mean “Treadmill Test,” with the Korean title “별생각” loosely translating to “special thoughts” about how one feels when going through tough times.
Two Kids Room – A web series that began airing in 2018 on Stray Kids’ V Live channel and is uploaded on YouTube, Two Kids Room focuses on conversations between two Stray Kids members.
Vocal Racha – An unofficial sub-unit of Stray Kids consisting of the group’s main vocalists Seungmin and I.N.
Wolfgang – A song released by Stray Kids’ for the digital EP Kingdom <Final: Who Is the King?> on May 28, 2021 and the 13th track on Stray Kids’ NOEASY album from August 23, 2021, “Wolfgang” was created by Stray Kids for the K-pop boy band competition show Kingdom: Legendary War, where all competitors released an original song. The song’s title refers to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and a pack of wolves, as “Wolfgang” represents Stray Kids as a wolf pack focused on music.
“You Make Stray Kids Stay” – Stray Kids’ tagline, a call to fans that concludes many Stray Kids music videos.
