GLHF

GLHF means “good luck, have fun.” Players type it in chat at the start of an online match as a friendly greeting to teammates and opponents.

What GLHF means

GLHF is the pre-game handshake of online gaming. It signals good sportsmanship: you want a fair, enjoyable match, whatever the result. Dictionary.com notes it’s used especially in video game chat and is sometimes shortened to just “gl” or “hf.” It pairs naturally with GG (good game), which players type at the end.

Examples

• “glhf everyone”
• “GL HF, let’s have a clean game.”
• “gl” (short version)
• “glhf” at the start, “gg wp” (good game, well played) at the end.

Can GLHF be sarcastic?

Occasionally. A smug “glhf” from a much stronger team can read as “good luck, you’ll need it.” Most of the time, though, it’s sincere and polite.

Where GLHF comes from

Dictionary.com dates GLHF to the second half of the 2000s. Nobody is credited with coining it; like many chat abbreviations, it exists because you only have a few seconds to say something friendly before a match starts.

Related terms

• GG: good game.
• EZ: easy, the opposite of good sportsmanship.
• AFK: away from keyboard.
• Noob: a beginner.

Find more gamer talk in our gaming slang dictionary.