mirin

Mirin is gym slang for “admiring,” usually someone’s physique. “U mirin?” is the cocky question a lifter asks while flexing: are you admiring this?

What mirin means

Know Your Meme describes mirin as internet slang short for “admiring,” used for people respectfully checking out a bodybuilder’s physique. It’s almost always tongue-in-cheek. “U mirin brah?” is the classic version, said with a flex and a grin, and “stop mirin” is the mock-modest reply when someone compliments your progress.

It has nothing to do with the Japanese cooking wine of the same spelling, which is just a coincidence. Gym mirin is often written with an apostrophe, ’mirin, to show the missing “ad-.”

Examples

• “Caught him checking out my arms. He was mirin.”
• “New gym mirror, who’s mirin?”
• “U mirin brah?” “No. Put your shirt back on.”

Where it came from

Know Your Meme traces it to the BodyBuilding forums, where a user posted a thread titled “’Mirin Legs” on August 6, 2008. It was made famous by Zyzz (Aziz Shavershian), an Australian bodybuilder with a big online following, whose clips saying “U ’mirin bro?” spread on YouTube around 2011. On Reddit, the r/bodybuilding community runs weekly “Mirin’ Monday” threads where people post their physiques.

Related terms

• Swole: very muscular, the thing being mirin’d.
• Natty: natural, no steroids.
• Pump: the post-workout swell.
• Aura: coolness points.

See more terms like this in our gym slang guide.