tbh

Tbh means “to be honest.” People add it to share a frank opinion, admit something, or soften a comment that might sound blunt.

What does tbh mean?

Tbh is short for “to be honest.” It signals that the writer is giving their real view rather than just being polite. It can introduce praise, criticism or a confession, and it works at the start or the end of a sentence.

In the early 2010s, “tbh” also became a social media game among teenagers. Someone would post “like for a tbh,” then write an honest comment, usually a compliment, about each person who liked the post.

How to use tbh

• “Tbh I don’t really like coffee.”
• “The sequel was better tbh.”
• “Tbh you were right about him.”
• “I’m not going tonight tbh, I’m exhausted.”

Tbh vs. ngl and tbf

Ngl (not gonna lie) does almost the same job but feels more casual and confessional. Tbf, “to be fair,” is different: it concedes a point to the other side (“tbf, he did apologize”) rather than sharing your own honest view.

The tbh app

Tbh was also the name of an anonymous app where teens answered compliment polls about their friends. Facebook bought it in October 2017 and shut it down in July 2018, citing low usage.

Where tbh comes from

Tbh abbreviates the phrase “to be honest,” which people said long before texting existed. The abbreviation grew up in texting and online chat, and no reliable first use is recorded.

Related terms

• Ngl: not gonna lie.
• Imo: in my opinion.
• Fr: for real.
• Idk: I don’t know.

See more terms like this in our texting abbreviations guide.