Meaning of the abbreviation & the meme

You can find out what the English abbreviation “inb4” means here at GIGA. Many foreign-language abbreviations are also used in German internet forums, comment sections and social networks. A derivation for non-native speakers is often not easy – the abbreviation “inb4”, which has meanwhile become a meme, can be interpreted well with a little imagination.

We explain further common abbreviations from the net in the following Video:

What does the abbreviation “inb4” mean?

Especially when it comes to controversial topics on the Internet, you will often find sentences that begin with the abbreviation “inb4”. Similar to the abbreviation “N8” for “night”, “inb4” uses the pronounced number as a shortening element. So will “Inb4” then “in–be-four“Pronounced and therefore stands for English “In before”.

On German So that means roughly “Here before …”, usually referring to an expected event or a specific group of people in the abbreviation. For example “inb4 haters”, ie: “in front of the envious / haters / critics here”, or “inb4 the fanboys”, ie: “in front of the exaggerated fans here.”

Use of “inb4” on Reddit, YouTube & Co.

With the statement “inb4 [bestimmte Personengruppe/Ereignis]“If you want to say in discussion forums or in comment sections that you can expect a certain reaction or a certain punch from people in the respective thread or topic. The prerequisite for this is that the thread, the video or something else is discovered relatively early while the event has not yet occurred.

“In before X” has its origins in image boards and forums, where the term “in before the lock” has become a running gag and meme. Forum users posted the phrase in threads that will soon be hidden without being deleted or archived by the admin.

Examples for the use of “inb4”

Thread describing why Company X is better than Company Y.
Forum post: “inb4 fanboys from company Y claim the exact opposite.”

Someone explains a problematic situation in a long and well-founded article.
Add yourself at the end of the post: “inb4 downvotes / dislikes, because people don’t want to accept the truth.”

Video of someone performing a life-threatening stunt.
Comment: “inb4 haters who explain to you why the action was life-threatening, which you know yourself.”

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