What does sonder mean on TikTok? Viral word leaves users “depressed”

TikTok’s definition for the word “sonder” has left users feeling sad after watching viral videos that visualize the popular term’s somber meaning.

Much like the word “demure,” which went viral this August because of TikToker Jools Lebron, the word “sonder” is now circulating the platform. Though it’s a popular term, many users are left feeling depressed after watching trending videos explaining what it means.

According to dictionary.com, sonder means: “The feeling one has on realizing that every other individual one sees has a life as full and real as one’s own, in which they are the central character and others, including oneself, have secondary or insignificant roles.”

However, TikTok’s definition of the viral word is: “The realization that there aren’t any main characters in the world and everyone has a complex life, thoughts, crushes, relatives, dreams and mind just as your own. Essentially whilst you’re the main character in your life, you’re also a background character in someone else’s.”

Many viral TikToks depict the word by recording individuals off in the distance. Usually, the person looks lost or defeated in their own life, despite having had something to hold onto at one point in the past.

TikToker Jolens went viral for their video of a sonder person sitting by themselves on the sidewalk. “I wonder what his troubles are,” they captioned their video. Adding, “He was someone’s baby once.”

Many viewers agreed that Jolens’ TikTok was saddening, with one even saying it made their “heart shatter” to see someone look so down.

User ‘westarded’ also went viral for sharing their sonder video. During this, he recorded a man standing outside of a broken-down shack.

Many viewers empathized with the person in the video, saying he was once a child with “hopes and dreams.” Another added, “He has a favorite color, a favorite season, and had a dream of what he wanted to be when he grew up.”

The word sonder might currently be going viral on TikTok, but this isn’t the first time the phrase has made its rounds. The word also found popularity in 2022, with many individuals choosing to make a tattoo out of it.

At that time, TikToker Matthew Terry reposted a few sonder tattoo ideas, one of which was a sketch of three people standing around a post with signs that pointed in different directions. Another was a drawing of an eye with a grid of the earth as its pupil.

Though words like sonder and demure have taken over TikTok, there are plenty of other viral terms that users have added to their daily dictionary.

The term “bop” also went viral this August, as well as the phrase “Skibidi Ohio Rizz” – a combination of words that has left anyone above Gen Alpha feeling both confused and extremely old.