"Feels" is internet shorthand for "feelings," used to describe an intense emotional reaction such as sadness, awe, or nostalgia.

Where did Feels come from?

It grew out of the "I know that feel bro" expression on the German image board Krautchan around May 2010, with a self-identified creator surfacing in a February 2012 Reddit AMA.

What does Feels mean?

It is a shortened plural of "feelings," most often framed in the phrase "right in the feels" to signal that a post hit hard emotionally.

How do you use Feels?

Caption a GIF, screenshot, or clip of an emotionally loaded moment with "feels" or "right in the feels," as popularized by the June 2012 Roflrazzi Avengers macro.

Is Feels still popular?

By 2013 it was heavily active across Reddit, Facebook, YouTube, FunnyJunk, and the Tumblr "#feels" tag, and it settled in as a standard piece of English internet slang.

Feels

2012catchphraseclassic

Published August 20, 2026

"Feels" is internet shorthand for "feelings," used to mark posts that hit with unusual emotional weight, typically inside the phrase "right in the feels." The word crossed from Krautchan's "I know that feel bro" scene into wider English use in 2012, becoming a standard caption for tearjerker GIFs and reaction images.

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Overview

"Feels" is internet shorthand for "feelings," used when something lands with unusual emotional weight, whether that is sadness, awe, or nostalgia6. The word usually shows up inside the phrase "right in the feels," pinned to reaction images, GIFs, and short clips that punch someone in the gut2.

The format is loose: an image or clip of something emotionally charged, captioned with "feels" or "right in the feels"3. Fictional character deaths, childhood cartoon callbacks, reunion scenes, and unexpectedly sweet moments are the standard fuel, and the tag works equally well for genuine reactions and self-aware jokes about being too moved.

Gallery

Origin & Background

Platform

Krautchan (source) / Reddit and Tumblr (viral spread)

Key People

Wojak

Date

2012

The word traces back to the German image board Krautchan, where the expression "I know that feel bro" started appearing around May 2010, paired with a crude MS Paint face later known as Wojak6. On February 6, 2012, a Redditor going by Voyack posted an AMA claiming he was the Krautchan user Wojak who first drew the face and set the phrase in motion1. From there the shorthand jumped out of imageboard slang and into wider English-language use, with "feel" quickly getting pluralized to "feels."

How It Spread

On March 30, 2012, Urban Dictionary user Alice707 submitted a definition explaining "feels" as short for "feelings"3. A few months later, on June 25, the Cheezburger site Roflrazzi ran an image macro built around an animated Avengers GIF with the caption "Right in the feels," which helped lock the phrasing into English meme vocabulary2.

Facebook picked it up next. On October 11, 2012, a page called "That post hit me right in the feels" launched and pulled over 2,800 likes in its first eight months7. Two months later, on December 27, Redditor Super_Pie posted a Spirited Away GIF with "feels" captioned over crashing waves to r/gifs, collecting more than 4,700 upvotes and 150 comments in its first five months4.

By May 6, 2013, YouTuber enjoylifeingeneral uploaded "The Feels," a mock-dramatic monologue delivered to an air conditioning unit over swelling music5. The FunnyJunk "feels" channel and the Tumblr "#feels" tag became long-running dumping grounds for tearjerker posts6.

How to Use This Meme

People typically pair "feels" or "right in the feels" with a GIF, screenshot, or short clip meant to trigger a strong emotional reaction2. A common convention is captioning reunion scenes, childhood cartoons, character deaths, or tragic moments with the phrase to signal that the poster got hit harder than expected.