Bbut

Bbut is a sociolinguistic term used in online communication to convey a stronger or more reluctant counterpoint than the ordinary conjunction "but." It functions as a playful orthographic variant that signals a pivot to an opposing point, often with a humorous or emphatic tone.

Origin: Bbut emerged in internet culture in the early 2010s as users experimented with typography and misspellings to intensify meaning. The extra initial "b" creates a stutter-like hesitation that many readers interpret as emphasis rather than a literal "b" sound.

In practice, bbut appears in informal posts, comments, memes, and chat. It typically precedes a contrasting clause and can soften or sharpen the disclaimer that follows. It is common to see it in sentences such as "I like the plan, bbut we don’t have enough time" or "She was early, bbut the meeting ran long."

Variants include lowercase "bbut" and occasional spacing or punctuation: "b but," "b-b-ut," though capitalization like "Bbut" is also used for emphasis. The form remains primarily informal and context-dependent.

As a small element of digital shorthand, bbut contributes to flexible, meme-friendly typography. It is not a standard grammatical form and its acceptability varies by community. In most formal writing, it is avoided.

See also: internet slang, memes, orthography, emotive punctuation.