What Is 'Yiff?'

Do you have furry friends? Are you new to the furry scene yourself and simply can't get a hang of the lingo? If this is the case, especially if you're into the more provocative side of the community, you may have seen the term "yiff" or "yiffing" pop up here and there and wondered, "Wow, what the heck is that adorable word?" Well, essentially, yiff is the term used in the community to refer to sexual activities and pornography in the community. However, there's more to it than that. Here's a rundown.

Where Does "Yiff" Come From?

Originally, the word "yiff" was meant as an enthusiastic greeting during furry roleplay, particularly among fox fursonas. Yiff is based on the sound that foxes make. It was also used as an excited exclamation, in place of words like "yes!" According to wikifur, the term started to gain a more sexual connotation through roleplay MUCKS, which are essentially text-based games where roleplaying happens. Yiff pretty much replaced the word "Yipp" as it made this transition, which was always used in a sexual context. It also inspired the term "yiffing," referring to two furries engaged in sexual intercourse.

One of the earliest known uses of yiff is in a 1997 Sabrina Online comic, a furry comic about a shy, geeky anthropomorphic skunk woman who makes DVD covers for a porn studio. In the comic, Sabrina explores a furry chatroom and several users try and get her to roleplay with her, one of them typing "yiff!" to try and entice her. Ultimately, Sabrina ends up deleting the IRC client and straight up burning the disk.

"Yiff" Usage In Memes

In memes, yiff is often used to joke about the more sexual side of the furry community, which many outside of the community see as the most prevalent part of being a furry. A lot of memes joke that if you hear a furry "yiffing," it's time to call animal control or get out of there, referring to it as a sort of mating call. Beyond that, you'll likely see yiff used in more positive and fitting connotations if you spend any time in furry chat rooms or looking at lewd furry artwork.

Is Yiff An Acronym?

Yiff is not an acronym, although in the past it has been defined as an acronym for "young incredibly f***able furry," such as "he's a Y.I.F.F." The term originates from the sound that foxes make.

How Do I Use Yiff In A Sentence?

• "Those furries are yiffing over there, give them space."
• "Hello my fellow furry, wanna yiff?"
• "Those foxes just yiffed in there, you might want to let the place air out a bit."

For the full history of Yiff, be sure to check out our entry on the term here for even more information.