About

Minor-Coded is a slang term using the "-coded" suffix to describe characters who are not explicitly said to be children, but who can be interpreted as children through subtext, including by their attributes and characteristics. The term is most often used in reference to non-human characters whose age might not be readily apparent. The term garnered virality in fandom and shipping communities throughout the 2020s. As the term became more widespread, it started being misdefined as characters who are adults, but have childlike personalities and characteristics. In 2021, a tweet known as the "child-coded height" post went viral, claiming any woman under 5' 7" is a red flag and minor-coded. The term and its definition inspired some controversy in July 2025 in relation to the dating sim Date Everything due to the appearance of some characters.

Origin

It is unclear when the term "minor-coded" was first used. One of the earliest apparent examples was posted by X^[1] user @starrybutch on July 26th, 2015, to an unknown, now-deleted tweet, reading, "there's always problematic ships when characters are considered siblings Lol and ofc when there are minor-coded characters." It is unlikely that this is the true first use of the term online.

Spread

The term became increasingly popularized online throughout the late 2010s and the 2020s. In March 2019, a "Problematic Ships Chart" on Google Drive^[2] started spreading online, part of which discusses minor-coded ships.

On April 11th, 2021, X^[3] user @WashireRPAdvice made a roleplay advice thread in which they offered the advice, "don't lewd MINOR-CODED CHARACTERS." The post reads, "A Minor-coded character is a character who is considered an 'adult' but exhibits so many childlike traits that it doesn't matter if they're an adult or not since they're coded by the writer to be a child," continuing to share what they believe to be the definition of minor-coded.

The post was screenshotted and shared by Tumblr^[4] user werewolf-cuddles, writing, "this is the funniest thread of tweets I’ve ever seen in my entire life," garnering over 28,500 notes in four years. The post also inspired memes in the original poster's comment section, mocking the idea of characters being minor-coded just for being under 5-foot-7-inches.

On April 11th, 2022, the post was shared on the /r/CuratedTumblr^[5] subreddit under the title, "are people like this real like have they ever met any real life people who are so called 'minor-coded' I’m," garnering over 4,200 upvotes in three years.

On December 3rd, it was posted to the /r/insanepeoplefacebook^[6] subreddit, garnering over 10,000 upvotes in three years.

On March 26th, 2023, a post was made by Redditor u/Jeonghanscheekbones to the /r/fanfiction^[7] subreddit denouncing the entire concept of characters being minor-coded, garnering over 800 upvotes in two years. That day, u/BeautifulMistakeX made a comment under the post about their perceived misuse of "coded," garnering over 700 upvotes in the same span of time.

On February 28th, 2025, a post was made to the /r/CookieRunKingdoms^[8] subreddit sharing a now-deleted post by TikToker @_purevanilla claiming the character Pure Vanilla Cookie from Cookie Run Kingdom is minor-coded, the poster writing, "This has gotta be rage bait like! There is no way someone thinks this i won't believe it," garnering over 3,000 upvotes in five months.

In July 2025, the term became the center of controversy surrounding some characters in the dating sim Date Everything, which allows the player to date numerous anthropomorphized household objects.

On July 8th, 2025, TikToker^[9] @das_hazel_creates posted a video about the game, complaining about the misuse of the term, garnering over 200,000 views in a week.

On July 9th, TikToker^[10] @funkyfrogbait posted a video in which they respond to viewers who they claim are trying to cancel them for suggesting one of the characters in Date Everything looked too young for them to romance, garnering over 548,000 views in six days.

On July 14th, 2025, X^[11] user @stoyatel posted a Youngest Person Ever meme using the term, garnering over 33,000 likes in a day.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References