KEKW

Twitch Emote - Meaning & Origin

What does KEKW mean?

KEKW is one of the most popular emotes on Twitch, used to express extreme laughter or amusement. The emote shows a Spanish comedian named Juan Joya Borja (also known as 'El Risitas') with his head tilted back in uncontrollable laughter, displaying his missing teeth. It represents a reaction to something viewers find exceptionally funny - a step above the more moderate 'LUL' emote. When something truly hilarious happens on stream, viewers will often spam KEKW in the chat.

Origin

The KEKW emote features Juan Joya Borja, a Spanish comedian and actor better known by his nickname 'El Risitas' (meaning 'The Giggles'). The image comes from a 2007 interview on Spanish television channel Canal Sur, where Borja was telling a humorous story to host Jesus Quintero while breaking into his characteristic contagious laughter.

The term 'KEK' itself originated from World of Warcraft, where text typed by Horde players would appear as 'KEK' to Alliance players when they typed 'LOL'. The 'W' was later added following the pattern of other Twitch emotes, creating 'KEKW'.

The emote gained popularity on Twitch around 2019, with streamers like AdmiralBulldog and xQc being credited by some for helping popularize it, though its exact introduction to the platform is debated. The emote became widely used through third-party extensions like FrankerFaceZ (FFZ) and BetterTTV before becoming a staple of Twitch culture.

When to use KEKW

KEKW is typically used in the following contexts:

When a streamer fails spectacularly at a game
During particularly funny moments in a stream
When something unexpectedly humorous happens
As a response to jokes or comedic commentary
When viewers want to express they're laughing extremely hard at something

The emote is often spammed in chat during these moments, creating a shared experience of laughter among viewers. While 'LUL' might be used for moderately funny content, KEKW is reserved for the truly hilarious moments that cause uncontrollable laughter.

Frequently asked questions about KEKW

KEKW means uncontrollable laughter - the Twitch equivalent of LMAO or 'I'm crying from laughing'. Viewers spam KEKW when something on stream is exceptionally funny, one tier above the milder LUL.

The KEKW emote features Juan Joya Borja, a Spanish comedian better known as 'El Risitas' (The Giggles). The image is from a 2007 Canal Sur TV interview where he laughs uncontrollably while telling a story. He passed away in 2021, but the emote keeps his laugh alive across Twitch.

KEK originated in World of Warcraft: text typed by Horde players would appear as 'kek' to Alliance players when translated. The 'W' was added later in Twitch emote tradition (like 'LUL' → 'OMEGALUL'), giving us KEKW.

LUL is mild amusement (the default laugh). KEKW is genuine, uncontrollable laughter. OMEGALUL is so-funny-I-can't-breathe territory. They're a laughter intensity scale: LUL < KEKW < OMEGALUL.

KEKW is a third-party emote available through BetterTTV (BTTV), FrankerFaceZ (FFZ), and 7TV. It's not an official Twitch global emote, but most active Twitch viewers have at least one of these extensions installed, which is why it shows up in nearly every chat.