You're at brunch. Your friend orders a $19 avocado toast with edible gold flakes and snaps a photo for the ‘gram. You lean over and call them "bougie." Or was it "boujee"? Honestly, if you’re typing it out in a caption, you might pause. Most people do. It’s one of those weird linguistic crossroads where a 200-year-old French Marxist term crashed into 21st-century Atlanta hip-hop culture.
The truth is, they aren't exactly the same thing.
Spelling it bougie usually implies a specific kind of pretension. It’s a shorthand for bourgeoisie. It carries the weight of class critique, even if we use it jokingly now. On the flip side, boujee—popularized by Migos and the trap scene—is more about the flex. It’s about having "new money," luxury taste, and high-end aesthetics without necessarily losing your connection to the street or the culture.
It's a nuance that matters. If you use the wrong one in the wrong context, you might sound like you're trying too hard or, worse, totally out of touch.
The French Connection: Where Bougie Started
The word bougie is a literal amputation of the word bourgeois. To understand why we call people bougie today, we have to look at 18th-century France. Back then, the bourgeoisie were the middle class. They weren't the royalty (the aristocracy), but they weren't the peasants either. They were the shopkeepers, the bankers, the people with "stuff."
Karl Marx made the term famous—or infamous. In his view, the bourgeoisie were the oppressors who owned the means of production. They were the ones obsessed with property, status, and looking like they had more money than they actually did.
Fast forward to the mid-20th century. In Black American English, "bougie" (sometimes spelled booji) started being used to describe people who were "acting white" or putting on airs. It was a dig. It meant you were trying to distance yourself from your roots to fit into a higher social class. Think about the character Whitley Gilbert from A Different World. That’s the classic definition of bougie. It’s a critique of someone being pretentious, elitist, or "extra" in a way that feels fake.
Today, it's evolved. We use it for anyone who likes fancy candles, $8 lattes, or organic linen sheets. It’s less about class warfare and more about lifestyle consumerism.
Enter Boujee: The Migos Effect
Then 2016 happened. Migos dropped "Bad and Boujee," and the spelling—and the vibe—shifted permanently. This isn't just a misspelling of the French word. It’s a rebrand.
When Offset raps about being "boujee," he isn't talking about being a pretentious middle-class banker. He’s talking about luxury. He’s talking about private jets, high fashion, and expensive jewelry. But here is the kicker: he’s still "bad." He’s still "from the North" (Gwinnett County).
Boujee represents a specific kind of Black excellence and "hustle culture" success. It’s "new money." It’s the ability to afford the finer things in life while maintaining your "street cred" or authentic identity. It’s aspirational. While "bougie" can still feel like an insult—calling someone a snob—"boujee" is often a compliment. It’s a vibe. It’s an aesthetic.
If you go to a high-end rooftop bar in Atlanta or Miami and order a $300 bottle of tequila, you are being boujee. You aren't necessarily being bougie. Do you see the difference? One is about your attitude toward others (snobbery); the other is about your relationship with luxury (the flex).
How to Choose the Right Spelling for Your Content
Context is everything. You don't want to be the person using "boujee" when you're actually talking about a snobby HOA president.
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Use Bougie when:
You’re poking fun at someone for being "fancy" or high-maintenance. If your friend refuses to sleep in a tent and insists on a "glamping" setup with a real mattress, they are being bougie. If someone complains that the wine list doesn't have a specific vintage from the Loire Valley, they’re being bougie. It’s about the pretension. It’s the classic spelling for a reason.
Use Boujee when:
You’re talking about style, swagger, and expensive tastes. If you’re posting a photo of your new designer shoes or a sleek interior design project, "boujee" fits the energy. It’s flashy. It’s modern. It’s very much rooted in pop culture, hip-hop, and the "main character" energy of social media.
Basically, if the situation involves a bit of "look at me and my success," go with the double 'e'. If it involves "look at me and my superior standards," the 'ie' is your best bet.
The Linguistic Evolution of the 2020s
Language isn't static. It’s alive. It breathes. We’re seeing a weird blending of these terms lately. TikTok has played a massive role in this. Creators use these words interchangeably, but the algorithm seems to favor the "boujee" spelling for anything related to luxury lifestyle hacks.
Interestingly, Google Trends shows that searches for "boujee" spiked massively in 2017 and have stayed high ever since. Meanwhile, "bougie" has a steady, long-term presence. It’s the difference between a viral trend and a foundational part of the English lexicon.
But wait. There’s a third player: bourgie.
You’ll still see this in academic writing or by people who want to stay closer to the original French spelling. It looks "correct" to a grammarian, but honestly, it looks a bit clunky in a tweet or a text. It’s the "I know the history of the word" spelling. Unless you’re writing a thesis on socioeconomic shifts in the 19th century, you can probably skip the 'r'.
What Really Matters: The Tone Shift
The most fascinating part of the bougie or boujee debate isn't the letters. It’s the tone shift. In the 1990s, calling someone "bougie" could start a fight. It was an accusation of being a sellout. It was a way to police social boundaries within the Black community.
Now? It’s a brand.
Companies literally use these words in their marketing. You can buy "Bougie" candles at Target. You can find "Boujee" brunch specials at local diners. We’ve commodified the critique. This is what cultural theorists call "recuperation"—taking a term that was once used for subversion or social commentary and turning it into a product.
When we ask "is it bougie or boujee," we are really asking "how do I want to be perceived?" Do I want to be perceived as a refined person of taste (bougie), or do I want to be perceived as someone who has successfully made it to the top (boujee)?
The Final Verdict for Your Captions
If you are still staring at your phone screen wondering which one to hit, here is the quick cheat sheet.
- Bougie = Traditional, slightly snobby, "old school" pretension, lattes, and linen.
- Boujee = Modern, flashy, high-fashion, "new money," trap music influence, and luxury.
If you’re mocking yourself for wanting the expensive water at the airport, use bougie. If you’re celebrating a promotion with a fancy dinner, use boujee.
Language is about intent. As long as you know the history—from Marx to Migos—you’re less likely to commit a social media faux pas.
Actionable Steps for Using These Terms
Start by checking your audience. If you’re writing for a professional lifestyle blog or a news outlet, "bougie" is usually the safer, more recognized spelling. It carries a bit more "authority." However, if your brand is younger, more diverse, or centered on music and fashion, "boujee" is the way to go. It shows you’re plugged into the current cultural conversation.
Don't overthink it too much, though. Most people use them interchangeably now. Just try to be consistent within a single piece of writing. Switching back and forth between both spellings in the same paragraph makes you look like you don't know what you're doing. Pick a lane and stay in it.
Next time you hear someone use the word, pay attention to the context. Are they saying it with a sneer or a smile? That tells you everything you need to know about which spelling they’d probably use.
Keep your eye on how these words continue to change. By 2030, we might have a whole new variation that makes both of these look outdated. That’s the beauty of slang—it’s always moving, always shifting, and always keeping us on our toes.