I'm ghost. (I'm leaving.)

Never heard it used in that context before.

Both of those examples in the textbook are completely inaccurate. Ghosting is usually in reference to communication. If someone stops texting you completely, they’ve ghosted you. If you stop texting or calling someone indefinitely you are ghosting them. It doesn’t apply to social situations. Like if you’re going home you would never say “I’m ghosting now” lol.

I'm 40, I'm black, I live in California, my dad literally studies AAVE - I have never heard of this usage lmao I feel like someone made something up??

Totally news to me, but the universe of English speakers is huge. However, it almost sounds like someone misheard “toast” (as in tired, finished) AND misinterpreted its meaning in context.

I'd say this usage was a bit more common like 20-30 years ago, and even then you didn't hear people use it that often. I think it was around the same time that "I'm out" was becoming popular. >I know the word "ghost" can be used to mean ignoring someone's text message or disappearing. This is correct and how most people would use that word in English (other than talking about actual ghosts, like spirits.)

Oxford English Dictionary, adjective 1. 1986–*U.S.* *colloquial* (originally and chiefly in African American usage). to be (also get, go) ghost: to leave a place or situation, esp. suddenly or hurriedly; to absent oneself. Cf. [ghost *v.* 6](https://www.oed.com/dictionary/ghost_v?tab=meaning_and_use#1325459030).Frequently in the present tense in *I’m ghost*, used to indicate that a person is leaving or is about to leave a place. 1. 1986*Times-Advocate* (Escondido, California) 9 April a2/4Instead of goodbye it's: ‘I'm ghost.’ 2. 2002S. Holmes, *B-More Careful* xxiv. 243I ain't never seen a broad get ghost like you, no calls, no beeps, no nothing. 3. 2015P. Beatty, *Sellout* xxiv. 276Fuck it, I'm out. I'm ghost. I decide to sneak out quietly. 4. 2020u/LxstViibes 24 October in [*twitter.com*](http://twitter.com) (accessed 7 Apr. 2021)My school counselor has gone ghost during college app season, when us seniors need him the most. I guess it is a thing, but I wouldn't say it's common.

I have never heard this used, but I HAVE heard "I'm a ghost" to mean "I'm going to leave suddenly". As in "If the cops show up, I'm a ghost!". Not very common but I've hear it used that way.

I haven’t heard this at all (American) but yes could maybe be AAVE. I would roughly understand what it meant probably

it doesn't make any sense to me either,i don't remember if I've seen it before.

“Ghosting” is the term for leaving a situation (usually a relationship) without saying anything. I think that may have been misunderstood when this was written

non English speakers need to stop making English textbooks. This is just painfully wrong

Yeah, I'm a native English speaker, and I've never heard this in my life. It looks like this book was written for people who don't speak English BY someone who doesn't speak English, haha.

It is not common speech. It may be used in specific dialects or slang, but it is not a typical use of the word "ghost".

Personally never heard anyone say it like that. Maybe 'I'm a ghost' to indicate you're a sneaking around unnoticed.

The only time I hear ghost used in other context or slang is either Ghosting: to cut communication off with someone without telling them why and never responding again Ghost: slowly letting smoke (presumably marijuana) leave your mouth and then inhaling it quickly. Similar to a French inhale.

Maybe I'm just an old man, but I've never heard it used like this. "I'm ghost." Hmmmm.

The only "ghosting" I've heard is abruptly cutting off communication, usually in the context of online dating. Like leaving someone on read permanently

This is wrong. This is not accurate. You can not say either of these (and be understood). \--------------------- A *slightly* similar - but *different* \- use of the word ghost is as a verb. She ghosted me. I'm thinking that I might ghost him. This means to just stop communicating (often in an online or text forum). Like if you're dating someone .... or even just flirting .... and you change your mind; lose interest. Rather than break up or tell them goodbye, you just... stop responding. It's totally different than the examples given, but distantly related. I've never ghosted anyone but I can understand how it's the easy way out. Even so, to ghost someone is both rude and confusing.

This is a bad resource.

I once taught an English lesson to Japanese high school students about making up slang to encourage creativity and empower them to try speaking even when they don’t know the English word. Part of the exercise was to make up their own slang term and one of my favorites was “to ghost” meaning “to sit at your desk without speaking or participating.”

Textbook is wrong.

Ah, so it's not just the colloquial Chinese in my textbooks that's weird, it's the English in the Chinese textbooks, too

I have never heard this word before. Where was the book printed and when was it printed. I’m trying to cast my mind back 40 years and can’t recall anyone talking like that, at least in my home country. Scratch that word out, you don’t need it and will never need it. Even the sentence structure is all wrong for that word.

I've only ever heard something similar in the phrase "I'm going to ghost" as in "I'm going to leave" though with the informal contraction "I'ma" making the phrase "I'ma ghost" Also i think the writer is confusing the informal I'ma with I'm as I'm is a contraction of I am as opposed to I'ma which is I am going or I am going to

British English speaker here. I've never heard it personally.

Written by Danny phantom?

talk about pulling stuff out of their @$$. i hate seeing textbooks like these.

In Australia we say something similar, and we have a lot of students studying here from China. So maybe its been confused and mixed with the old american slang and the current australian slang? We don't say "I'm ghost". We say "I'm gonna phantom", "he/she phantomed", "they always phantom" or "see ya, im off, im phantoming if anyone asks." it means leaving without saying bye to everyone. "Irish goodbye" is used too and has the same meaning. my theory is maybe someone has mistranslated "phantom" to "ghost" after hearing aussies say it at university? otherwise it's just old american slang.

I’ve never heard it in this context before but if someone said this to me I would take it as them socially tapping out. It makes sense but unusual.

This is slang and really niche slang at that. Not sure why your language course is even teaching you this as it would be more confusing than anything.

It's real. This is how me and my friends used to say goodbye as teenagers. American southeast. Very idiosyncratic. Surprised to see it in a textbook.

The only time we use ghost like this (and it should be ghosting) is when you're talking with someone and they just stop responding, like with online dating

Makes no sense, never heard of this.

Never heard of this before

Nah I've never heard of that, feels a bit off

Outdated slang.


interesting

I'm English and I've never seen it used like that. I think someone (Chinese) made that up.

I think it's some very local dialect?

The nearest that I’ve heard is “I’m going ghost” but even that I would call very very uncommon. Here’s the song I heard it in: https://youtu.be/H8PIR-CmcGU?si=QhFoV9CPrjYqZKn9

Only heard this used once in a show called workaholics. “You can call me Patrick Swayze, because I’m ghost”. The guy says this as he is leaving and quitting his job.

Yeah, it can mean that. One thing that may help you connect the different usages is that 'to ghost' in a basic sense means 'to disappear', because ghosts are often invisible, yes? So that explains the various usages. If I ghost someone, that means I disappear from their perspective. If I say 'I'm ghost', then that means I'm leaving and will disappear. I will say, however, that this usage of ghost is pretty slang-y, AAVE, and carries a connotation of leaving quickly because you don't want to be seen. I haven't heard it be used to simply mean 'I'm leaving'. It's also not *super common* relative to other AAVE terms, as evidenced by the comments saying they've never heard it. I have, a fair few times, but I agree that it's not super common. You might hear it in rap songs, like 'I'm going ghost'. It's important to not listen to people who confidently claim that a certain word or usage of a word is universally 'wrong' or that no one does it. Even native English speakers within one country can grow up in vastly different environments among vastly different kinds of people; I wish people weren't so quick to dismiss something as 'wrong' or 'improper' just because they haven't heard of it.

I've never heard anyone use the word "ghost" like that before.

"I'm ghost" is never going to be correct in formal English. Ghost, meaning leaving, is colloquial speech for avoiding contact with a friend or former romantic partner. For example, if you want to break up but are afraid of the confrontation, you "ghost" the person by not calling, texting, or responding to contact until they give up.

What? Huh?

I have never heard that ever be used like that before

The term is completely wrong. Modern American slang kinda works like this but only as “ghosting.” Which is still, kinda off. “Ghosting” is the act of cutting off somebody by simply never replying. It *could* be used in this context but it’s still grammatically off.

I would look for a new textbook.

"I'm Audi 5000" is also usable. The Audi 5000 was famous for having its accelerator and brake pedals too close together and drivers would frequently push the accelerator instead of the brake. And the rest is history, Audi 5000

I have never heard this before

Maybe it's a texting situation? Even then it's more like "I got ghosted" or "I'm ghosting this wierd guy/gal on tinder"

This is sometimes used in rap subculture in the modern day. Blackbear's *do re mi:* *So send the X and O's on another note, I'm ghost* *(Ghost, ghost, ghost)*

I don't think this is a common phrase anymore

Blackbear uses the phrase “I’m ghost” in his song ‘Do re mi’. But other than that, I’ve never heard it anywhere else.

I've never heard it used in this context either.

I don’t think we normally say that but I think we should start.

This is somewhat unusual usage but not totally unheard of. It is extremely casual and slang-y. However, if you must use this term it's important to properly conjugate as a verb, thus "I gotta get home. I'm gonna ghost." You will sound like a teenager.

I’m now questioning if I ever lived in America because when you say ghost it’s like a transparent person who haunts houses!

Never in my life have i heard the word ghost be used in this context.

I'm a native English speaker, and this is an incorrect use of that word. Ghost- is a spirit or dead person who haunts something What they are trying to say is the slang use of the word 'Ghosting'. Ghosting is when someone is unavailable to reach, like they are dead. It's mostly slang. Most often used in past tense like "I've been ghosted." I have never heard someone say "I'm ghost" especially in the since that they are leaving.

The term "ghosting" is mostly just used as a way to say you're ignoring someone's messages, I've never heard it in any other context

i have literally never heard anyone ever say that

I'm English and I've neeeever heard that used before. If it exists, it's definitely slang, gen z or younger. (I'm 30, millenial).

I've heard "I'm *a* ghost" to mean "I'm outta here" (or "I am leaving now", to put it non-colloquially). I've never heard "I'm ghost" though.

West coast, USA. Younger millennial. We use it as a verb. The examples used in your textbook are incongruent to the ways I have heard it used: “That guy I was dating hasn’t texted me in weeks. He completely ghosted me.” “I keep inviting her out, but she never comes. She’s ghosted the friend group.” “You can’t ghost the bachelorette party. It’s rude. Call and say you can’t make it.”


Who are you, Danny Phantom? 

Nope, this was written by someone that doesn't actually understand the lingo.

Be sure to check your idiom sources carefully, kids…

Never heard this at all

the vibe is more like "willfully disappeared". I never hear "I'm ghost". I've heard "I've gone ghost" and "I'm ghosting her". Sometimes people will say something like "He's a ghost" to mean vanished without respect to the means of disappearance. As with every language, there are nuances and connotations that you can't really teach in a textbook and just have to intuit through repeated exposure to native speakers.

This ONLY applies to people like me. I am sorry for the confusion.

Ghost as a verb specifically means leaving a digital setting, so if i stop texting someone for a long time, them i'm ghosting them

This is 100% a regional (probably California) black slang thing from the 70’s or 80’s and I doubt that more than a few hundred people would dream of saying it in 2025. 99% of English speakers would not be familiar with it.

Not a common usage. Ghost in slang is a verb meaning to stop responding to someone online without warning. Ex. You went on a few dates with someone, but then you text them and never get a response. You might say “They ghosted me!”

I’ve definitely heard it used this way and used it this way myself. Not very common, maybe younger people use it sort of ironically. “I’m going ghost” or “Let’s go ghost” is what I’ve heard, not just “I’m ghost”. It is possible it’s literally because of the show Danny Phantom.

Ghost is never used like this in English English, maybe American English.

I've never heard of it (en-US)


I only know this usage of the word from the song GHOST by Jaden Smith

Nice

"I'm ghost" is just fucking hilarious. "Sorry y'all, I'm ghost"

I've heard "I'm Casper" (as in "the friendly ghost"), which means what your talking about, but not "I'm ghost".

Nobody has ever said that 😭

Never heard of the word "ghost" ever being used like this. It seems like it could be informal slang from a particular city, but nobody would ever use something as formal as 各位 and that definition of "ghost" in the same sentence so that second example is nonsense.

Rare, somewhat archaic US slang.

Nope, it's nonsense - the book's writers got it wrong. "Ghosting" is slang, and has nothing to do with leaving.

im ghoul

I've only seen it used and used it myself as a verb.

Reminds me when I learned second definition of Alien. Alien is a term used in legal language for a noncitizen resident, regardless of whether that person resides in the country legally or illegally.

danny fenton made this

What? Huh? Never heard of anything like that.

He ghosted me

When it’s from Black people, everyone acts confused as to where it came from

It's not used this way that I've ever heard. I think it's a mistranslation.

Lol, it is very interesting topic in usage of language.

You can call me Patrick Swayze cause I'm Ghost. RIP JETSET

I heard about “ghosting”, but not in that kind of context

Ghosting is a millennial term

ive heard this in the blackbear song “do re mi”

Never heard it. Even as a verb ("I'm ghosting"), I'd never use it in a social context with friends.

It's common as a verb (he ghosted me) but as a noun (I am ghost) 99% of people are going to look at you funny and be confused.

I'm not certain this is where it came from but when I was a kid, older people would overuse the term "toast" for done/finished. -I think I'm done. I'm toast. I'm going home/going to bed. So we started saying I'm ghost to mean I'm gone in the same way. - Yeah it's pretty late. I'm ghost. But this was on the US east coast over 30 years ago. I haven't actually heard the phrasing since then.

I have literally only heard this in a blackbear song lol

As it appears this is very niche AAVE from 90’s rap, I wouldn’t use it if you’re not a black rapper from the 90’s

當你"ghost"某人的時，你看那個人的消息以後拒絕回答

what type of boomer saying is this 😭

I'm an American who learned Mandarin in the United States public school system. 我走了 means I'm leaving. I have never heard anyone say "I'm ghost." In order to sound more polite, you might want to say something like "Oh, I have to go" or "Oh, look at the time."

All I can think of is that in AAVE "I am going to" is shortened to "I'm gonna" and then to "Imma" So the phrase "Imma ghost guys" makes sense here. But it's not formal English whatsoever.

100% not a thing.

I'm ghost this subreddit guys.

If you want to use ghost like a slang verb you have to use regular verb suffixes for conjugation. Saying “I’m ghost” is like saying “I’m run”, it doesn’t make sense even if it means to leave in some contexts. Ghosting/ghosted do mean to basically ignore/hide from/not respond to someone. It doesn’t mean to leave a place. I have never heard that usage. That said, slang is fluid and it could start being used in that way and probably understood, as long as it was used correctly. “I gotta get home. I’m ghosting”, would be an odd thing to hear at a party, but I would understand through context what it means and it could catch on if enough people used it that way.

This is wrong. Even if it were a slang it would be "I'm *a* ghost" which would really mean you were acting inconspicuously, not that you were gone. You're right that "I'm ghosting" does sound better and what the textbook wants you to mean can be inferred if you use it that way, but it's not normal usage.

UK (East of England) here, and have never heard 'ghost' to mean 'leaving'.

It was used in the 90s. It wasn't super popular after that and when the term ghosting was introduced it was altogether replaced. Just a piece of old lingo that became extinct and replaced by a new iteration. I think I saw it in a movie once but it kinda means to leave a social situation quickly without goodbyes or letting anyone know.

要走了 = going to go, going, or gonna go (in more informal terms) It sounds like whoever wrote the textbook confused “going” with “ghost”. To be clear: ghost is never used in this way. Even for circumstances where you can use the verb “to ghost” (meaning to ignore and fade away), it still needs to be conjugated correctly (i.e. I’m ghosting). Ghost is written as a noun in your example from the textbook and that is just pure nonsense.

I'm gonna go against the grain of this thread and mention that I have heard this phrase in this exact context before so it's not unheard of, albeit definitely not at all common. "I'm ghost" is very specific slang for being "out" or otherwise unavailable following an interaction. For an example, see [the Genius annotations for this blackbear song](https://genius.com/11761754), which was added by the artist himself. I will say, however, that this is definitely not a common enough phrase to be worth adding to your vernacular.

https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/ghost Scroll all the way down to the **Adjective** subsection and you will see some citations of the word being used in this way, so it is a real term That being said, I’d never heard it before and it seems that most speakers are unfamiliar with it too, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t real, I just wouldn’t make this part of your vocabulary

This is not correct. I’ve heard people use “gone” in this context (“I’m gone, guys.”), but ghost makes no sense. Colloquially, to ghost someone means to suddenly stop contact with them with no explanation, usually in the context of casual dating.

It is not true

No one's ever said that before, but I'm going to start using it now! haha

Bro is Danny Phantom.

Nah that’s made up

Adding a little more anecdotal experience from a native. I've heard it used in this verb context. Super informal, you wouldn't find it in literature unless it were deliberately \[sic\] from a character's dialogue.

It’s wild to me how many native speakers in the comments have never heard this expression. It’s not common, but I’ve heard it enough and would recognize it if someone said it to me. It’s a lot more common to just say “I’m out” in this context. Also the example sentences are awkward. I’d just not use this phrase, clearly most speakers don’t

Based on that gimme, i guess they teaching Street English

I've used this term before, but I'd say I'ma ghost (I'm going to/gonna ghost). I'd use it as a verb.

Early 90s AAVE. I used it all the time as a teenager. I haven't heard it used this way in ages. Only 40-something year old black people would understand it used this way. And even then, you'd probably get some strange looks. 😄

I remember this being used in early to late 2010s. It's not "I'm ghost", but rather "I'm going ghost", to say I'm turning into a ghost meaning disappearing like a ghost. An added level would be going "Danny Phantom", the titular character of cartoon in which his super powers were to basically become a ghost. Examples: "Y'all staying at this party? I'm about to ghost and head home. I'll see y'all later" "As soon as she brought up her ex, I didn't want to get involved anymore so I did my best impersonation of Danny Phantom and got out of there"

The comments are revealing of people’s ages for sure. I’m in my 20’s and it’s used often, but it’s more slang than actual english. Hence why some people have never even heard of this phrase.

Aesthetic warning lmao

Shouldn't it be "A ghost" in both examples?

It’s out of date and not really heard. Just say “I’m going” or “I’m heading out” which is the equivalent of 我走了 or 我先走了

Huh unlike everyone else I’ve actually heard this a few times in songs before, it’s like “I’m out”, Kendrick Lamar is even a feature on a song called I’m Ghost. But it’s not something I use myself or hear too much in conversation

It's rare, but it was said at one time. Best example I can think of is the song American dream by Big L. "Gruff get the C.R.E.A.M. wit' my team, then I'm ghost!" Honestly, you probably won't hear anyone say it anymore

This is real ive heard it idk why so many people are saying its made up, but i heard it like 3 times in my life all on tv shows in AAVE - never irl but tbf i live in the UK i dont know anyone who speaks AAVE

I gotta get home guys, I'm ghost... I'm ghost guys...

wow which vocabulary book is this one? I’m assuming you’re also from taiwan, right? I will check the rest of the book and let you know if you should really just drop it.

you’re assumption is correct This is nonsensical in this context

That's not proper English at all, no one says that. Maybe the person is confusing the term ghosting...but idk that is not how anyone speaks