Brick Lingo

  • LEGO: Is derived from the Danish phrase “leg godt” which means “play well” in English.
  • TLG : Is an abbreviation of “The LEGO® Group”.
  • AFOL: Short for “Adult Fan Of LEGO”
  • Studs: This refers to the raise knobs on the top of a LEGO® brick. A classic 2×4 brick has 2 rows of 4 studs, for a total of 8 studs.
  • Anti-Studs: This is the underside of a LEGO® Brick that engage into a stud of another brick.
  • [small digit]x[big digit]: Is the method which we use to signify the type of brick. 2×4 or 1×16 bricks.
  • Brick: A standard LEGO® element. A 1×1 brick is 0.8 x 0.8 x 1.15 cm in size (including stud).
  • Plate: Another standard LEGO® element. These are 0.8 x 0.8 x 0.51 cm (including stud). 3 plates stacked on top of each other is the same height as a brick.
  • Liftarm: These are smooth LEGO® Technic beams with either pin holes or pin holes with axle holes but do not have studs or anti-studs on them. Since the mid 1990’s, these have moreless replaced Technic Bricks, though Technic Bricks are still widely used and are very useful.
  • Technic Bricks: These are similar to regular LEGO® 1 by X bricks but with pin holes in them. They come in 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15 hole versions.
  • Flip-Flop Beams: Are much like regular liftarms but have pin holes perpendicular to each other. A 7L flip-flop beam will have 4 horizontal holes and 3 vertical pin holes.
  • Pins: These come in a wide variety of types, from 2L friction pins, 2L friction-less pins to 3L double pins with a 1L axle on one end. In total there are more than 20 different types on pins that TLG make.
  • Axles or Cross Axles: Are cross shaped shafts that are used for either driving rotating parts or can be used to stop something from rotating. These are most useful as the former and are placed in gears, motors and wheels. Some axles have endstops on them which can be very handy.
  • 1L, 2L, 3L etc: This is used to define the length of a part. For example, a 6L liftarm is 6 studs long.
  • PF: Short for Power Functions, an electrical system made by TLG between 2007 and 2019 consisting of motors, battery boxes, infrared receivers and remote controllers. This system uses either direct battery box to motor or with a receiver between the battery box and motor and uses infrared to control the motors.
  • PU and C+: Short for PoweredUp and Control+ respectively. TLG’s newest electical system consisting of motors, hubs (battery boxes and control circuitry in one unit) and a remote. This system can either be preprogrammed or it can use bluetooth to control the motors.
  • NXT and EV3: Were previous electrical systems used for various robotic sets that LEGO® made. These are more-less be superseded by PU/C+ and are no longer made.