If you ever get an instant message or text message from someone that just comes out looking like jibberish, this guide will be here to help you translate the text chat lingo into plain old English.
It's useful for instant messaging, e-mail, Internet and online gaming chat rooms, discussion boards and cellphone text messaging.
The guide provides the definitions of more than 500 frequently used chat abbreviations and acronyms. Bookmark it so that you can use it whenever you need to refer to it.
Continued...
If you know of any text messaging abbreviation that should be included in this list, please contact us.
Numbers & Characters A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Click here for Smiley Faces & Emoticons
Abbreviation
Meaning
Numbers & Character
?
I have a question
?
I don't understand what you mean
?4U
I have a question for you
;S
Gentle warning, such as "Hmm? what did you say?"
^^
Meaning read line or message above
<3
Meaning sideways heart (love, friendship)
<33
Meaning heart (more 3s is a bigger heart)
@TEOTD
At the end of the day
.02
My (or your) two cents worth
121
One-to-one (private chat initiation)
143
I love you
19
Zero hand (online gaming)
20
Meaning 'location'
2G2BT
Too good to be true
2MI
Too much information
404
I don't know
411
Meaning 'information'
420
Lets get high
420
Meaning "Marijuana"
4COL
For crying out loud
4EAE
Forever and ever
4NR
Foriegner
^5
High-five
555
Sobbing, crying. (Mandarin Chinese txt msgs)
55555
Crying your eyes out (Mandarin Chinese txt msgs)
88
Bye-bye (Mandarin Chinese txt msgs)
9
Parent is watching
A
A3
Anytime, anywhere, anyplace
AAF
As a matter of fact
AAK
Asleep at keyboard
AAMOF
As a matter of fact
AAMOI
As a matter of interest
AAP
Always a pleasure
AAR
At any rate
AAS
Alive and smiling
AASHTA
As always, Sheldon has the answer (Bike mechanic Sheldon Brown)
AATK
Always at the keyboard
ABTA
Meaning Good-bye (signoff)
ACD
ALT / CONTROL / DELETE
ACK
Acknowledge
ADAD
Another day, another dollar
ADD
Address
ADN
Any day now
ADR
Address
AEAP
As early as possible
AFC
Away from computer
AFAIK
As far as I know
AFK
Away from keyboard
AFPOE
A fresh pair of eyes
AIGHT
Alright
AISB
As it should be
AISB
As I said before
AISI
As I see it
AITR
Adult in the room
AKA
Also known as
ALCON
All concerned
AML
All my love
AOTA
All of the above
AOYP
Angel on your pillow
ASAP
As soon as possible
A/S/L
Age/sex/location
ASL
Age/sex/location
ASLA
Age/sex/location/availability
AT
At your terminal
ATM
At the moment
ATSITS
All the stars in the sky
ATSL
Along the same line (or lines)
AWC
After awhile crocodile
AWOL
Away without leaving
AYDY
Are you done yet?
AYEC
At your earliest convenience
AYOR
At your own risk
AYSOS
Are you stupid or something?
AYT
Are you there?
AYTMTB
And you're telling me this because
AYV
Are you vertical?
B
B8
Bait (person teased or joked with, or under-aged person/teen)
B/F
Boyfriend
B/G
Background (personal information request)
B4
Before
B4N
Bye for now
BAK
Back at keyboard
BAS
Big 'butt' smile
BAU
Business as usual
BB
Be back
BBC
Big bad challenge
BBIAF
Be back in a few
BBIAM
Be back in a minute
BBIAS
Be back in a sec
BBL
Be back later
BBN
Bye, bye now
BBS
Be back soon
BBT
Be back tomorrow
BC
Because
BCNU
Be seeing you
BCOS
Because
BD
Big deal
BDN
Big darn number
BEN
Big evil grin
BF
Boyfriend
BF
Best friend
BFF
Best friends forever
BFFL
Best friends for life
BFD
Big freaking deal
BFG
Big freaking grin
BFN
Bye for now
BG
Big grin
BGWM
Be gentle with me
BIBO
Beer in, beer out
BIF
Before I forget
BION
Believe it or not
BIOYN
Blow it out your nose
BISFLATM
Boy, I sure feel like a turquoise monkey! (unverified)
BLNT
Better luck next time
BM&Y
Between me and you
BOL
Best of luck
BOLO
Be on the look out
BOOMS
Bored out of my skull
BPLM
Big person little mind
BRB
Be right back
BRD
Bored
BRT
Be right there
BT
Bite this
BTA
But then again
BTDT
Been there, done that
BTW
By the way
BWL
Bursting with laughter
BYOB
Bring your own beer
BYOC
Bring your own computer
C
C&G
Chuckle & grin
CD9
Code 9, Meaning "parents are around"
CIAO
Coffee in, coffee out
CICO
Good-bye (Italian word)
CID
Crying in disgrace
CMAP
Cover my a** partner (online gaming)
CMIIW
Correct me if I'm wrong
CMON
Come on
CNP
Continued (in) next post
COB
Close of business
COS
Because
C/P
Cross post
CP
Chat post (or continue in IM)
CR8
Create
CRB
Come right back
CRBT
Crying really big tears
CRS
Can't remember stuff
CSG
Chuckle, snicker, grin
CTC
Care to chat?
CU
See you too
CU
See you
CU2
See you
CUA
See you around
CUL
See you later
CULA
See you later alligator
CUL8R
See you later
CWYL
Chat with you later
CYA
See you
CYAL8R
See you later
CYE
Check your e-mail
CYO
See you online
D
DD
Dear (or Darling) daughter
D/L
Download
DL
Download
DL
Down low
DLTBBB
Don't let the bed bugs bite
DEGT
Don't even go there
DH
Dear (or Darling) husband
DIIK
Darned if I know
DIKU
Do I know you?
DM
Doesn't matter
d00d
Dude
DQMOT
Don't quote me on this
DS
Dear (or Darling) son
DTS
Don't think so
DV8
Deviate
DW
Dear (or Darling) wife
DYOR
Do your own research (common stock market chat slang)
E
EBKAC
Error between keyboard and chair
EF4T
Effort
EG
Evil grin
EMA
E-mail address
EMFBI
Excuse me for butting in
EMSG
E-mail message
ENUF
Enough
EOD
End of day
EOL
End of life
EOM
End of message
EVA
Ever
EZY
Easy
F
F
Meaning female
F2F
Face to face
F2T
Free to talk
FBM
Fine by me
FC
Fingers crossed
FFS
For 'freak' sakes
FICCL
Frankly I couldn't care a less
FISH
First in, still here
FITB
Fill in the blank
FOMC
Falling off my chair
FOMCL
Falling off my chair laughing
FRT
For real though
FTBOMH
From the bottom of my heart
FTW
For the win
FUBAR
Fouled up beyond all recognition
FUBB
Fouled up beyond belief
FWIW
For what it's worth
FYEO
For your eyes only
FYA
For your amusement
FYI
For your information
G
G
Grin
G
Giggle
G/F
Girlfriend
G2CU
Good to see you
G2G
Got to go
G2R
Got to run
G9
Genius
GA
Go ahead
GAL
Get a life
GB
Goodbye
GBU
God bless you
GDR
Grinning, ducking, and running
GD/R
Grinning, ducking, and running
GFI
Go for it
GF
Girl friend
GFN
Gone for now
GG
Gotta Go
GG
Good Game (online gaming)
GGP
Got to go pee
GIAR
Give it a rest
GIC
Gift in crib (online gaming)
GIGO
Garbage in, garbage out
GJ
Good job
GL
Good luck
GL/HF
Good luck, have fun
GLNG
Good luck next game
GMBA
Giggling my butt off
GMTA
Great minds think alike
GN
Good night
GNSD
Good night, sweet dreams
GOI
Get over it
GOL
Giggling out loud
GR8
Great
GRL
Girl
GR&D
Grinning, running and ducking
GT
Good try
GTG
Got to go
GTRM
Going to read mail
GTSY
Great (or good) to see you
H
H&K
Hugs & kisses
H2CUS
Hope to see you soon
H8
Hate
HAGN
Have a good night
HAGO
Have a good one
HAND
Have a nice day
HB
Hurry back
HF
Have fun
HHIS
Head hanging in shame
HOAS
Hold on a second
HRU
How are you?
HTH
Hope this helps
HUB
Head up butt
HV
Have
I
IAC
In any case
IAE
In any event
IANAL
I am not a lawyer
IB
I'm back
IB
I'm back
IC
I see
ICAM
I couldn't agree more
ICBW
It could be worse
ICEDI
I can't even discuss it
IDK
I don't know
IDTS
I don't think so
IDUNNO
I don't know
IG2R
I got to run
IGN
I (I've) got nothing
IGP
I got to (go) pee
IIRC
If I remember correctly
ILBL8
I'll be late
ILU
I love you
ILUM
I love you man
ILY
I love you
IM
Instant message
IMAO
In my arrogant opinion
IMHO
In my humble opinion
IMNSHO
In my not so humble opinion
IMO
In my opinion
IMS
I am sorry
IMTM
I am the man
IMU
I miss u (you)
INAL
I'm not a lawyer
IOMH
In over my head
IOW
In other words
IRL
In real life
IRMC
I rest my case
ITYK
I thought you knew
IUSS
If you say so
IWALU
I will always love you
IYKWIM
If you know what I mean
IYO
In your opinion
IYSS
If you say so
J
j00r
Your
JAC
Just a sec
JFF
Just for fun
JIC
Just in case
JJA
Just joking around
JK
Just kidding
JMO
Just my opinion
JP
Just playing
JTLYK
Just to let you know
JW
Just wondering
K
K8T
Katie
k/b
Keyboard
KB
Keyboard
KB
Kick butt (online gaming)
KEWL
Cool
KEYA
I will key you later
KEYME
Key me when you get in
KISS
Keep it simple, stupid
KIT
Keep in touch
KOC
Kiss on cheek
KOL
Kiss on lips
KOTC
Kiss on the cheek
KOTL
Kiss on the lips
KNIM
Know what I mean?
KPC
Keeping parents clueless
Abbreviation
Meaning
L
l33t
Leet, meaning 'elite'
L8R
Later
L8RG8R
Later, gator
LD
Later, dude / Long distance
LEMENO
Let me know
LERK
Leaving easy reach of keyboard
LGH
Lets get high
LHM
Lord help me
LHO
Laughing head off
LIK
Meaning liquor
LMAO
Laughing my a** off
LMBO
Laughing my butt off
LMIRL
Lets meet in real life
LMK
Let me know
LOL
Laughing out loud
LOL
Laughing out loud
LOLH
Laughing out loud hysterically
LOLO
Lots of love
LQTM
Laughing quietly to myself
LSHMBH
Laugh so hard my belly hurts
LTNS
Long time no see
LTS
Laughing to self
LWOS
Laughing without smiling
LY
Love ya
LYLAS
Love you like a sis
M
M8
Mate
MEGO
My eyes glaze over
MFI
Mad for it
MIRL
Meet in real life
MMK
Meaning okay? (as a question)
MNC
Mother nature calls
MorF
Male or female?
MOOS
Member of the opposite sex
MOS
Mother over shoulder
MSG
Message
MTF
More to follow
MTFBWU
May the force be with you
MUAH
Multiple unsuccessful attempts (at/to) humor
MUSM
Miss you so much
MYOB
Mind your own business
N
n00b
Newbie
N1
Nice one
NADT
Not a darn thing
NALOPKT
Not a lot of people know that
NBD
No big deal
NBFAB
No bad for a beginner (online gaming)
NC
Nice crib (online gaming)
NE
Any
NE1
Anyone
NFM
None for me / Not for me
NH
Nice hand (online gaming)
NIFOC
Naked in front of computer
NIMBY
Not in my back yard
NLT
No later than
NM
Nothing much / Never mind
NMH
Not much here
NMU
Not much, you?
NO1
No one
NOOB
Meaning someone who is bad at (online) games
NOYB
None of your business
NP
No problem
NR
Nice roll (online gaming)
NRN
No response/reply necessary
NT
Nice try
NVM
Never mind
NW
No way
NWO
No way out
O
O
Opponent (online gaming)
OIC
Oh, I see
OL
Old lady
OM
Old man
OMG
Oh my God
OMGYG2BK
Oh my God, you got to be kidding
OMW
On my way
OO
Over and out
OOH
Out of here
OOTD
One of these days
OOTO
Out of the office
OP
On phone
ORLY
Oh really?
OTB
Off to bed
OTFL
On the floor laughing
OTL
Out to lunch
OTOH
On the other hand
OTT
Over the top
OTTOMH
Off the top of my head
OTW
Off to work
OVA
Over
P
P
Partner (online gaming)
P911
Parents coming into room alert
PAW
Parents are watching
PCM
Please call me
PDH
Pretty darn happy
PDS
Please don't shoot
PDQ
Pretty darn quick
PITA
Pain in the a**
PLMK
Please let me know
PLS
Please
PLU
People like us
PLZ
Please
PM
Private Message
PMFI
Pardon me for interrupting
PMFJI
Pardon me for jumping in
PMSL
Pee myself laughing
POAHF
Put on a happy face
POS
Parent over shoulder
PPL
People
PROLLY
Probably
PRON
Meaning pornography
PRT
Party
PRW
People/parents are watching
PTL
Praise the Lord
PTMM
Please tell me more
PXT
Please explain that
PU
That stinks!
PZ
Peace
Q
Q
Queue
QIK
Quick
QSL
Reply
QSO
Conversation
QT
Cutie
R
RL
Real life
RLY
Really
RME
Rolling my eyes
ROFL
Rolling on floor laughing
ROFLMAO
Rolling on the floor, laughing my a** off
ROTFL
Rolling on the floor laughing
ROTFLUTS
Rolling on the floor laughing unable to speak
RSN
Real soon now
RTFM
Read the freaking manual
RUOK
Are you okay?
S
S2R
Send to receive (meaning send me your picture to get mine)
SAL
Such a laugh
SC
Stay cool
SETE
Smiling Ear-to-Ear
SH
Same here
SHID
Slapping head in disgust
SICNR
Sorry, I could not resist
SIG2R
Sorry, I got to run
SIS
Snickering in silence
SIT
Stay in touch
SLAP
Sounds like a plan
SMHID
Scratching my head in disbelief
SNAFU
Situation normal all fouled up
SNERT
Snot nosed egotistical rude teenager
SO
Significant other
SOL
Sooner or later
SOMY
Sick of me yet?
SorG
Straight or Gay?
SOT
Short of time
SOTMG
Short of time, must go
SOWN
Someone with me
SPK
Speak
SRSLY
Seriously
SPST
Same place, same time
SRY
Sorry
SS
So sorry
SSDD
Same stuff, different day
SSIF
So stupid it's funny
SSINF
So stupid it's not funny
STR8
Straight
STW
Search the Web
SUITM
See you in the morning
SUL
See you later
SUP
What's up?
SWAK
Sent (or sealed) with a kiss
SWAT
Scientific wild a** guess
SWL
Screaming with laughter
SWMBO
She who must be obeyed. Meaning wife or partner
SYL
See you later
SYS
See you soon
T
T+
Think positive
TA
Thanks a lot
TAFN
That's all for now
TAM
Tomorrow a.m.
TAU
Thinking about u (you)
TBC
To be continued
TBD
To be determined
TBH
To be honest
TC
Take care
TCB
Take care of business
TCOY
Take care of yourself
TDTM
Talk dirty to me
TGIF
Thank God it's Friday
THX
Thanks
THNX
Thanks
THNQ
Thank-you
TIA
Thanks in advance
TIAD
Tomorrow is another day
TIC
Tongue-in-cheek
TILIS
Tell it like it is
TLK2UL8R
Talk to you later
TMB
Text me back
TMI
Too much information
TMOT
Trust me on this
TMWFI
Take my word for it
TNSTAAFL
There's no such thing as a free lunch
TNT
Til next time
TOJ
Tears of joy
TOY
Thinking of you
TPM
Tomorrow p.m.
TPTB
The powers that be
TSNF
That's so not fair
TSTB
The sooner, the better
TTFN
Ta ta for now
TTTT
These things take time
TTYAFN
Talk to you awhile from now
TTYL
Talk to you later
TTYS
Talk to you soon
TU
Thank you
TY
Thank you
TYT
Take your time
TYVM
Thank you very much
U
^URS
Up yours
UCMU
You crack me up
UFN
Until further notice
UGTBK
You've got to be kidding
UKTR
You know that's right
UL
Upload
UR
Your / You're
URH
You are hot (U R Hot)
URTM
You are the man
UV
Unpleasant visual
UW
You're welcome
V
VEG
Very evil grin
VFF
Very freaking funny
VFM
Value for money
VGC
Very good condition
VIP
Very important person
VM
Voice mail
VN
Very nice
VNH
Very nice hand (online gaming)
VRY
Very
VSF
Very sad face
VWD
Very well done (online gaming)
W
W/
With
WAM
Wait a minute
WAN2TLK
Want to talk
WAREZ
meaning pirated (illegally gained) software
WAS
Wild a** guess
WAYF
Where are you from?
W/B
Write back
WB
Welcome back
WBS
Write back soon
WC
Who cares
WCA
Who cares anyway
W/E
Whatever
W/END
Weekend
WE
Whatever
WH5
Who, what, when, where, why
WIBNI
Wouldn't it be nice if
WDALYIC
Who died and left you in charge
WDYK
What do you know?
WDYT
What do you think?
WIIFM
What's in it for me?
WISP
Winning is so pleasurable
WITW
What in the world
WIU
Wrap it up
WK
Week
WKD
Weekend
WRT
With regard to
W/O
Without
WOMBAT
Waste of money, brains and time
WRK
Work
WRUD
What are you doing?
WTB
Wanted to buy
WTF
What the **** ?
WTG
Way to go
WTGP
Want to go private (talk out of public chat area)
WTH
What the heck?
WTM
Who's the man?
WU?
What's up?
WUCIWUG
What you see is what you get
WUF?
Where are you from?
WWJD
What would Jesus do?
WWYC
Write when you can
WYD
What (are) you doing?
WYGAM
When you get a minute
WYHAM
When you have a minute
WYLEI
When you least expect it
WYSIWYG
What you see is what you get
X
X
Kiss
XD
Meaning "really hard laugh" (where D is a smiley mouth)
XOXOXO
Hugs & Kisses
XLNT
Excellent
Y
YA
Your
YBIC
Your brother in Christ
YBS
You'll be sorry
YCMU
You crack me up
YF
Wife
YG
Young gentleman
YGTBKM
You've got to be kidding me
YGG
You go girl
YIU
Yes, I understand
YKWYCD
You know what you can do
YL
Young lady
YMMV
Your mileage may vary
YR
Your
YR
Yeah right
YRYOCC
You're running your own cuckoo clock
YSIC
Your sister in Christ
YSYD
Yeah sure you do
YT
You there?
YTG
You're the greatest
YW
You're welcome
YWHNB
Yes, we have no bananas
Z
ZOT
Zero tolerance
ZUP
Meaning "What's up?"
ZZZZ
Sleeping (or bored)
Smiley Faces - Showing Emotions In Text Chat
A 'smiley face', frequently called a smiley or emoticon, is utilized in textual conversations to communicate an emotion within a text message. Showing emotions within text messages helps the receiver to accurately translate the intention and meaning of the message you've sent them.
To create a smiley face you use your standard keyboard characters and punctuation marks in sequences that look like facial expressions might. When viewing text smiley faces, they are all sideways. Here are some basics to get you started in understanding what the faces are:
The close bracket represents a sideways smile )
Add in the colon and you have sideways eyes :
Put them together to make a smiley face :)
Use the dash - to add a nose :-)
Change the colon to a semi-colon ; and you have a winking face ;) with a nose ;-)
Put a zero 0 (halo) on top and now you have a winking, smiling angel 0;) with a nose 0;-)
Use the letter 8 in place of the colon for sunglasses 8-)
Some chat and instant message programs will automatically translate text smiley faces into graphical emoticons. In AOL Instant messenger (AIM), for example, if you type out the characters to make a "happy face" followed by "sad face" followed by "cool sunglasses" you would enter the following characters:
:) :( 8-)
Once you've entered the text however, AIM converts the smiley text to graphics, if it can recognize the smiley pattern, and what you see on the screen in your AIM window will look like this:
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