Internet Chat Acronyms 101 Texting Shortcuts 💬
Internet chat acronyms (from Greek: Acro=sharp onym=name) including SMS text messaging shortcuts and common texting abbreviations. Originally shortcuts used CAPITAL letters but lowercase is now commonplace. Internet chat acronyms are useful because they:
- Convey information faster with less typing effort.
- Stay within fixed character limits. Did you know there’s still a 160 character limit for SMS text messages? Even though you can send longer text messages, up to 918 characters long, behind the scenes they are broken into 153 character chunks and charged separately – OMG!
- Help text conversations flow more naturally.
Words Commonly Shortened Using “Letter Homophones” (Letters that sound like words)”
2=too, to
4=for
B=be
C=see
O=owe
R=are
U=you
Y=why
- Internet chat acronyms was last updated 08 Sep 2023.
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| Abbreviation: | Shortcut Meaning: |
|---|---|
| 2MRW | tomorrow |
| 2moro | tomorrow |
| 2nite | tonight |
| 2DAY | today |
| AFAIAA | As Far As I Am Aware |
| AFAIC | As Far As I’m Concerned |
| AFAICS | As Far As I Can See |
| AFAICT | As Far As I Can Tell |
| AFAIK | As Far As I Know |
| AFAIR | As Far As I Remember |
| AFAP | As Far As Possible |
| AKA | Also Known As |
| ASAP | As Soon As Possible |
| ASL | Age, Sex, Location |
| ATB | All The Best |
| B4N | Bye For Now |
| BFF | Best Friends Forever |
| BBFN | Bye Bye for Now |
| BBL | Be Back Late |
| BBL | Be Back Later |
| BCNU | Be Seein’ You |
| BFN | Bye For Now |
| BIAS | Back In A Sec |
| BRB | Be Right Back |
| BTW | By The Way |
| BYAM | Between You And Me |
| cya | See Ya |
| CBA | Can’t Be Arsed |
| CTN | Can’t Talk Now |
| CUL8R or CU |
See You Later |
| CWOT | Complete Waste Of Time |
| DEF | Definitely |
| EMFBI | Excuse Me For Butting In |
| EMFJI | Excuse Me For Jumping In |
| EMI | Excuse My Ignorance |
| F2F | Face To Face |
| FFS | For F*** Sake |
| FML | F*** My Life |
| FTTB | For The Time Being |
| FWIW | For What It’s Worth |
| FYC | For Your Consideration |
| FYEO | For Your Eyes Only |
| FYI | For Your Information |
| GF | Girlfriend |
| GR8 | Great |
| HAND | Have A Nice Day |
| H&K | Hugs & Kisses |
| IC | I See |
| ICYMI | In Case You Missed It |
| IIRC | If I Recall / Remember Correctly |
| IKR | I Know Right! |
| IKWYM | I Know What You Mean |
| IME | In My Experience |
| IMHO | In My Humble Opinion |
| IMO | In My Opinion |
| IOW | In Other Words |
| ISWYM | I See What You Mean |
| IYSS | If You Say So |
| IYSWIM | If You See What I Mean |
| JIC | Just In Case |
| KISS | Keep It Simple, Stupid / Short and Simple |
| KIT | Keep In Touch |
| KITY | Keep It To Yourself |
| KMP | Keep Me Posted |
| KWIM | Know What I Mean? |
| L8R | Later |
| LMAO | Laughing My Ass Off |
| LOL | Laughs Out Loud |
| MSG | Message |
| MYOB | Mind Your Own Business |
| NRN | No Reply Necessary/Needed |
| NSFW | Not Suitable For Work |
| NOYB | None Of Your Business |
| OIC | Oh I See |
| OMG | Oh My God! / Oh My Goodness! |
| OTOH | On The Other Hand |
| OT | Off Topic |
| OTT | Over The Top |
| PLS | Please |
| POV | Point Of View |
| RBTL | Read Between The Lines |
| ROFL | Rolling On Floor Laughing |
| RTFM | Read The Flaming Manual |
| RUOK | Are You Okay? |
| SFW | Safe For Work |
| SPK | Speak |
| SWAK | Sent/Sealed With A Kiss |
| TBC | To Be Continued |
| TBD | To Be Decided |
| TGIF | Thank God/Goodness It’s Friday |
| THX /TKS /TX |
Thanks |
| TLC | Tender Loving Care |
| TLTR | To Long To Read |
| TTFN | Ta Ta For Now |
| TTYL | Talk To You Later |
| UR | You Are |
| W/ | With |
| WDYT? | What Do You Think? |
| WFM | Working From Home |
| WRT | With Regard To |
| WTF | What The F*** |
| WU | What’s Up? |
| WYWH | Wish You Were Here |
| X | Kiss |
| XOXO | Hugs and Kisses |
| YR | Your |
See also: List of Mnemonics…
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