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Texting dictionary

Stay on top of the words children use online

This texting dictionary explains the text abbreviations and acronyms children and young people use online.

We’ve compiled a list of text language terms to help you decipher any text slang you might not understand. Learn about the words your child might use to communicate with their friends on social media, in video games and through text messaging.

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Explore the text dictionary

Choose a letter to find the definition for words or abbreviations used online.

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 #

A

  • abt – About
  • abt2 – About to
  • acc – Actually
  • add – Address
  • afaik – As far as I know
  • afk – Away from keyboard
  • aka – Also known as
  • asap – As soon as possible
  • asf – As f***
  • asl – Age, sex, location
  • atm – At the moment

B

  • b – Bisexual / Babe
  • b4 – Before
  • based – Used when agreeing with something; or recognising someone is being themselves
  • bc – Because
  • bet – yes, okay; affirming something
  • bday – Birthday
  • blates – Obviously
  • bf – Boyfriend/Best friend
  • bf4l or bffl – Best friends for life
  • bff – Best friends forever
  • boyf – Boyfriend
  • brat – A strong-willed person who goes against expectations. See more here.
  • brb – Be right back
  • btw – By the way

C

  • cap – Lie (often used as ‘no cap’, meaning no lie)
  • cba – Can’t be bothered
  • cmb – Call me back
  • cmon – Come on
  • ctn – Can’t talk now
  • cu – See you
  • cua – See you around
  • cul – See you later
  • cya – See ya

D

  • da f/dafuq? – What the f***?
  • diss – Disrespect
  • dkdc – Don’t know, don’t care
  • dl – Download
  • dm – Direct Message, a form of private messaging
  • dnt – Don’t

E

  • ema – Email address
  • eta  – Estimated time of arrival
  • ez – Easy

F

  • f – Female
  • fam – Short for ‘family’, similar to ‘bro’
  • faq – Frequently Asked Questions
  • fb – Facebook
  • finna – I’m going to
  • fire – A word to describe something positive (e.g. That game is fire)
  • fr – for real
  • fuq/fuqn – F***/f***ing
  • fwb – Friends with benefits
  • fwd – Forward
  • fyi – For your information

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G

  • g – Gay
  • g2cu – Good to see you
  • g2g – Got to go
  • g2r – Got to run
  • gamer – Video game player
  • gf – Girlfriend
  • gg – Good game
  • gj – Good job
  • gl – Good luck
  • glhf – Good luck have fun
  • GOAT – greatest of all time
  • gnite – Good night
  • gr8 – Great
  • gratz – Congratulations
  • gtfoh – Get the f*** outta here
  • gtg – Got to go
  • gud – Good
  • GYAT – God d*** (usually used when referencing the size of someone’s back end)

H

  • h8 – Hate
  • hella – Really
  • hits different – Something that affects you in a particular way
  • hv – Have
  • hw – Homework
  • hbd – Happy Birthday

I

  • ib – I’m back
  • ic – I see
  • idc – I don’t care
  • idk – I don’t know
  • ig – I guess or Instagram
  • iirc – If I remember correctly
  • ik(r) – I know (right?)
  • ilu – I love you
  • ily – I love you
  • im – Instant message
  • imho – In my humble opinion
  • imo – In my opinion
  • insta – Instagram
  • irl – In real life
  • it’s giving… – Used to describe something (e.g. ‘It’s giving childhood’ could describe something that reminds you of your childhood)
  • iykyk – If you know, you know; often used to describe inside jokes

J

  • jk – Just kidding

K

  • k – Okay
  • kewl – Cool
  • kthnx – OK, thanks

L

  • l – Lesbian
  • (take the) l – Loss
  • l8 – Late
  • l8r – Later
  • let them cook – A supportive phrase; to give someone time and space to do something you know they can do
  • lit – It describes something as positive
  • lmao – Laughing my a** off
  • lol – Laugh out loud
  • lolll – Laugh out loud a lot
  • luv ya – Love you

Learn about sexting

Read up on sexting and the potential harm for young people engaging in it.

Sexting advice hub

M

  • m – Male
  • m.i.r.l – Meet in real life
  • mkay – Mmm, okay
  • mmo – Massively multiplayer online
  • mmorpg – Massively multiplayer online role-playing game
  • msg – Message
  • mwah – To give a kiss

N

  • n/a – Not available or not applicable
  • n2m – Nothing too much
  • nbd – No big deal
  • ne – Any
  • ne1 – Anyone
  • nm – Not much / Nothing much / Never mind
  • no cap – No lie
  • noob – Short for ‘newbie’, refers to an inexperienced gamer or online community user
  • np – No problem
  • nthng – Nothing
  • nvr – Never
  • nw – No worries

O

  • oic – Oh, I see
  • om – Oh my
  • omg – Oh my God
  • omw – On my way
  • onl – Online
  • ot – Off topic
  • ova – Over

P

  • peak – Unfortunate
  • peeps – People
  • pic – Picture
  • pir – Parent in room
  • pk – Player kill
  • pls – Please
  • plz – Please
  • pm – Private Message
  • pmsl – Peeing myself laughing
  • pov – Point of view
  • ppl – People
  • prolly – Probably
  • pwn – Own, as in conquer or defeat
  • pwned – Owned, as in conquered or defeated

Q

  • qt – Cutie
  • qtpi – Cutie pie

R

  • r – Are or our
  • riz/rizz – Charisma
  • rizzler – Someone who is good at flirting (because they have rizz)
  • rly – Really
  • rofl – Rolling on the floor laughing
  • rpg – Role playing game
  • ru – Are you?
  • ruok – Are you okay?

S

  • sec – Second
  • seggs – Sex; used as a way to get around language filters
  • ship – Relationship; or imagining people together (e.g. I ship those two)
  • simp/simping – someone who does too much for their crush (often used in sexist context against men)
  • skibidi – A reference to a video about an army of toilets taking over the world
  • skl – School
  • sksksk – Representing laughter
  • slaps – Describing something as good (e.g. This song slaps)
  • smh – Shaking my head
  • sms – Short Message Service
  • so – Significant other
  • sob – Son of a B*tch
  • sos – Help
  • spk – Speak
  • srs – Serious
  • srsbsns – Serious business
  • srsly – Seriously
  • sry – Sorry
  • stan – being a fan of someone
  • str8 – Straight
  • sup – What’s up
  • sus – Suspicious
  • sux – Sucks or “it sucks”
  • swag – Boasting about one’s skills or style

T

  • tbh – To be honest
  • tc – Take care
  • tea – gossip
  • tgif – Thank God it’s Friday
  • thanq – Thank you
  • thx – Thanks
  • tmi – Too much information
  • trans, t*, t+ – Transsexual
  • ttfn – Ta-ta for now
  • ttyl – Talk to you later
  • tweet – Twitter post
  • txt – Text
  • ty – Thank you

U

  • u – You
  • u2 – You too
  • ul – Upload
  • unalive – Kill; used to get around language filters
  • ur – Your or you’re

V

  • vm – Voicemail

W

  • w – win
  • w@ – What?
  • w/ – With
  • w/e – Whatever or weekend
  • w/o – Without
  • w8 – Wait
  • wag1 – What’s up
  • wbu – What about you?
  • wk – Week
  • wrk – Work
  • wtf – What the f***
  • wtg – Way to go
  • wyd – What (are) you doing?
  • WYSIWYG – What you see is what you get

X

Y

  • y? – Why?
  • yeet – To throw something
  • yktv – You know the vibe
  • yolo – You only live once
  • yr – Your
  • yt – white (or YouTube)
  • yw – You’re welcome

Z

  • (Gen) Z – People born from around 1997-2012
  • za – Pizza

#

  • 2 – To
  • 24/7 – Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week
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