netspeak

Internet chat shorthand

Netspeak is the informal language and conventions that emerged from online communication—abbreviations like lol and brb, emoticons, intentional misspellings, and distinctive grammar.

The term often carries a slightly dismissive tone, suggesting the user finds such language juvenile or degraded: I can't understand half of what she writes—it's all netspeak.

abbreviations

LOL

Internet amusement abbreviation

BRBTexted temporary departure
OMGTexted exclamation of shock
ROFLOnline mirth acronym

BTW · IDK · FYI · AFK · BFF · NSFW · FOMO · SMH · NVM · IRL

communication

chatroom

Online discussion venue

forumGathering place for discourse
threadFiber for stitching
commentingMaking remarks about

messaging · posting · blogging · flaming · trolling · spamming · netiquette · lurking · bumping · necroposting

slang

leet

Alphanumeric internet cipher

l33tAlphanumeric internet dialect
pwnDominate utterly, online
noobInternet slang for beginner

troll · flame · lulz · based · slay · stan · sus · ratio · cope · seethe

memes

meme

Shared online humor

dankDisagreeably cold and wet
shitpostIntentionally worthless online content
copypastaViral duplicated text block

rickroll · doge · reaction image · deep fried · surreal · template · caption · viral · cursed · blursed

emoticons

emoji

Digital pictograph for messaging

emoticonDigital mood symbol
smileyDigital cheerful expression
kaomojiJapanese text-based faces

sticker · GIF · reaction · facepalm · shrug · eyeroll

social

hashtag

Labeled link for posts

viralSpreading quickly online
trendingCurrently gaining widespread attention
followersPeople who support someone

influencer · selfie · feed · story · DM · tagging · likes · share · timeline · algorithm

Categories

slangslang, jargon, lingo, argot, cant
tech slangnoob, AFK, pwned, IRL, leet
language varietiesdialect, idiolect, sociolect, vernacular, accent
speech registersformal, informal, casual, colloquial, vernacular
textspeakLOL, OMG, BRB, omg, IDK

Opposites

communication register

netspeakformal writing

Polished, structured text

academic writing · proper English · Queen's English · business English · professional writing

communication medium

netspeakface-to-face

Direct personal encounter

in-person · real-life · spoken language · oral communication · IRL

linguistic convention/standardization

netspeakclassical rhetoric

Ancient art of persuasion

Family

net, speak, speech, speaker, internet, network, networks, networking, networked

Familiarity: Top 500,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Abstract · Everyday, not technical · Rated G