textisms

Messaging language shortcuts

Textisms are the abbreviated spellings, symbols, and conventions that emerged from text messaging and online chat, where brevity and speed matter more than standard spelling.

Examples include u for you, 2nite for tonight, lol, brb, and thx.

Some textisms have migrated into casual written English beyond their original context.

abbreviations

LOL

Internet amusement abbreviation

BRBTexted temporary departure
OMGTexted exclamation of shock
IDKTexted uncertainty admission

SMH · IMO · ROFL · LMAO · NVM · JK · FYI · BTW · ASAP · GTG

orthography

u

Informal second-person abbreviation

urTextspeak for your
2Second counting number
4One after three

b4 · gr8 · 2nite · cuz · tho · thru · pls · plz · txt · msg

platforms

SMS

Mobile text protocol

iMessageApple's native texting platform
WhatsAppMobile messaging platform
MessengerBearer of communications

WeChat · Telegram · Signal · Snapchat · Twitter · Discord · Slack · messaging · chat · threads

emoticons

smiley

Digital cheerful expression

emojiDigital pictograph for messaging
emoticonDigital mood symbol
kaomojiJapanese text-based faces

XD · shrug · facepalm · eyeroll · crying · laughing · wink · kissy · angry · surprised

punctuation

ellipsis

Mark indicating omitted words

exclamationForceful sudden utterance
capsHeadwear or upper limits
lowercaseUncapitalized letter form

period · keysmash · stretching · haha · lolol · nooo · yesss · soooo · typing · emphasis

Opposites

formality of written language

textismsformal writing

Polished, structured text

academic writing · proper grammar · professional writing · standard spelling · business correspondence

communication medium/context

textismslonghand

Unabbreviated handwriting

handwritten letters · print journalism · formal letters · scholarly articles · legal documents

Family

text, context, texture, texting, pretext, texted, subtext, textual, contextualize

Familiarity: Top 1,000,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Abstract · Rated G