Most abbreviation lists are sorted A to Z. That works if you already know the letters you are looking for. It fails completely when someone sends you “icl gts, wyd tmrw” and you have to work out what just happened.
So this list is grouped by job instead. Reactions sit with reactions. Time and plans sit together. The ones that carry two different meanings get their own section at the end. Grouping helps because a chat message is mostly context. If you can tell a message is about plans, you only need to scan twelve entries rather than seventy. Every row has a realistic example, and the full dictionary has longer explanations for anything you want to read properly.
Reactions and agreement
These are the smallest units of texting. They tell the other person you read the message and how you feel about it, and most of them have drifted a long way from their original meaning. “lol” almost never signals laughter now. It softens a message so it does not land too hard. The same goes for “lmao”, which mostly means mild amusement rather than anything on the floor. Treat this group as tone, not content.
| Short | Means | Used like |
|---|---|---|
| lol | Laughing out loud, now a softener | “sorry I forgot lol” |
| lmao | Laughing hard, usually mild amusement | “lmao that’s so him” |
| ijbol | I just burst out laughing | “ijbol not the hat” |
| smh | Shaking my head | “smh he did it again” |
| ofc | Of course | “ofc I’m coming” |
| jk | Just kidding | “you’re paying. jk” |
| bet | Agreed, deal, sounds good | “bet, see you at 8” |
| w | A win, something good | “that’s a w for us” |
| l | A loss, something bad | “taking the l on this one” |
Honesty and opinion markers
This group flags that an opinion is coming. English speakers have always done this out loud with phrases like “to be fair” or “if I’m honest”, and texting compressed them. The interesting part is that most of these soften rather than sharpen. Someone typing lwk or icl is usually about to admit something small and slightly awkward. Read them as a warning that the real message is in the next few words.
| Short | Means | Used like |
|---|---|---|
| ngl | Not gonna lie | “ngl I forgot your name” |
| tbh | To be honest | “tbh I’d rather stay in” |
| icl | I can’t lie | “icl that was funny” |
| imo | In my opinion | “imo the first one was better” |
| imho | In my humble opinion | “imho we’re overthinking it” |
| fr | For real | “fr, it’s freezing” |
| istg | I swear to God | “istg if he’s late again” |
| afaik | As far as I know | “afaik it starts at 7” |
| lwk | Low-key, quietly, a little | “lwk nervous about tmrw” |
| idk | I don’t know | “idk, ask her” |
| idc | I don’t care | “idc where we eat” |
| tldr | Too long, didn’t read | “tldr: he quit” |
Logistics and plans
This is the most useful group to learn and the least interesting. It is pure admin. These abbreviations exist because typing “I am on my way” while walking is annoying. Most of them come from an older era of texting and email, which is why they survive at work as well as in group chats. If you only memorise one section, make it this one, because a misread here means you turn up at the wrong time.
| Short | Means | Used like |
|---|---|---|
| brb | Be right back | “brb, someone’s at the door” |
| gtg | Got to go | “gtg, class starting” |
| otw | On the way | “otw, five mins” |
| eta | Estimated time of arrival | “what’s your eta?” |
| ttyl | Talk to you later | “ttyl, have fun” |
| rn | Right now | “can’t talk rn” |
| tmrw | Tomorrow | “see you tmrw” |
| asap | As soon as possible | “call me back asap” |
| eod | End of day | “I’ll send it by eod” |
| hmu | Hit me up, contact me | “hmu when you land” |
| btw | By the way | “btw I moved the meeting” |
| fyi | For your information | “fyi the shop shuts at 6” |
Feelings and flirting
These do two jobs at once. They open a conversation and they signal warmth. “wyd” is the clearest example, because it is rarely a genuine question about your activities. It means someone wants to talk to you. The same applies to a morning “gm” from a person who has never sent one before. If you want the vocabulary that surrounds this stage, rizz covers the charm side and delulu covers what happens when the reading goes too far.
| Short | Means | Used like |
|---|---|---|
| wyd | What are you doing | “wyd later?” |
| hbu | How about you | “not much, hbu” |
| wbu | What about you | “I’m free Friday, wbu” |
| ily | I love you | “ily, drive safe” |
| ilysm | I love you so much | “ilysm thank you” |
| bae | Before anyone else, a partner | “out with bae” |
| bff | Best friend forever | “she’s my bff” |
| hbd | Happy birthday | “hbd!! have a good one” |
| gm | Good morning | “gm, hope today’s easier” |
| gn | Good night | “gn, talk tmrw” |
Compliments and insults
Praise and criticism have both got shorter and blunter. A single letter can now carry a full verdict. Note how many of these are borrowed from performance language, because doing something well is framed as a show. The insults tend to be about being generic rather than being bad, which is a real shift. Calling something “mid” stings more than calling it terrible. Nearby words worth knowing include glazing for over the top praise and ick for sudden, unexplainable turn off.
| Short | Means | Used like |
|---|---|---|
| ate | Did it perfectly | “she ate that presentation” |
| slay | Did brilliantly | “new haircut, slay” |
| mid | Average, forgettable | “the sequel was mid” |
| sus | Suspicious, off | “that email looks sus” |
| goat | Greatest of all time | “he’s the goat honestly” |
| npc | Someone with no original thoughts | “npc behaviour tbh” |
| ratio | Getting more criticism than support | “you got ratioed” |
| cooked | In trouble, or finished | “I’m cooked for this exam” |
Internet and gaming
Gaming gave texting a lot of its shorthand, and most of it leaked out into normal conversation. You will see people say something is “op” about a coffee machine. Voice chat is where these were built, so they favour speed over clarity. Two of them, “tfw” and “mfw”, started as captions under images and now work as sentence openers. If a friend has vanished mid conversation, “afk” is usually the answer, and if they will not stop typing, that is yap territory.
| Short | Means | Used like |
|---|---|---|
| afk | Away from keyboard | “afk 5, making tea” |
| gg | Good game, well played | “gg everyone” |
| glhf | Good luck, have fun | “glhf on the interview” |
| op | Overpowered, too strong | “that character is op” |
| nerf | Weaken something | “they nerfed my main” |
| irl | In real life | “have you met him irl?” |
| tfw | That feeling when | “tfw the bus is early” |
| mfw | My face when | “mfw he says he’s otw” |
| nsfw | Not safe for work | “nsfw, don’t open at your desk” |
The confusing ones
Every abbreviation here has at least two live meanings, and the wrong reading changes the message completely. Context does most of the work. A message about tonight and a message about a phone call will point “ft” in different directions. Terms like hn and mbn also carry a tone that the literal expansion hides, so treat the meaning column here as a starting point rather than a translation.
| Short | Means | Used like |
|---|---|---|
| ft | FaceTime, or featuring | “wanna ft?” |
| dm | Direct message | “dm me the link” |
| pm | Private message, or afternoon | “pm me” / “3pm works” |
| gts | Go to sleep, or get that s*** | “gts, it’s late” |
| iykyk | If you know, you know | “iykyk 😭” |
| dw | Don’t worry | “dw about it, sorted” |
| wtv | Whatever | “wtv, your call” |
| nvm | Never mind | “nvm, found it” |
| cc | Copy someone in openly | “cc’ing my manager” |
| bcc | Copy someone in privately | “bcc me on that reply” |
| mbn | Must be nice | “holiday again? mbn” |
| hn | Hell nah, a firm no | “hn, I’m not doing that” |
The ones people get wrong
- ft gets read as “for the” or “featuring”, which is right on a music track and wrong in a text. In a message from a friend it almost always means FaceTime. Read more on ft if the context is still unclear.
- gts looks harmless and often is, because it usually means “go to sleep” at the end of a late night chat. It also has a rude second meaning, which is the one parents tend to find first. The gts page separates the two properly.
- pmo is regularly misread as “put me on”, especially when it appears next to “ts”. It normally means annoyed. The current usage sits closer to irritation than anger, and pmo explains how it drifted.
- lol is the one adults get wrong most often. Typing “lol” after your own bad news does not mean you find it funny. It means you are trying to make the message easier to receive.
- gng is not a warning sign. It is short for gang and it is used the way older generations used “mate” or “bro”. The gng entry has examples of it being used with total affection.
- mid is worse than it sounds. It is not neutral. Calling a film, an outfit or a restaurant mid is a real criticism, because being unremarkable is the insult.
How to reply when you have no idea
- Answer the part you did understand and let the rest go. “gtg, ttyl” only needs a “no worries, later”. You do not have to decode every letter to reply correctly.
- Ask plainly. “what does that mean” is a completely normal message and nobody is offended by it. Guessing wrong in a group chat is far more awkward than asking.
- Match the length, not the vocabulary. If you get four words, send four words back. Using slang you are not comfortable with is more obvious than using none.
- Check the tone before the meaning. Most short messages are about mood. If someone tells you they are about to crash out, the specific words matter less than the fact they are stressed.
Questions people ask
Are text abbreviations the same as slang?
Not quite. Abbreviations are shortened versions of ordinary phrases, so “brb” and “asap” just save typing. Slang carries attitude and often has no long form at all, which is why a term like lock in needs a proper explanation rather than an expansion.
Which of these are safe to use at work?
The admin ones travel fine. “asap”, “eod”, “fyi”, “cc” and “bcc” have been in office email for decades and nobody blinks. Anything from the reactions or insults sections is best kept for people you actually know.
Why do some abbreviations have two meanings?
They were invented separately by different groups and then collided. “pm” came from email and messaging boards at roughly the same time, and neither side gave way. The reader sorts it out from context, which is why these live in their own section above.
Do abbreviations change quickly?
The logistics ones barely move. “brb” has meant the same thing for about thirty years. The reaction and insult groups turn over much faster, because their whole value is signalling that you are current.
Is it rude to reply with just “k”?
Usually, yes. A single “k” reads as annoyed to most people, where “ok” or “okay” reads as neutral and “kk” reads as friendly. It is a small thing that causes a surprising number of arguments.